One of the best things about getting married is inheriting family. In my case, I added a mom, dad, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, and a grandmother to my fold. One of the cousins is Danny, a very cool 20-something who is charming, funny, and always has the truest, most incisive insights. This past Saturday was Danny’s birthday so we gathered for dinner. The evening unfolded with its usual stories and jokes, teasing and plans, and then, after the dessert was cleared and the presents were opened, the talk at the table turned to a young woman who had broken one of Danny’s friend’s hearts, even though he should have known better than to get involved. “Maybe it was one of those cases of ‘she’s so pretty and she’s into me, so I’ll overlook the other stuff,'” I said. Danny sputtered. “She’s, She’s not pretty,” he said, incredulous. And then he picked up the butter knife that rested on the table between the two of us. “She’s this.” He stabbed the air with the butterknife, for effect. “She’s a butterknife,” someone at the table questioned. “I think Danny’s trying to say that she’s rail thin,” I offered. “And that’s not pretty!” Danny insisted. “This,” he said grabbing the bulbous ceramic water pitcher. “This is pretty,” he exclaimed, bringing the pitcher down with a bang. We laughed. We applauded. And then I thought, “every girl should inherit a cousin Danny.”
I meant what i said then and i will always mean it, the popular opinion of what is pretty is dominated by fake everything, “work with what your momma gave you” I know that sounds bad, but anyone who has lived in the LKN area knows that FAKE beauty is what dominates, I am just looking for real, I could keep going but it may take all night, be proud of who you are, period, PS, love you Rose, I inherited your family too, mmmm, pastalios
That, Ladies and Gentleman, is exactly why every woman should have a Cousin Danny. Love you, D.
Danny where were you 12 years ago, before I got married? Thank You for reminding us that not all woman should be that butter knife and still be desired!!!
This was great! I like comparing a woman’s body to a ceramic water pitcher. There’s a verse in the Bible that says that very thing! 1 Peter 3:7
Thanks, FW! When Danny first made that comment last year (actually, Danny’s birthday dinner is this Sunday. I’ll have to keep an ear out for any gems), I thought of the Marge Piercy poem, To Be of Use which ends with “The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.”