Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Johnny Reb, Billy Yank, Sartre & attracting the opposite sex

I’m back safe and sound at home, well above the Mason Dixon Line, in the land of Billy Yank. Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing up here—I’m a native southerner who really loves the desert mountains of the Intermountain West. But for now, this is home. In some ways, it’s like a lot of small towns down South. There’s even a Civil War monument that until 30 years ago sat in the middle of the town’s Main Street. It looks a lot like those monuments honoring Johnny Reb down south. You have to read the fine print or look at their belt buckle (USA or CSA) to tell the difference. The only other difference between this guy and those guys who stand quietly on the courthouse lawns down south is that his side won. Actually, the real winner was the company who made the granite sculpture. They got to sell the same monuments to both sides. Tiffany, the stained-glass people, did the same thing Pittsburgh. In one of the big churches near the University of Pittsburgh is a beautiful window of Jesus praying in the garden. Right down the street in a Jewish synagogue is the same window, only the caption has changed. There, he's Moses praying on the mountain.

While in the gym the other day, I read an article in the New Yorker titled: "Stand By Your Man: The Strange Liaison of Sartre and Beauvoir," (September 26, 2005). Those two had a unique relationship. Sartre, the older of the two, was just 5 foot tall and blind in the right eye. According to the article, he dressed in oversized clothes without a sense of fashion and had a disregard for hygiene (including brushing his teeth). Beauvoir was younger and very attractive. The two had a strange open relationship, that’s described in the article. Sartre, an ugly guy, was once asked about his attraction to women:

"First of all, there is the physical element. There are of course ugly women, but I prefer those who are pretty. Then there is the fact that they (women) are oppressed, so they seldom bore you with shop talk.. I enjoy being with a woman because I’m bored out of my mind when I have to converse in the realm of ideas."

Now, could some of you more enlightened folks tell me how this ugly and condensing jerk seduced so many women? I read a couple of Sartre’s work in college and did particular like him then. After reading this article, I like him even less—or maybe I’m just jealous of his ability to overcome bad breath as he charm women.

For those looking to impress members of the opposite sex, this came out the mouth of my daughter's friend, as the two of them were discussing a boy at their school (they’re in the 2nd Grade): "You got to love a boy who does cartwheels in K-Mart."

11 comments:

  1. Yep, I gotta love me some man that does cartwheels in K-Mart too!
    :)
    Chana
    www.bunnyburrow.com

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  2. Sage, supposedly it's a southern accent. I don't think it exists though.

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  3. I don;t think that rural America changes that much from north to south or east to west. We have different customs and such. The boy's I've known from the Michigan country side I've alway's liked. Even the one that was conceded.

    I couldn't do cartwheels in the 2nd grade. I still can't.

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  4. "You got to love a boy who does cartwheels in K-Mart."

    I would love a MAN that could wheel carts in K-Mart! (LOL)

    Welcome Home!!!

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  5. I've later found out that the quote from my daughter's friend (You gotta love a man who does cartwheels in K-mart) actually came from her mother--when she and her daughter saw him doing cartwheels down the aisles.

    AI--I'm with you, I don't ever remember being able to do cartwheels--don't even remember trying and if I tried now I'd end up in ER and then would have to explain myself where ever I went. Maybe I should keep this a secret from Chana and Suzie?

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  6. Not a chance! (LOL)

    Actually I could do cartwheels through my thirties....WOW-WEE huh..but NOW....just horizonally!!

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  7. sounds like your daughter knows what she is looking ofr in a man....my daughter is in 3rd grade and I am uncool and she knows it all ;)

    I am here via Michele

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  8. Cartwheels in K-mart show a distinct strength of character, in my opinion!

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  9. cartwheels show he is not afraid to impress, plus any boy secure enough to perform cartwheels has to be good.

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  10. Kontan, in my experience, women get tired of men trying to impress them.

    Cat's out of the bag Sage, the two of us can not do cartwheels. I bet Murf can if she has a wheel barrel to help her!

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  11. I thought AI was being rude to Murf and breaking the Southern code of chivalry. I thought I might have to have a word with him. Then I saw Murf's new photo in her blog. http://murfsdujour.blogspot.com/

    Just so you all can sleep at night, let me make a disclaimer. I have no plans to put pics of me doing a cartwheels in this blog, nor do I plan to showcase dead deer or grossly overweight women in skimpy bathing suits. If you're into that kind of stuff, you can check out their blogs!

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