In doing this blog, I never imagined for a second that it would turn into posting all these selfies. Not that I don't like to look at a flattering picture of myself as much as the next person, but as you may have noticed, I seem to have hit a new low in willingness to prep for the camera. This is partly poor time management and partly because I've discovered that it's not so much about a seriously bad hair day (today, see below) or whether I'm wearing mascara or not that makes for a good picture. It's about emotional state and specifically, a lack of willfulness or a 'will to power'.
I don't enjoy posing but the long and the short is that I frequently feel a failure of imagination when it comes to finding topics which relate to what Mudd likes to call my 'journey’. And, full disclosure, it's rare that people will click the 'Like' button on Facebook if the picture is of something other than me. This is 'go big or go bust' after all. I'm trying to get a bigger audience.
But while we're on the subject of physical appearances, I have to tell you a story. A year or more ago, I was in a health food store, late, rushing and suddenly ravenous. A very short woman, I'm talking, five feet tall or less, was between me and the brown rice, serving herself. She was being kind of pokey, and I was getting more and more impatient, until I noticed that she had some kind of pretty serious malformation. Her head was permanently tipped 90º, so one ear was almost touching her shoulder and she could hardly reach the shelf to get a second container. I didn't want to be rude but seeing as I'm almost six feet tall, asked if I could help. She turned to thank me, head at this crazy angle, and looked me right in the eye. She appeared to be well into her eighties. And I was dazzled. It was all in her eyes - love, a sense of humor and intelligence. We ended up talking and exchanging cards.
A number of weeks later, I was in the same health food store with Mr. Green. My short friend from the brown rice take-out was in the aisle shopping. I introduced her to Mr. Green, we chatted briefly and left. One thing you may not know about Mr. Green is that he's not what you'd call good with the small talk. He can be pretty abrupt, he sizes people up quickly and is just as ready to turn and walk away as to shake hands. I asked him for his take on my new friend. Mr. Green's response? "I love her already."
This may be obvious to you, but it's a revelation to me: once you pass a certain age (for women 55 or 60) the face the world sees (if they look) is actually pretty much ONLY what's inside.