Friday, February 03, 2012

My Apparent Need for a Hair Product That Will Tame the Unruliness

A man I know is sweet, gentle, kind, and patient.  He has some mental illness, but he is no more ashamed of coping with his health than if he had cancer or heart disease.  So, yesterday when I saw him, we exchanged superficial pleasantries, and then took care of the business we needed to exchange.

Then he says, in such a kind and affirming voice, "Susan, you have on that long, flowing, beautiful skirt.  I just had a vision of you as a Greek goddess."

Oh.  Okay.  How do you respond to someone who's not your husband who says something like that?  I really don't think he was hitting on me.  He just saw it as a simple fact that he might mention.  With an uneasy and questioning voice, I respond, "Oh?  Really?"

"Oh, yes.  You know ... the one that has snakes for her hair."

"MEDUSA?"

"Yes!  That's the one," he says with an encouraging smile.





Well.
Okay then.

Y'know, most people aren't that honest.

6 comments:

  1. I'm sorry, Susan, but I'm laughing. I'm sure he thought he was giving you a compliment. :) Reminds me of my uncle's (through marriage) brother. He is mentally disabled and as honest as this man and was always one of my favorite people to be around.

    I'm still giggling . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, Melanie, he did intend to be complimenting me. And I giggled a lot too. I guess my feelings could be hurt ... because the texture of my graying hair is getting a little out-of-control. But his description just seemed way too accurate for me to be upset. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, and just to clarify for you classical purists, I do realize that Medusa was not a goddess. She was a Gorgon, a "terrifying female creature" (according to Wiki). See, he's still right! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. But she was cursed with the snakes for hair due to being so beautiful she made one of the goddesses angry (I think Athena). So it was a compliment :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I didn't know THAT. (Pssst. You DO know that some people think you can't know anything that I don't know, right? Yeah ... they don't know how homeschooling works.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was lucky enough to hear the live version of this story and it is still making me smile. :)

    ReplyDelete