Tis the Season for Cynicism

Falalalala, la la la la!

It's also apparently the season for engagement amongst the Mormons near me. Which is lovely. Yay for them. They found love and their Missing Piece or their "You complete me." That's great. But why, ladies, when someone says they are engaged, do you immediately ask to see the ring? Is it just me or is that a little... disturbing? Do we really care that much about the ring? I mean, I like pretty things that sparkle, don't get me wrong. But forget the ring, I would like to see the man. Is he pretty? Does he have a good job? Does he sometimes say intelligent things? Does he have a brother? Is everyone asking to see the ring to avoid telling the girl they think she is on crack for saying yes to that particular man? What is up with that? Because, I kid you not, in the midst of a church meeting girls call a halt to the proceedings and demand to see the ring. Probably partly because the particular congregation I worship with is comprised of young single adults, ages 18 to 31. And yes, I'm aware I don't fall in that bracket anymore. That's a topic for a different day. But seriously??? I'm just waiting for someone to quote the most irritating jewelry commercial of all time, "He went to J....!" I can't bring myself to complete the statement, but you see where I"m going.

Let me just tell you, young girls that don't read my blog: It's not about the ring. I remember meeting resistance to this idea in college. Assorted roommates and I would have discussions about whether or not the Displaying of the Ring in the engagement photo was tacky. I maintained that it absolutely WAS. Certain roommates protested that they look for the ring in the photo and would be irritated if it was not showing. To which, of course, I was forced to retort that they would hate my engagement picture, because I fully intended to hide my left hand altogether. And said pro-ring displayers were mortified. "You'll feel differently," they would say. Um, no. Also, if my right hand is my cane hand, I may have no choice but to make that the prevalent hand in my engagement picture at the rate I am going. Just saying.

For Crying Out Loud, It's Just Hair

I don't know about you, but people in my church seem to like to tell the Gift of the Magi story at least once a year. You know, the poor couple who sacrifice to get Christmas gifts for each other, so she cuts her prized hair to get him a chain for his grandfather's watch, and he sells the watch to buy her fancy combs... blah, blah, blah. It's all very touching or something. The first time I heard it, I think I found it touching, and also quite exasperating, because I hate when people have horrible miscommunication like that in stories and we are supposed to Learn Something. What I have learned is that this couple was stupid. Because,for #1: It's just freaking hair. It will grow back. I don't get people who act that way over hair.

And for #2, you sold a family keepsake??? For her hair? Blech.

And for #3,how is this some big lesson on giving? I mean, they are making enough money to have housing, food, heat, and clothes. They're getting by. Wouldn't a larger sacrifice be to give a gift to Tiny Tim or something instead of each other? Call me a cynic, but if you give a gift to your spouse, you totally get something out of it. Like, you know, a pleasant living environment and the lack of fear that said spouse will kill you in your sleep.

Dear George,

George Clooney, do you watch your aunt every Christmas like I do? She's pretty fabulous.



Also, George, did you know that the White Christmas musical is a little bit silly? I'm just warning you, George. If you go to see it, don't expect Betty to be half so fabulous. It's not her fault. Not everyone can be a Rosemary. And the script writers did wacky things like make her a man hater who hates love. But at least they let her dance with her feather fan.

You Need to Think About This.

I was fortunate to be able to participate in a fascinating two day workshop focusing on Racism this week. I learned some fascinating things, and also some very sad things. One of the suggested resources was this video.



How sad is that? Little Kindergartners think their skin color means they are bad, and would rather play with the white doll. Teenage girls hate their own skin color and think it makes them ugly. I mean, I know white girls that think they are too pale and will therefore tan, but this goes so much deeper.

This was just one of the things we discussed. I'm going to blog more about it later, because I think it's a fascinating topic and one that we should be thinking about more, since obviously the issue of racism has not gone away.