And then there's the ho.
As it turns out, it's possible to sum up any given's importance to us in five words or less.
As I was out with the guys tonight, we determined that one of our friends at another school was our favorite "Unconvicted Felon." Good for a laugh, sure, but then it occured to me that this really did sum up our feelings about the guy. Now, this is a long-time friend of mine, yet this simple, two-word description was enough to completely encompass everything that I felt about the guy. Is it possible that my guys and I are just that shallow? Is it possible that everyone is?
Oh, yes.
There's a comedian named Margaret Cho who surmised that every group of three girlfriends fit into very distinct sterotypes (hence the title of the post; every group ends with "...and then there's the ho!"). Think the "Saved by the Bell" girls.
Is it possible that this sort of simple classification is sufficient to label everyone we know? When you tell stories about your friends when they are not there, how do you describe them? A name and a quick designation, right? "There's the guy I know named Roger, he's an Eloquent Stoner." Maybe you don't use those exact words, but you could.
Of course, a lifetime of experience and wonder are too much to encompass in volumes of well-constructed sentences, but then each of us only knows and experiences a very small fraction of the people we know. Not only that, but that fraction is usually drawn exclusively from one very small face of themselves that said people are willing to present to us. Thus, we are aware of only a tiny part of one side of each person that surrounds us. Often this extends even to people who we know well and cherish dearly.
There are people who I have known for years who I count as friends who can be fleshed out in full simply by saying "Abercrombie Beaut," "Giggly Organic," or "Disdained Artist of the Heart" (Remember, the maximum is five words). Is this really what years of friendship, conversations, history, and shared experiences amount to? A veritable sound byte, without need of context or even the meager trappings of character flesh?
I certainly hope not.
As I was out with the guys tonight, we determined that one of our friends at another school was our favorite "Unconvicted Felon." Good for a laugh, sure, but then it occured to me that this really did sum up our feelings about the guy. Now, this is a long-time friend of mine, yet this simple, two-word description was enough to completely encompass everything that I felt about the guy. Is it possible that my guys and I are just that shallow? Is it possible that everyone is?
Oh, yes.
There's a comedian named Margaret Cho who surmised that every group of three girlfriends fit into very distinct sterotypes (hence the title of the post; every group ends with "...and then there's the ho!"). Think the "Saved by the Bell" girls.
Is it possible that this sort of simple classification is sufficient to label everyone we know? When you tell stories about your friends when they are not there, how do you describe them? A name and a quick designation, right? "There's the guy I know named Roger, he's an Eloquent Stoner." Maybe you don't use those exact words, but you could.
Of course, a lifetime of experience and wonder are too much to encompass in volumes of well-constructed sentences, but then each of us only knows and experiences a very small fraction of the people we know. Not only that, but that fraction is usually drawn exclusively from one very small face of themselves that said people are willing to present to us. Thus, we are aware of only a tiny part of one side of each person that surrounds us. Often this extends even to people who we know well and cherish dearly.
There are people who I have known for years who I count as friends who can be fleshed out in full simply by saying "Abercrombie Beaut," "Giggly Organic," or "Disdained Artist of the Heart" (Remember, the maximum is five words). Is this really what years of friendship, conversations, history, and shared experiences amount to? A veritable sound byte, without need of context or even the meager trappings of character flesh?
I certainly hope not.
posted by Will Jones at 8:51 PM
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