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Oddservations
By Michel Singher I have for over a year had been the regular houseguest of a gracious 89-year-old lady. Only recently has it gotten back to me that she assures family, friends and neighbors the relationship is a platonic one. I am deeply flattered. We're thrown together for five minutes sharing a cab in a downpour. He's my senior, and his appearance of wealth and status is confirmed when he mentions having been on the Board of the World Trade Center. We converse about his recent vacation in Tuscany. Despite my expressed enthusiasm for Siennese painting, he says, "Aaargh, if I never see another 13th Century Madonna, it'll be one too many. My wife's the art major, and I just had to turn her off when she was telling me who designed what doors... " I can't help myself, and ask, "Well, did you like any of it?" His tone changes, as I'm about to be dropped off at my stop, and I'll never know which was the pose. "Actually, I loved all of it, but I'm an American businessman and I'm supposed to talk that way." On the train, a group speaks loud German. Trying to escape into the score on my lap, I am brought up short and almost out of my seat by a reference to "die Schwulen"-"fags." Images of concentration camps flash, and I flush. As I simmer down, I realize I'm countering one stereotype with another. Can we ever just all recognize each other as human beings? We treat ourselves to an anniversary dinner in a fine restaurant-good food, a beautiful location, attentive service, and I'm even not the only man with a tie on-and are grateful that we have lucked into the one waiter in the establishment who doesn't address his customers as "you guys." There is apparently still a chink left for momentary deference, not to persons goodness knows, but to circumstance, in this blessedly egalitarian society of ours. I notice we're no longer making out our checks to "Internal Revenue Service," but to "United States Treasury." I assume this is a result of the congressional hearings last year that exposed abuses by the IRS, and vented the latent fury of the American taxpayer towards those depriving "us" of "our" earnings to fuel the doings of "the" government. "They" must think (I hope correctly) that "United States" elicits an automatic positive response among most Americans. Perhaps the rose with this name shows more clearly that we're all in this together. I'm buying services for you, and you for me. Thank you, and you're welcome. Now I try to tack
a moment to the mind |