what's it all for?
growing up, i used to take the #5, beacon hill bus home from school. this bus was overflowing with the elderly and sprinkled here and there were a few begruding high school students such as myself who couldn't afford a car. after all, i'm from a town of the "newly wed and nearly dead." there is not much in between, but that's another tale, for another time.
for those years of busriding, i could not take my eyes off this one particular woman. her face was fascinating, like a bad car crash. you wanted to, badly, but you couldn't look away. white, shiny, THICK with moisturizer. blonde hair pulled tightly back, little to no make-up. her age was anyone's guess, as was the amount of oil of olay it would take to make someone look quite this... SLICK. i am not usually judgemental about the way people choose to adorn themselves. to each their own aesthetic i say. but this lady!! i saw her daily for at least 4 years. if i saw her too close to the dinner hour, i lost my appetite. she looked like an escapee from madame tussauds: ghastly, white, smooth and taut. i found myself wondering: what was it all for?
she was dressed normally. she had on a wedding band. she carried groceries. she was perhaps going home to a family. kids? grandkids? who knew. but WHEN did she wash that crud off? WHO got to see just how wonderfully these miracle creams were working? were there 10 minutes a day, right after washing her face before bed, and before applying her mint julep night mask that her husband sidled up to her and exclaimed, "my, you look young" ?? would she, at age 75, suddenly go cream free? joyously taking her throne as the beauty queen of the beacon hill bus grey hair society?
when do we stop doing these rituals that may preserve our youth in some future regard, but prevent us from ever looking youthful in the moment? i am tired of sleeping beside people wearing crest white strips. they may as well be dentures, for how sexy they are.
anyway, cut forward 15 years. i am home visiting my parents. i catch the bus a few times. on my second to last day, she gets on. and she looks, exactly, the same: WAXY.
RANDOM FACT ABOUT ME: i do not own a digital camera. i am a complete photobooth addict and plan on purchasng one asap.
for those years of busriding, i could not take my eyes off this one particular woman. her face was fascinating, like a bad car crash. you wanted to, badly, but you couldn't look away. white, shiny, THICK with moisturizer. blonde hair pulled tightly back, little to no make-up. her age was anyone's guess, as was the amount of oil of olay it would take to make someone look quite this... SLICK. i am not usually judgemental about the way people choose to adorn themselves. to each their own aesthetic i say. but this lady!! i saw her daily for at least 4 years. if i saw her too close to the dinner hour, i lost my appetite. she looked like an escapee from madame tussauds: ghastly, white, smooth and taut. i found myself wondering: what was it all for?
she was dressed normally. she had on a wedding band. she carried groceries. she was perhaps going home to a family. kids? grandkids? who knew. but WHEN did she wash that crud off? WHO got to see just how wonderfully these miracle creams were working? were there 10 minutes a day, right after washing her face before bed, and before applying her mint julep night mask that her husband sidled up to her and exclaimed, "my, you look young" ?? would she, at age 75, suddenly go cream free? joyously taking her throne as the beauty queen of the beacon hill bus grey hair society?
when do we stop doing these rituals that may preserve our youth in some future regard, but prevent us from ever looking youthful in the moment? i am tired of sleeping beside people wearing crest white strips. they may as well be dentures, for how sexy they are.
anyway, cut forward 15 years. i am home visiting my parents. i catch the bus a few times. on my second to last day, she gets on. and she looks, exactly, the same: WAXY.
RANDOM FACT ABOUT ME: i do not own a digital camera. i am a complete photobooth addict and plan on purchasng one asap.
posted by LEAH FRANCES @ 4:33 PM
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