Hereunder

Our Else

I seen it as it looked,

The little lamp in that doll house,

Hanging over the dining room table,

White globes glowing yellow.

 

After--we sat on the log by the side of the road,

Our faces burning, red with humiliation.

Why did she shoo us out of the yard

Just as the doll house was opened?

Just because.

 

But I seen the little lamp.

 

(Inspired by Katherine Mansfield's story, "The Doll's House," 1922)

 

 

 

 

Woke Shaving

Gentle visitors, just after shaving with one of Harry's razors the other day, your humble Contributor read of a kerfuffle over a Facebook ad posted by Harry's concerning toxic masculinity.  It seems that Harry 's, which makes excellent, inexpensive blades, no longer wants men to man up so much as to man down: a counterintuitive approach to increase sales to men, but there you go.

Were it up to him, your humble Contributor would hardly be shearing the stubble each morning.  Rather, he would allow the beard to be what it wants to be: a salt and red pepper bristle covering cheek, chin, and jowl, shielding these fleshy parts against the cold north wind, offering an indication of wisdom where little actually resides, and compensating for a receding hairline.

But, the Other Householder frowns upon such a facial growth, suggesting that, if he did so, your humble Contributor may end up sleeping on the concrete slab in the unfinished basement, mid-winter, with perhaps a carpet remnant rolled over as a blanket.   Your humble Contributor intimated that the Other Householder really fears that a neatly trimmed Van Dyke, for instance, would make himself dangerously (not to say toxically) handsome. However, she observed that the risk of this was equivalent to the chances of the Washington Nationals winning a play-off series:  that is, nil.   With that observation, any danger was averted.

Still, it is difficult for us pre-millenials to keep up with what is now good and bad.  We knew that wolf whistling was not good; but, now dog whistling (bad);  virtue signaling (good or maybe bad);  body shaming (bad); woke shaving (good).   And, what any of these has to do with dragging an incredibly sharp piece of metal across one's face each day is mystifying.

But, all of this raises further questions:  if there is a toxic masculinity, is there also a toxic femininity?  Or, does the toxicity only affect the XY but not the XX, chromosonically speaking?  Or do the toxins cross over the gonosomic divide?  If so, would it be appropriate for Venus Soft Touch to call out the offending ladies?

Moreover, Harry's gives males too much credit for being able to think these things through.  On any given day, most unwoke guys, wake up, scratch themselves, yawn demonstratively, use the facilities, think about something to eat, think about coffee; in time, they shave while thinking about nothing or about not shaving, getting through the time when the beard gets itchy, stroking the mature beard thoughtfully without actually thinking about much;  magically thinking that the beard may actually help their favored team win the playoff series, cheering the team on with their beards, their beers, and their loud yelps.  Next morning, wake up and do the same. 

Scientists believe that, genetically, men most closely resemble dogs -- though, a significant minority say pigs.  In any case, with effort, they can be trained and largely housebroken.

As for the horndogs who have recently been exposed and rightly driven away with whips, their sin is not being male, but rather being lustful, one of the seven deadly sins that persist like ancient, mortal bacteria.  Centuries ago, Thomas Aquinas pictured lust as a lion ogling a gazelle -- seeing not the gazelle's inherent beauty, strength, and grace, but his next meal.  That predatory gaze has not changed in the intervening years. 

Add to that, power.  Lord Acton wrote that "power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely [and] great men are almost always bad men...."  Perhaps  a harsh assessment, but power and overweening pride -- the king of the deadlies -- always invites the other sins in to join the party: lust, certainly, and greed, anger, envy, etc.  We all, men and women alike, need to keep a wary eye on those lowlifes.

But, in the main, Harry's should leave the unwoken just shave: better to let sleeping dogs lie.