Saturday, December 3, 2011

Mistaken And Earned Identity

Ah. Last night was fun. I swear it was.

We stayed for the whole shebang and then Lon and Lis came over after on their way home and we all had a martini except for Lonnie who was driving and so I made him an espresso drink with milk and chocolate to keep his eyes open for the drive home.
Lis and I pledged our undying and eternal devotion and she cleaned the picture over the sink that she gave me so long ago. The picture that represents US.



The strangest thing happened at the restaurant. We were at a table next to a couple at another table and Mr. Moon knew them. He has done business with them and so he said hello and then the woman said to me, "Mary, I'm ....." and she said a name I hadn't thought of in forty years and lo and behold, I knew immediately who she was and when I last saw her she was seven or eight years old.
I knew all of her beautiful sisters, one was my age and we were in Girl Scouts together and friends, too, and their mama taught violin in Winter Haven and was the first teacher of my dear friend Dave Davidson whom I had just seen on Thanksgiving Eve.
Whoa. I have no idea how she knew it was me.
She's grown up to be as beautiful as her sisters.

So there was that and then of course, every one was telling me how much May and I look like each other and as one person pointed out, we even SOUND alike and then another person said that we even HUG alike and gave a detailed description of our hugs and that was fun.

But here's a funny thing that has been happening the last few times we've gone down to the Mockingbird to hear Lon and Lis and that is that I keep getting asked if I am Lis's sister and last night as we were leaving, a woman who looked remarkably like Lara Croft, Tomb Raider (ie, gorgeous) told me that I had a BEAUTIFUL VOICE and obviously, she had mistaken me for Lis.
All right. So she was a bit drunk. But.

I find it so interesting that perhaps I look enough like I did forty years ago in some weird way that a person who hasn't seen me in that amount of time could know who I was and also, at the very same time, look and sound and hug like my daughter and ALSO, at the very same time,  look enough like Lis to be her sister. Or her herself.

Well, I've always said I was a generic white person. As I've grown older and my face is now more of what I truly am and have lived, I am not quite as generic but I can't tell you how many times I've been mistaken for someone else and one night, a long time ago, a woman INSISTED that I was her cousin and I could tell that she wanted to slap the crap out of me for denying it.

But here I am now and if I am to be compared to other people, I can't think of any two more beautiful women to be told I look like than Lis and May.

Now when I go out I usually (and last night is a good example) wear fancy clothes that Lis has given me. She finds the velvets and even gave me the red cowgirl boots and so I am dressed like her and as I told her last night, we have been together long enough so that we have grown to look like each other.
Now if I could only sing like she does.
Sigh.

And speaking of clothes- my goal for today is to go through mine and find what I have. I have a bad habit of taking things off and if they are not dirty, putting them in a basket in my bathroom (which is where my dresser is too) for future wearing. And so there is a basket of pawed-through clothes and I can't find a damn thing in there and my closet is just complete and utter chaos. I mean, I found my bag of Goodwill cashmere two days ago. It seemed to have just popped back through from that parallel universe where it was residing and boom! there it was. All my softness in one bag.

So. On this beautiful day I am going to sort and sift and see if I can start figuring out what to take to Cozumel. I told Lis last night that I had indeed bought something to take to wear and she said, "Ooh! What?" and I said, "You'll laugh," and she said, "No I won't," probably thinking that I'd bought the sexy Santa costume from Bealls that we're always joking about but no, that wasn't it and I said, "A pair of men's cargo shorts!" and she did laugh because that is so me.
Lis probably would no more wear a pair of men's cargo shorts than I would wear a sexy Santa outfit although we both love velvet and silk and best of all- silk velvet- and cashmere and cowgirl boots. Lis is far more into the jewelry than I am and has jewels for every occasion but we do swap those back and forth. Earrings, necklaces, etc.

And May dresses like neither of us, although a little like me sometimes and her jewelry is understated and she does like to paint her eyes with gold shadow and so do I.

Ah-lah. It's Saturday. Another perfectly beautiful day and we've had golden-yolked eggs and grits and toast and here I go to try and create order from my garments, one little thing I can do to try and make a place in my life more serene, less cluttered. And then I'll go out to the hen house and give them clean straw for their nests and fill up their waterer and their feeder and I'll tell them thank-you, my lovely hens, for your bountiful gifts and also to Elvis, my brave and gentle rooster who looks like no other although the hens do sort of all look like each other mostly but I can tell them apart and they are all beautiful to me.

Here's a picture I took the other day which made me happy and so I'm giving it to you. One of our little anole lizards, hanging out on the sink in Mr. Moon's bathroom. To me, that lizard looks just like every other lizard in this house and yard but I am certain that his mama knows exactly who he is.


10 comments:

  1. What an interesting and fun night you had. Your garments from a parallel universe cracked me up. We may not look alike, but our clothes and closets are related.

    Love the lizard. Have a continued nice weekend.

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  2. You know, I woke up this morning and was surprised when I didn't see a post from you first. I thought for a split second that you perhaps had a hangover from your night and that pleased me (not the hangover part but that you'd had fun). But here you are. No hangover but you. Have I told you, ever, how much I anchor my days with your words?

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  3. Mel- Thanks, sweetie! Are you going to clean your closet today too? Hee-hee.

    Elizabeth- Nope. No hangover but we didn't get to sleep until WAY after one and slept late and then I made us breakfast. I love the idea of you anchoring your days with my words. You know that works both ways...

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  4. This is beautiful and fun and dressy and real and I love how you gave it to us in all the little bits so that I kinda felt like I was out there too, having a good time with old friends and feeling velvet.

    You beauty.

    And yum on that espresso and chocolate.

    xo love d

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  5. Those little guys like to hang out around my kitchen sink and I always have a hard time catching them and throwing them outside. Last night it was a tree frog though and I was amazed that I was able to catch him on my first try!

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  6. Sometimes when I read your posts, I feel like am reading the best novel ever. But I know you must be real and your place way over yonder in Florida really does exist.

    Today was one of those days where I wish the blog didn't end..just kept on going adding to my day, making me smile....

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  7. How fun it can sometimes be to be a girl. I love cowgirl boots, velvet, and cashmere also. It sounds like you had a very fine night.

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  8. Lizards seem like good house mates.

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  9. 21k- Hello, sweet woman! Life worn in velvet is a good life as far as I can see. I'd make you an espresso/chocolate drink if I could. You know I would. Unless you'd rather have a martini.

    Lois- I just let the lizards be. The frogs I do the same as you- usher them outside. Bless their little hearts. I'm so glad to see you back.

    Ellen- Dang. That made me feel good because sometimes when I get on these long rambles I wonder if anyone at all cares and I doubt it so thank you.
    So much.

    Rubye Jack- I always shop with my fingers. And of course, I have Lis to shop for me. I am SO lucky.

    Stephanie- They definitely are. Their poop is tiny and they eat bugs.

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  10. We don't get to have lizards in the bathroom. We do have raccoons in the grapes, however.

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