I’m sitting outside, and the weather is just right; it’s warm, but there is a breeze. The sun is intense, but the shade is refreshing. I carry my parasol around everywhere. People might not know my name but they definitely know the girl who carries a “sunbrella.” It’s made for some interesting conversations.
This past Sunday I wore a black and white outfit to church, but I felt I needed some color, so chose my pastel blue parasol with paintings of cherry blossoms and birds. As I made my way back to the dorm, I was by myself, but I soon heard footsteps approaching from behind. Something about the way the way the feet hit the concrete with each step made me think they wanted to talk with me. I continued at my pace, and for half a minute they followed at an awkward seven paces back. Soon enough, however, I heard them speed up, and I knew my solitude was soon to be broken. “You know, you’ve been getting a lot of funny stares.” I turned to see who my new friend was. It was a guy from Honeyrock who had become rather infamous for his rudeness, so I paused to think of a response, “Well, I’d be a bit surprised if I wasn’t getting a lot of funny stares.”
Looking at my Chinese-inspired parasol, he went on to ask if I had been to china. “No,” I reply, “I wish I could say I have, but I got this in Disneyworld.” He surprises me with his next statement, “You know how in America how everyone tries to get tanner? Well, in China, everyone seeks pale skin.” It turns out he lived in China for four years. Holding up his arm he says, “I’m not really that pale, but I got followed all the time.” He pauses and then asks, “What color are your eyes?”
I look at him, “Blue.”
“Yeah, they would go crazy over you, but you would have to be careful. They might also call you a blue-eyed devil.” I didn’t really know how to respond at that point. Thank you just didn’t seem quite right. At Honeyrock, he came off as conceited, and he had never spoken two words to me. The fact that we were now have a conversation was unnerving. We walked a bit farther and then he asked, “How many parasols do you have?”
“About eight.”
His eyes got big.
“I just don’t like the smell of sunscreen that much, and parasols are much easier.”
This is just one of several converstions my parasols have inspired. It's true that I get a lot of funny stares, but overall, people's reactions have been positive. At worst they think I'm eccentric, and I enjoy that. As Edith Sitwell said, "Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd."
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7 comments:
Well I would say the gentleman showed extremely good taste and tact. I am sure he experianced some sense of 'being home' when he saw your Chinese parasol, and was perhaps surprised to find a red haired blue eyed lady beneath that oriental umbrella. Do you think maybe he is shy and a bit defensive, which can often come off as conceited and rude?
By the way that was me, mom on Daniel's computer. You get kudo's for posting!!!!!!!! Keep it up
We (Ben, James, Hil, Trey, Jim and I) are at Daniel's for a labor day cook out...MOM
Well I didn't think it was working so you have your link to my blog listed three times. HA
Eh, the boy is probably suffering from first year first weeks jitters. Everyone got them, and most people tried to act a certain way, a more better version of themselves, or at least that is what they thought. But then things usually settled out.
As regards the parasols, I have always admired yours. But then, I never cared for tanning either. I too have had slight idiosyncracies that do not line up with normal dress, and people have often felt the need to "correct" or at least point these out. For instance, my right pant leg in the summer time is permanently rolled up, due to me not wanting to mess up my pants on my chain, or cause myself an accident. And when I get to where I am riding, why roll it back down? soon enough I'll be rolling down the open road to FREEDOM.
i would be intimidated by how pretty you are too, at that age at least
and this is daniel. not mom.
and when he asked the color of your eyes, you should have said, "explode."
Regarding eccentricity, you should read some John Stuart Mill. I admire your individuality. =)
-a friend of Duff's and Daniel's
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