lili krakowski on wed 31 dec 03
Ah, yes, Mel! And many's the fool hoisted by his own pretentious =
petard.
Many years ago we were invited to a very fancy dinner by an immensely =
"successful" man who spent lots of time and money burying his working =
class past, the way a cat will bury its feces in the dirt. =20
Among his affectations was Knowing Wines. And, yes, he had reason to =
be pleased that he no longer "had" to drink Manischewitz and other =
Concord Grape Kosher wines (and, by the way, there now are some =
excellent, non-sweet, non-Concord grape Kosher wines) but this delight =
in having "achieved" did not actually include a palate.
Well, the Sommelier came round and the Host and he had that little talk. =
And after a short time the sommelier came back and did the "pouring a =
bit into the host's glass for approval" routine, and Host did the =
swirling, sniffing drill and nodded....The wine was poured.=20
I should have written "the squid ink" was poured! The wine was nearly =
black, opaque, half way to bad vinegar--Both my husband and I looked =
at the Sommelier. Was there a twinkle in his eye? I kinda think so. =
I, for one, was able to put my glass down, and beg off, as I was just =
getting over hepatitis. My poor husband was trapped....
So it isn't just the finger tip bit, and tweed jackets with elbow =
patches, and the Italian loafers! It is a vernissage that would have =
been fun with cheddar and coffee, kicked upstairs with wine and =
pretentious food, served with enough garniture to make you wonder =
whether the chef might not, in fact, be a rabbit....
And as to MDs. Yes. I do think that it is easier to say something =
vague rather than be honest. But I also think that when we repeat any =
euphemism enough its impact is the same as that of the real word; and =
vice versa--as we see now in common parlance--we become desensitized to =
high-impact words if they are heard enough. What on earth will people =
SAY when the F word no long zings or stings? When people now called =
a********* think it is a term of endearment?
However. NO artspeak, NO jargon....Best to all of you. May 2004 bring =
you joy and peace
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