I claim partial credit. This formulation is all mine, but it's inspired by two things I've read elsewhere.
In Elegance, Bruce Boyer makes the point about wearing your dinner jacket like pajamas and vice versa. I think he may have been either describing or quoting Fred Astaire.
I think it's in Mauer's The Big Con (though it could have been in Jim Thompson or James Ellroy) that I read a con artist saying, “Treat a charwoman like a lady and a lady like a charwoman.”
But the bit about the pocket handkerchief is all mine. I grew up fighting terrible allergies and thus had the habit of carrying a supply of tissues with me everywhere. When I moved to more congenial climates and discovered that I no longer needed to be quite so well-prepared to sneeze, I switched to the more gracious handkerchief.
It turns out to be very handy to have in your pocket, not least because of the effect it has on dishy women when you say, “Go ahead and keep it, I have a million of them.”
Or to quote Hagakure, by way of Ghost Dog:
ReplyDelete"Matters of great concern should be treated lightly. Matters of small concern should be treated seriously."
You've got #7 down pat!
ReplyDelete:)
Love, Mom
Whoa, did you make that up?
ReplyDeleteYou're my hero, handsome ... again!
(edit: dratted thing saved the wrong settings!)
I claim partial credit. This formulation is all mine, but it's inspired by two things I've read elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIn Elegance, Bruce Boyer makes the point about wearing your dinner jacket like pajamas and vice versa. I think he may have been either describing or quoting Fred Astaire.
I think it's in Mauer's The Big Con (though it could have been in Jim Thompson or James Ellroy) that I read a con artist saying, “Treat a charwoman like a lady and a lady like a charwoman.”
But the bit about the pocket handkerchief is all mine. I grew up fighting terrible allergies and thus had the habit of carrying a supply of tissues with me everywhere. When I moved to more congenial climates and discovered that I no longer needed to be quite so well-prepared to sneeze, I switched to the more gracious handkerchief.
It turns out to be very handy to have in your pocket, not least because of the effect it has on dishy women when you say, “Go ahead and keep it, I have a million of them.”
The pocket hanky is a butch must have. You really have to borrow "Butch is a Noun" by Bear Bergson.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I expecially enjoyed the one related to women. It is so true and never respected. Good night and good luck.
ReplyDelete