REFLECTIONS FROM THE REARVIEW
  • Home
  • Hello and Welcome
  • Blog
  • Random Gatherings
  • My Book
  • FAQ

Genetic Lottery

11/24/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
I was in a retail store yesterday, when Elton John’s Candle in the Wind came over the speakers. As I listened to the piano cascade over the familiar riffs, I thought about how the song had been repurposed for Princess Diana’s funeral, with different lyrics. It made me drift back twenty-some years ago driving the car when the news came on the radio about her death. It’s really odd that I should remember that, just as people say they recall where they were when 9-11 went down, or if you are older, when John Lennon was shot, or when Elvis died. It’s a select club… those who are remembered as opposed to the very many who are forgotten. There’s a particular dynamic in the case of Diana, she was famous for being ever before the cameras, both when she liked it and when she did not. The cameras plagued her up to her death-by-papparazi… and yet she remains almost untarnished in memory. I don’t think I have ever heard anybody speak ill of the princess. She was for a lot of people, the Disney Cinderella come to life. Born in relative obscurity, noticed by a royal, and then ever before the world as if on a stage. 

Why? It wasn’t the rags to riches story really. It’s because Princess Diana was beautiful. Full stop. 

You likely accept this without a second thought. But let me pose you this. Mother Theresa died a week later. Despite her efforts to make the world a better place by serving the poorest of the poor, her death went almost unnoticed because the world was already overwrought with Diana. She dominated the news cycle. Mother Theresa was buried with barely a mention by comparison. 

Far be it that I speak ill of the dead, or pretend to judge just who is worthy and who is not, but the stark contrast between the two women illustrates the power of beauty. It buys you a ticket few can beg borrow or steal in a lifetime, what some call the lucky genetics club. For those who find themselves there, it is a place that is held effortlessly, and yet does not seek to justify itself. I can remember reading a magazine article about Jessica Alba, asked about her beauty regimen. She had a few tips, but basically she did not have to do much but sit around and be beautiful while the whole world swooned in admiration. No particular diet, no particular exercise routine, just natural beauty walking on two legs. It’s the stuff of royalty, where beauty can buy you a place among the rich and famous. If you doubt that just drum up a few names of people famous for really not very much. Kylie Jenner, Paris Hilton, or Emily Ratajkowski. It also makes me think of the much repeated story of supermodels and famous actresses. Evangeline Lilly was simply walking down a street in Banff, Alberta when somebody noticed her, offered her an acting gig, and the rest is history. She didn’t really have to work for it, for all those aspiring models who put in the ground work of getting an agent, paying for portfolio shots, and beating the drum to be noticed by the right people. 

Depending on your particular sense of fairness and justice, it could be maddening. Beauty wins the day, and does not really have to dish up much in return, except for simply being, and being seen. 

Because I am a guy, and grew up among guys discussing girls and their merits, I know that a lot of men will go out with a “crazy but hot” girl and consider it worth the pain and punishment. Meanwhile, a lot of “but she’s got a great personality” girls, will get passed by. This allows for some levity. In every guy group, there is one who is not really particular. For that guy, it’s all neutral. If it has two legs and walks, it’s a “fox”. Comedy ensues. Some men will even swear by “ugly women” because they make very worthy girlfriends, considering themselves lucky to get the attention. 

Is this fair? Not at all. And yet I think few would deny that it is true. It makes me think of a particular project manager who would come to the art department to beg special favours for her client. Put her at the front of the list. Just do her job first. She wouldn’t have to ask very hard because all the guys in the art department were in love with her and would knock each other out of the way trying to be the one who could serve her particular need. And yet none of us really noticed until one woman in the department looked disgusted one day as the scene replayed itself, and pronounced us all idiots. 

Yes we were fools. Fools for love. It may be what makes the world go around, because beauty makes people in general and men in particular pay attention. We don’t even care if the woman is very high maintenance. We don’t even care that beauty will no doubt fade over time. We just fall in line and do what me must do. Yes, beauty is a free ticket and there is little justice in it, no doubt. 

It even gives way to some awkward truths. It’s that song they sing in bars, once everyone has had a few, and potential romantic partners suddenly begin to look just a bit better. It’s the 1963  “Ugly Girl Song” by Jimmy Soul, which I will take the liberty to quote. 
​
“If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife
From my personal point of view get an ugly girl to marry you…”

​Whether it’s good advice I don’t know. I also married a beautiful girl.

​Gazing at her picture was enough to sustain me over a two year long distance relationship. She can be high maintenance at times. Am I an idiot? I don’t know. I may have followed the herd on that one. I may have followed instinct. I could laugh and just say that in nature the laws of genetics are such that the best genes are the ones most likely of being passesd on. It’s true. All three of my girls are beautiful. They effortlessly take their place among the select, those ones who will be chased and noticed throughout life. I also can’t take credit for that, it’s the lotto of the gene pool. Aren’t they beautiful? It’s positively unfair. ​
0 Comments

    UNCOMMON
    ​THOUGHTS

    ...about common things. 
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Accidental Story
    Activist
    Adjusting The Recipe
    Adult Admission
    A Flannery O'Connor Moment
    After The Tiger
    A High Christology
    A Little Bit Redneck
    All About Widgets
    Allah Wallahi
    Al Low Vs The Man
    All Saints
    A Long List Of Thank Yous
    Amazing Grace
    A Month Of Sundays
    An Offer You Can’t Refuse
    Antique
    A Pile Of Wood And A Plan
    Are We There Yet?
    Artifact
    At Hand
    Attending To Beauty
    At War
    Bad-Ass Outlaw
    Bad Faith
    Badlands
    Baked Boiled Or Fried?
    Balcony Lady
    Beautiful By Design
    Beauty For Ashes
    Being Human
    Belial
    Beneficence
    Beware Of Men Who Cry
    Big Buts Of The Bible
    Blessed Are The Pew Warmers
    Bound For Beauty
    British Invasion
    Bronte Oak
    Bucket List
    But If Not
    But Is It Sandable
    But Is It True?
    Buyer Beware
    Camp Of The Unknown God
    Carlton The Delivery Man
    Chaos
    Cherry Top
    Class Monitors And Safety Patrols
    Clothing Optional
    Cloud Of Witnesses
    Contra Mundum
    Couldn't Not
    Counting The Cost
    Covid Cut
    Creed
    Crucified Man
    Dangerous
    Dangerous Chemicals Of My Youth
    Dieu Et Mon Droit
    Different Drum
    Distressed
    Doing The Lord's Work
    Do It Yourself
    Do-Over
    Do Something!
    Dreaming And Doing
    Edifice
    Egging Armour Hill
    Even As I Am Known
    Even Me
    Even Stranger Things
    Fallow Season
    Family Bible
    Family Business
    Fellowship Of The Brush
    Field Of Faith
    First World Chair
    Fit As You Go
    Fixing The Machine
    Flawed People
    Flock Of Angels
    Follow The Money
    For A Time Such As This
    Fortissimo!
    French Horn
    From A Distance
    Frozen Man
    Funny Words
    Genetic Lottery
    Gifting
    Global
    Good Bones
    Good God Almighty
    Good Government
    Good Luck Skippy
    Gott Mit Uns
    Greatest Is Love
    Gross Anatomy
    Grunt
    Haka!
    Hammer And Tong
    Hands And Eyes
    Happy Rooster
    Hearing Voices
    Hello My Juan
    Helping God Show Off
    Hidden In The Secret Place
    High Dudgeon
    History Bites
    Hockey Tape And Rubber Bands
    Holy Disorder
    Home Economics
    I AM
    I Cannot Help You
    I Could Be Wrong
    I Dare You
    Idiots
    If You Build It
    If You Get There Before I Do
    Im Khalil
    Impossibly Cute
    In A Strange Land
    Incarnation
    Influencer
    In My Own Time
    Inner FIfteen Year Old
    In The Details
    In The Usual Manner
    Invader
    Judge Not
    Just A Few Words
    Justice
    Just In Our Own Time
    Just Like God
    Keep Calm And...
    Keeper
    Keeping House
    Keeping On Keeping On
    KJV
    Knock Yourself Out
    Kumbaya
    Kybo
    Lamentations
    Lemonade
    Less Is More
    Let Me Count The Ways
    Let's Go RIde A BIke
    Linked In
    Little Boxes
    Liturgy
    Lo And Behold
    Logos
    LOL
    Looking Back On The Forward Looking
    Looking For Some Real Good News
    Lord Jesus It’s A FIRE
    Lorem-ipsum-dolor
    Lost-and-found
    Luck Of The Stable
    Magical
    Make-a-baby-laugh
    Make It Nice
    Maker
    Maker’s Mark
    Ma-pitom
    Marbles-in-spring
    Measure Of A Man
    Memory Box
    Men In Loincloths
    Men's Barber Shop
    Middle Ground
    Middleman
    Mistakes All In
    Montreal Spice
    More
    Morse Code
    Mosh Pit
    My Neighbour
    Myth Of Sisyphus
    My Wife The Movie Star
    Name Calling
    Natural
    Neighbour
    New Day
    New Wine
    Next To Godliness
    Next Year Country
    No Fancy Diagram Needed
    No King But Caesar
    None Deserving
    North Of Ground Level
    Nothing Particularly Important
    Nothing Personal
    Not Waiting For Godot
    No Wonder
    Oak
    One Coffee At A Time
    One Smart Farmer
    One Thing
    On Richard Rohr
    On The Lam
    On Writing Clearly
    Ordinary Time
    Out Of Egypt
    Over And Again
    Paint Over That
    Paper Boy
    Particularity
    Particulate Matter
    Part Of The Tradition
    Pater Noster
    Patina
    Pelagian
    Perfect
    Perfect Crime
    Perfect Ride
    Philosemite
    Pilate's Dilemma
    Pinky Swear
    Place At The Table
    Playing Favourites
    Pop-a-corn!
    Potato War
    Preaching Parrot
    Predators
    Prince
    Print Shop
    Prisoner Of Jesus Christ
    Proof Text
    Psalm 1
    Psalm 19
    Put Away The Books
    Putting Up The Lights
    Reduce Reuse Recycle
    Restoration
    Rosemary And The Drug Dealers
    Sandwich
    Say My Name
    Scars
    Second Naiveté
    Seeing Red
    Seven Sixty-Five
    Shouting From The Areopagus
    Shrove-tuesday
    Silent-witness
    Small-c
    Small-graces
    Sore-afraid
    Squat
    Starting With What Is True
    Street Food
    Superstar
    Take-a-punch
    Takedown
    Talking-head
    Talking Your Parents Down From The Ledge
    Telling-the-story
    Thanksgiving
    The-best-for-last
    The Bliss Of Ignorance
    The Church Invisible
    Thecrossingking
    The Evil Day
    The-general
    The Great Mystery
    The-joys-of-hash
    Themysteryofthecheshirecat
    The-particularity-of-place
    The-quickening
    Therefore-choose-life
    The Table-ness Of A Table
    The Way
    Though One Be Raised From The Dead
    Thoughts On Sixty
    Three Jews And A Gentile
    Thrice Wise
    Throwing The Spaghetti Against The Wall
    Timeless
    Time Vs Time
    Tim Falladay
    Tims No More
    Tonto And Me
    Touching Stones
    Trevor’s Super Bad Day
    Trick Key
    Tubafore!
    Unbelievable
    Under A Bush? HELL NO!
    Uninvited
    Unspectacular
    Use Gently
    Watching Paint Dry
    Wayside Chapel
    Weaker Sex (?)
    We Stand On Guard For Thee
    We Were Waiting
    What Are You Prepared To DO?
    What Lazarus Knew
    When Cows Fly
    When Odd Becomes Interesting
    Why I Still Like Cowboys
    Witness
    Woke
    Wood Show
    Woodworking Lessons In Empathy
    Words
    Words... The Right Tool
    Worthy Adversary
    You And Me And Rob

    RSS Feed

Contact Us

    Subscribe Today!

Submit
Picture
  • Home
  • Hello and Welcome
  • Blog
  • Random Gatherings
  • My Book
  • FAQ