Monday, December 04, 2006

You are sooo good lookin'

I just sneezed and someone yelled "bless you"...from the other room.

I don't do the "bless you" thing, and I certainly don't do it from a distance. Those who do say it, however, mean business. They quite literally come running in from other rooms just to deliver these two words of empathetic acknowledgement. Countless superstitions ground this widespread but generally unquestioned practice, but I don't think people say "bless you" to ward off bad spirits or condemn disease anymore. It's an obligatory response, one is that is so ingrained in people, so utterly habitual, that they force the issue, even interrupting existing conversations to say it. The dead air following a sneeze makes other people uncomfortable; they must say it, at all costs, lest they be perceived as impolite. Like most standardized sayings and knee-jerk responses, "bless you" has no real substance.

Maybe we should follow Seinfeld's lead; I'd rather be good looking than blessed, anyway.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey-I got the damn endorsement, finally :-)

Now I am certified in BA, CD, RX, and SM. Should we make up words to go with the acronymns??

Emailed ya and forgot to ask "What is your definition of hope?"

11:44 PM  
Blogger Pj said...

Hope:

Anticipation without fear. The beginning of everything important.

5:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did you look that up in a dictionary?? Of course mine was longer.

Emailed you thoughts on my b-day..and also finally hooked up the speakers to my computer, so I can enjoy the band's music.

Forgot to tell you FL gave me a PROFESSIONAL teaching cert....pretty cool, huh? MI I still have to teach 2 years.

This year's vows I have made to myself - read them in the email :-)

And where has your brain been, on vaca??

Have fun tomorrow with the interview...
PEACE OUT

1:30 AM  

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