[discussing their daughter]
Eduardo Acuña: Maria is
going to wait until the right man comes along.
Mrs. Delfina
Acuña: Why should she? I didn't.
—You were never lovelier, 1942, William A. Seiter
LET ME TELL YA, once upon a time, I got invited to a party called “Singles &
Fabulous” in Miami Beach .
To a great extend, the word
“Single” is still considered one of the most frightened words, especially for
some women and in some parts of the world, albeit cities like New York, London,
Sao Paulo—single women are not advisable to go unless you are extremely
gorgeous—, Miami Beach—totally advisable since men think that all women are
models—Berlin, and probably Tel Aviv harbored the most beautiful single women
on Earth.
Another story lies on the
vocable “Fabulous,” which remains indefinable in terms of being absolutely
subjective. And it reminded me an e-mail I got in my mailbox several years ago
that apparently had been traveling around some forums.
The e-mail was about a lady
who introduced herself as a young—I think she was in her early twenties—single,
pretty, and most important, looking for a man with $500 K annual salary (or
above, of course) to get married with. In her e-mail, the hunting woman
complained that she had only dated $250 annual salary preys, and that
surprisingly she had met some women not so attractive as her married with men
that come with a $1M annual trophy. As she considered herself as a fabulous and
non-greedy woman—“a $1 M annual salary is considered middle class in New York ”, she remarked.
She ended up by asking for a top list of bars, restaurants, and gyms where she
would be able to meet those wealthy bachelors.
A Wall Street investor guy
replied her promptly with this opening: “Dear Ms. Pretty,” and explained her
how, even being a hypothetical prey, he estimated her offer a bad investment
for the following reason: The equilibrium of the old concept of exchanging
goods, here between money and beauty, would fail over time. From the viewpoint
of economics, he considered himself as an appreciation asset since his money
might increase from year to year, and considered her as a depreciation asset
(with an exponential depreciation) since her beauty would fade. Then, he
encouraged her to make $1 M annual salary on her own. Yet if she happened to be
interested in “leasing services,” she definitely must contact him.
First off, let me point out
that Ms. Pretty was honest—think that the odds a married woman will report she
got married for money are 1 in 100 1—. Plus, this lady
was certainly willing to invest some capital to get her prey. Not even want to
think, my Valued Readers, how much money cost the wrapping paper of a sweet:
Hairdresser’s, makeup, design clothes, creams, shoes, accessories, jewelery,
inter alia, but I think her shot was not accurate at all: she truly was (a
desperate) single, but seeing her begging statement, I frankly cast doubt on
“fabulous.”
After all, it’s good to
know that some wealthy people are not such fools. I can’t tell how many millionaire
divorces we see everyday in the tabloids. Perhaps someone should have taught
her some statistics lessons to meditate on. Or much better, show her that Pretty Woman is just a romantic movie. A good one,
though.
On the other hand, it is
true that if you have been traveling in third-class train car from home to work
daily and window shopping on weekends, and one day the private jet is awaiting
you for a Caribbean trip, and you are able to get dressed with an exclusive
design and get seated in the front row of Chanel Haute Couture any week day,
you might start loving wanting the trophy. There is so much hunger around2.
Let’s be sincere, my Dear Readers, it’s very difficult to separate the “surroundings”
from the being. It’s the whole package that counts.
So how do you find out if
you are truly in love with the man/woman?
Let’s make a deal: to sign a
written waiver where both parts relinquish the economic rights (and
obligations, of course) as a wife/husband now and forever.
And Howie Mandel asks: Deal
or No Deal?
Alas, my Gentle Friends, to
free ourselves even from the needs of our own ego is not an easy task: much
courage, self-esteem, and love are needed. The truth is, you must be really
Fabulous to propose and to accept the Deal.
Are you single plus
fabulous?
(1) Survey made in the US ,
2008.
(2) Expression coined by my mentor.
Copyright@2011. THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.
Copyright@2011. THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.