…Just little pieces of things we read that are maybe just too beautiful not to share…
“But it was not only the warmth, the decorations, and the brightness, that made the cafe what it was. There is a deeper reason why the cafe was so precious to this town. And this deeper reason has to do with a certain pride that had not hitherto been known in these parts. To understand this new pride the cheapness of human life must be kept in mind. There were always plenty of people clustered around a mill–but it was seldom that every family had enough meal, garments, and fat back to go the rounds. Life could become one long dim scramble just to get the things needed to keep alive. And the confusing point is this: All useful things have a price, and are bought only with money, as that is the way the world is run. You know without having to reason about it the price of a bale of cotton, or a quart of molasses. But not value has been put on human life; it is given to use free and taken without being paid for. What is it worth? If you look around, at times the value may seem to be little or nothing at all. Often after you have sweated and tried and things are not better for you, ther comes a feeling deep down in the soul that you are not worth much.”
-Carson McCullers, the Ballad of the Sad Cafe
“This was how I learned that other people did not have two pee holes. It seemed to make sense to me. Two holes, two functions. Doesn’t everyone do that? Don’t we use common sense to explain the way our bodies work? . . .
But how had it remained a secret for two decades? Why the hell hadn’t any of my previous doctors mentioned anything to me? Why hadn’t any of my ex-girlfriends said anything? I worried about this for a little bit, but it’s hard to stay worried about anything when you’re excited. And boy, was I excited.
I called everyone I could think of, a huge grin on my face. I called my ex-girlfriends, who didn’t believe me. I suggested that perhaps they were not the attentive lovers they believed themselves to be! I had a mutant penis! Ha ha! I had a mutant penis, a freakish deformity.
I’ve certainly mortified every child and grandchild I might ever have. I hope, though, that as they grow and as they learn more and more about their bodies, that they learn to celebrate and revel in every deformity and aberration. I hope they can understand why I wasn’t embarrassed. This news made me as happy as halloween does. I felt a sudden and wonderful kinship with two headed goats and dark, sullen families of giants. “
Joey Comeau, co-author of A Softer World
