The Sauced Soothsayer of Calabasas

 

soothsayer - noun - person able to see the future (Google)

I believe that prophets, seers, soothsayers, philosophers–whatever term you might use to refer to them–are ubiquitous, yet not particularly obvious to the naked eye. Often they are disguised as ordinary, flawed people you might meet on the street. Often even they don't realize they have a gift until they speak in discernible tongues, and their words of wisdom wind up staying with you. 

Two weeks ago, my daughter, cousin and I found ourselves in Calabasas, California, a chic town in between L.A. and Ventura that gained fame as the home of television's Kardashians. At about 2 p.m., we were standing, chatting on the sidewalk of the Commons, an upscale, outdoor shopping mall, when a total stranger, admittedly tipsy, sauntered up to us and hijacked our conversation. Being from the New York area, I was quite taken aback as public assertive friendliness from unknowns or even plain garrulousness is rare in my neck of the woods; but my cousin, who has lived in CA for decades, didn't find the man's verbal audacity unusual at all. Easily, deftly, he stole the show, segueing from one topic to another, centering–of course–on himself and sundry, sometimes sexual misadventures. At one point, the man looked at my daughter and said, "Now you must be single." She barely nodded the affirmative when he said, "Well, when you find a man, the one thing he will require from you is respect. A man will never leave you if he feels you respect him." Later after we finally managed to sidestep the stranger, I thought that no greater truth could have been spoken from such an unanticipated source. 

It is no surprise that the U.S. has a high divorce rate because there is so little in the way of respect. Apparently, in Vietnam, couples marry for life simply as they remember to be civil to each other. No matter where you live, kindness and consideration don't have to fade as the years go on. If there is true love, complacency need not creep into the mix. 

Even though it was not directed at me, the advice of the Sauced Soothsayer of Calabasas might just stay with me forever, I think and hopefully, with you. No one wants to be left out in the cold because they, he, or she has forgotten to be decent to the one person they, he, or she claim to love the most, one's partner. 

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