I have to tell you a quick and cute little story. A couple years ago, the term bling was being used quite a bit in urban diction. But inevitably, most things that are used in the ghetto soon make it out to the pop culture which in turn makes its round to people of every type.
Years ago when Will Smith had his smash hit, “Gettin Jiggy With It”, it soon became used by everyone. It no longer was a hip hop term. It very quickly started being used by 50 year old white execs, when referring to going out for the night.
To the point, a couple years ago, I had an elderly white couple, probably in their nineties, come into my studio to get their portraits taken. Seconds before I began to snap the pictures, the elderly lady interrupted me and with out skipping a beat said with a typical shaky elderly woman’s voice, “Wait! Wait! Let me fix my bling! It was a gift from Harold (her husband) for our 70th anniversary.” She was referring to her huge diamond ring. I can’t explain how difficult it was to keep my composure. It was one of the funniest things that I’ve ever seen or heard. Perhaps I have a cheesy sense of humor, but that was truly hilarious. Fortunately, she couldn’t hear very well and so she didn’t hear my laughter.
Anyway, it just made me think about the fact that it is the tendency of younger people to take older people for granted or to not think much about them, but the truth is if we don’t die, we’re all headed that way. While it is comical, and while the body may age, that doesn’t mean that the mind ages as well. Anyway, it was a cute story, I figured that you would probably enjoy.
