Winning Words 2/21/12
“We all wear masks, metaphysically speaking.” (Dr. Arthur Neuman) Arthur is one of the characters in the movie, “The Mask.” Mardi Gras people wear masks for fun and to hide their identity. The Lone Ranger and Batman wore masks. In a sense, we all hide behind a mask. Only our closest associates have some idea of what we’re really like, but that’s OK. Too many people are judged only by their looks. ;-) Jack

FROM HS IN MICHIGAN: Ben Stein!////FROM JACK: I've never been able to figure out who he really is.

FROM HONEST JOHN: That the Lone Ranger wore a mask makes it totally acceptable....he was my idol as a kid!!! ////FROM JACK: The Lone Ranger also taught me to appreciate Rossini's William Tell Overture.

FROM EEC IN MICHIGAN: That made me think of the Twilight Zone. I especially like that Kick the Can episode. ////FROM JACK: That's a favorite of mine, too, because there's a lot of truth in it.

FROM LP IN PLYMOUTH: Chris and I laugh that Lois Lane cannot recognize Clark Kent as Superman because he's not wearing glasses. When we watched the Green Lantern recently, we laughed because his super-hero form is a green body suit with a little mask over his eyes. But this time it didn't fool the female lead. Perhaps sometimes we see what we want to see.////FROM JACK: Don't you know that Superman and The Green Hornet are fantasy characters? When we hide behind masks, are we fantasy characters, too?////LP RESPONSE: Really? I'm crushed! ;) Maybe it's a fantasy. Maybe it's what we hope is reality. Maybe it's us trying out something new. When I went to London a few years ago I bought a pair of knee high boots. They always seemed too sassy for my personality but I wanted to be someone who could pull it off. I "practiced" that fantasy persona in a place where few folks knew me. I'm now a boots person and this year I added a black pair for those days when brown doesn't work.

FROM RG IN ARIZONA: I've long been interested in the masks we wear and why. From whom do we hide? How did we ever conclude that we need to hide in the first place? Vulnerability is an interesting phenomenon, and one that concerns us so intensely that we create the fantasy of safety --- but even behind the mask, we remain vulnerable. It requires no courage to pretend, like an actor, to be something else. The true courage is in being oneself! God bless each one of us as we truly are! ////FROM JACK: There's truth in what you say, but don't forget, masks are also used for fun. Isn't it possible that we put on our masks for fun, because we enjoy keeping people guessing?

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: Don't forget The Shadow. Interesting how many "Good Guys' hide behind masks. Hmmmm....////FROM JACK: Gamaliel Ratsey was a notorious bandit whose exploits amazed England in the 16th century. He always wore a hobgoblin mask which he made as hideous as possible so as to frighten his victims.////PLAIN FOLKS AGAIN: He surely did that. I wore a mask once... in the Tear Gas Training Shed at Paris Island. We all looked alike, right down to our "skivies."

FROM BLAZING OAKS: This quote is spot-on! We certainly are much more private than our outward persona indicates! Perhaps as we mature, we are more able to drop the mask. (?) On looks: Gore Vidal says:"A Narcissist is someone better-looking than you are." Oops! I love that saying (Which I have framed with appropriate graphics,) "Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves, for we shall never cease to be amused." Or as Dame Edna Everage said:"never Be afraid to laugh at yourself; after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century!" I have lived some very funny "Marilyn" stories that not only regale my friends and family, but keep the mask from being too firmly intrenched! HA!////FROM JACK: That Vidal quote is a good one, and I'm saving it for future use. My favorite Marilyn story is the one about being stopped for speeding in the morning and not being properly dressed.

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: I can't exactly figure out why, when I was a young woman, I wore that make-up and now that I'm an older woman, have dispensed with make-up altogether. Maybe it's because, the closer I get to the final curtain, the less I want to imagine/pretend I'm different than I really am. Wonder if the undertaker will put make-up on me again. Maybe more confidence has to do with it.////FROM JACK: Depending on what the undertaker does, the viewers will say, "Doesn't she look good?" or "Something's different about her." Oh, well, at that point, it doesn't matter, does it?

FROM PRAW IN ILLINOIS: This was the theme of the class on theatre that I just took in fall.////FROM JACK: I like the happy and sad masks that are used by theater people. Some people are so identified by their roles that they have a hard time being themselves. They call it type-casting.

FROM PEPPERMINT MARY: Masks are oh-so-fun as long as we know who we are in our heart underneath! ////FROM JACK: Are masks allowed in your pre-school? I seem to recall that someone wrote that it was teaching children something bad. I can't remember what the bad was.