Driving up to get our mail yesterday, I noticed a large black man and woman sitting on the planter by the mailbox room door. The man had on a bandana, shiny sunglasses, earrings, and looked like a character. I parked, got out of the car and started towards them. They were in a good mood, laughing and talking, and the man said to me, "Nice culoutts. They look real nice."(refering to my rather loud Hawiian print skort.) I smiled, said thank you, and kept walking. I got my mail, and then, instead of passing right back in front of them I walked over to the building across the patio to look at a notice in the window. I was kind of hoping that they'd leave while I was there, but they didn't. I could overhear the man: "When my wife gets out of jail...culoutts...real nice...been in jail six years...culoutts..." As I finally went back to my car, he said, "Those culoutts are real nice, It's good to see a woman with a waistline.(I said thank you) What's your name?" As I looked at him, I thought, "I don't want this guy to know my name." So, off the top of my head I said, "Missy" and got into my car. As I started the engine I could hear him saying, "Missy...Missy...nice culoutts..."
So, like you may be, I spent the rest of the evening wondering why in the world I had chosen the name "Missy." I knew a girl in second grade named Missy. But why that one? Why not "Julie" or "Heather" or "Sophie" or whatever. It was kind of funny to see what I did in an on-the-spot situation. And I guess "Missy" is just the person who I'm not.
16 comments:
This is so hilarious, I laughed so hard I cried! Maybe you thought of Missie because you feel like a "little Missie" to the guy (ie. "Come here, little Missie!") - sort of a generic pretty girl.
Just one more testimony to the fact that it's funner to say culouts than actually wear them. Now the skort, on the otherhand, probably doesn't roll off the tongue as well as it makes itself known around town.
Funny story, thanks. I feel like I know that character.
Little Missie in a skort. I was actually imagining what the whole exchange would have sounded like with "skort" in it. And it wouldn't have rolled off the tongue in the same way for sure.
No doubt. It's all about the fluidity of the lingo. People generally say the words they like to hear. For instance, I like to hear the words "lingo" and "fluididty".
Every time I make a comment I have to prove that I'm a human by typing in a wavy code. Is that something new? Security?
Hello Heidi,
I used to work with Dave Shack which is how I got to be introduced to Grechen's and your blogs. So far you have a nice one going.
So is "culout" a commonly used term? Neither dictionary.com nor urbandictioary.com defines it.
Culout, (probably spelled differently) is not a commonly used word. I remember back in the 80's that women used to wear them; they are like wide long shorts that kind of have an "A" shape when you just stand there. Skorts are different because they look like skirts, but are shorts undernieth. I think the use of the word culouts is what was so funny to me at the time, since I haven't heard of them since I was a kid.
Nathan, about that irritating word type thing...I got three spam comments on one blog last week or so, so I turned on the word verification option. I'm sorry that it is more involved to comment. I'd rather not have it either, and I might turn it off at some point and see if more machines try to comment again.
Its been fun to have an outlet to tell this story. It's the kind of thing that would happen, and I'd forget all about it. Now we get to enjoy all the humor there.
culottes |ˈk(y)oŏˌläts; k(y)oōˈläts| plural noun women's knee-length trousers, cut with very full legs to resemble a skirt.
culottes
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: French, ‘breeches,’ diminutive of cul ‘rump,’ from Latin culus.
Culottes are also acceptable to those who think women should never wear slacks, so you see them a lot on conservative college campuses and, yep! on the missionfield. Butnot on me!
Thank you, Mom. I questioned my spelling, but haven't seen it in a long time either. And I mean thank you for leaving them somewhat unfamiliar to us. They are pretty funny,though.
Heidi, I can handle the security feature, it's easy enough to prove I have eyes.
I remember culotts on mom and a few others in the 80's. I gues they are also called 'goucho pants' and are officially back in style... ugg. I've seen a few hip individuals wearing them and lowering their hip stature in my eyes.
I just happened upon your blog while browsing randomly through blogspot using the "next page" feature.
I think it's quite ironic that you didn't want a friendly "large black man" who "looked like a character" to know your first name, and yet you broadcast your first and last name, as well as your hometown and photos of yourself on the Internet.
Of the tens of millions of people using the Internet, there are quite a few who look, talk and dress differently from you.
I guess I don't really have a solid point here except that I think your post is somewhat racist, and that the way you handle your personal information is foolish if you don't want strangers to know who you are.
Since you don't have the guts to identify yourself, I guess that is just as bad as me choosing a name different from my own to give to a person that I had never met, and who's name I didn't know either.
I wouldn't know what to do had a complete stranger regardless their skin color asked me what my name was. And given that he made that rather odd request after making a comment on your physique created a rather uncomfortable situation. I'd think as a woman, you run into situations like that a lot. Not something I can relate to. Nobody has ever complimented me on my waistline :). So I think you handled yourself pretty well.
In french and in circles in which french phrases are tossed about, the phrase "les sans culottes" is used to refer to "the unwashed masses" the illiterate or the peasantry. Literally it means "those without breeches," since the medieval peasantry tended to just wear long shirts and a rope belt.
So today wearing culottes might be making a statement, "I know how to read!"
I appreciated David Cho's comment because that really was the heart of the matter. Explaining that to an "anonymous someone" feels like defending something that isn't really worth dignifing with a response. It didn't matter to me what color his skin was...it was all about feeling like the prey. I didn't feel like I was in danger, but I did feel that the situation shouldn't be dragged out. Perhaps using the word "black" in my description was sort of a lightning rod, but my desire is to make my story imaginable. The more details, the more you all are there with me.
Heidi, you had every right not to give your name to some strange and nosey man. I would have been weirded out too no matter what color his skin was. Actually I have been creeped out by wierd obtrusive strangers with white, yellow, black, or other varying shades of skin.
Rock on sis
ps. I guess the word varification thing doesn't filter out ignorant rude comments by stangers....
Missy--the inner Heidi. How funny! I was laughing out loud, and I probly woke someone up. Those are cute "culoutts" though! See you soon
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