"Pruney," "Petit Chou," and Other Loves

I was at the beach the first time I heard it... "He used to call me his 'mon petit chou,'" she mused, her unfixed eyes on the ocean, her white skin pinkening under the Caribbean sky.

The smooth roll of her meaningless French woke me from my sun-induced stupor. "He called you his WHAT?"

Ashley looked at me with an "oh come now" expression. "His little cabbage," she said with a smile.

Now maybe it's just me, but I for one have never found cabbage particularly romantic. Ashley explained that "my little cabbage," (or "my sweet little cabbage," if you're feeling especially amorous,) is a typical French love name... no different than "apple of my eye" here in the States. It still struck me as weird, but I liked it. (Who am I to judge, after all? Mom used to call me her "pumpkin pie." (Round and spicy, that's me!))

The vast variety of things appreciated by different people will always amaze me. Truly truly, beauty is COMPLETELY in the eye of the beholder. I love discovering how different we are in what we value...  For example, I have a gorgeous friend with a thin little body and a lot going on up top, (if you get my drift,) but she dated an "ass man," so she never felt quite appreciated for how she looks. (I still regard him as THE Ass Man, for reasons not entirely unrelated...) As for me, I'm a sucker for big noses. With very few exceptions, my friends and family find the men I'm attracted to "unfortunate looking" at best, and I deeply, sincerely, with all of my heart adore the most loathed of all pitted fruit: PRUNES! (Nature's candy. Can't get enough of the stuff.) Come to think of it, I've even called someone I love "my little sugar snap pea" more than a few times...

The point to all my rambling? I'm not really sure... but I do think it's neat how we're all so unique... that people have love for and attraction to people and things outside the "norm;" off the grid... beyond the universal... It's interesting to examine what we value, then ponder just why it does so much for us. (Amazing what a little cabbage will do for you.)