Are You Keeping Up Appearances?

Do you know good old Hyacinth Bucket? ("That's Bouquet!") She is the star of our favorite show, Keeping Up Appearances. My husband and I love the British comedies broadcast on PBS on Saturday nights; this is something that we have shared together for a long time. When he was working on Saturday nights, I could not stand to watch them without him.

How much do you care what people think of you?

Hyacinth Bucket tries so hard to impress people that it is just hysterically funny. I, on the other hand, could not care less about such things anymore. When you hit rock bottom, like we did six years ago, there is no longer any pretense in your life. It is very liberating!

Just give me a break
It is also funny how I am no longer impressed by people who make grandiose attempts to impress me with their expensive stuff and social standing. I cannot emphasize sufficiently how little I care about social prominence.

I am so "done" with people who think they are superior to others. As Hyacinth says, I can't stand when people think they are superior to other people because it makes it so hard on those of us who really are! LOL!

There but for the Grace of God go I

There is only a fine line between most of us and the person that you see walking down the street without a car. There is not too much between you and being on the street with no home...I learned that the hard way. God has always taken care of us, but I have learned to stop looking down my snooty nose at people by spending some time on the lower end of the nostril looking up. I am thankful for that; I like me better now!

Satellite people
I am even more annoyed by people who think that their lives are so important that the mundane little details in their lives are paramount in importance to everyone else and their problems. I call them, "satellite people."

Satellite people always have excuses for why they act like they do and why you nor anybody else matters to them. Part of the problem may be that they do not understand that other people have serious issues to face in their lives, too. However, even if you told them, they would not listen unless you are talking about them. In other words, the only way to be part of their lives is to orbit around them like a satellite. Do they really think that they are the sun?

Would you like that in a beaker?
If you watch the show, you know that Hyacinth expects her neighbor, Elizabeth, to drop everything and come to coffee when she wants to impress her with something. Elizabeth literally does drop everything when she comes for coffee. She gets nervous, and shakes until she spills something or drops one of Hyacinth's precious Royal Dalton teacups. (With hand-painted periwinkles!) Hyacinth now always offers to give her coffee in a beaker, which is like a dainty British version of a coffee mug.

My new thing
I have started collecting Beakers. I have one in the photograph that I got totally free at the Goodwill today. They were giving away a free coffee mug with purchase. This one was made in London, and it is a fine bone china. Hyacinth would be proud.

So Much and so little
It is interesting that the people who care so much what people think, consequently care so little about the people themselves. It seems to be that one decreases in direct relationship to the increase of the other.

Hyacinth wants to impress the unassuming Elizabeth with her important relatives, expensive things, and social prominence. However, she really cares very little about Elizabeth. She never really hears what she says or asks her how she is doing, other than in a fake way. And, that, by the way, drives me the craziest!