Falling off the placemat
Posted by Pat Detmer on Dec 5th, 2007
My husband is a Rabbit.
I quote from the Chinese Zodiac placemat from our local restaurant:
"You are the kind of person that people like to be around: affectionate, obliging, always pleasant.†You have a tendency, though, to get too sentimental and seem superficial.† Being cautious and conservative, you are successful in business but would also make a good lawyer, diplomat, or actor."
It's true that he's affectionate and obliging. I've yet to meet anyone who hasn't loved The Sainted One, the deserving name that I've given to my better half. He's neither overly sentimental nor superficial. He is, however, a tad cautious - as one married to a Tiger should be, depending on the Tiger's mood, which according to the placemat can trend to testiness - and he's been very successful as a business person. So I can't quibble with the Chinese Zodiac when it comes to my husband's temperament.
But he's about to fall off the placement. The Rabbit sits in the upper-left hand corner of the Chinese Zodiac placemat at our local restaurant, and the most ancient year listed is 1939, the same year The Sainted One had his bottom slapped by a midwife in a shanty in the hills of southern Illinois. In another year or so, the restaurant services provider will decide that it's time to re-do the Chinese Zodiac placemats, and in a print shop somewhere, a prepress specialists will, with a few quick keystrokes, eliminate 1939 and add the most recent applicable year.
1950 - the year of my birth - looks placemat-safe for now, but I am vulnerable as well. This occurred to me the other day when I signed up for something online and clicked on the drop-down menu that was provided for Year of Birth. I had to scroll so long that I actually got a cramp in my hand before I found it.
Not a good Sign.
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