Looking mahvelous

During the 1984-1985 season, comedian/actor Billy Crystal starred in a recurring skit on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in which he hosted a talk show called “Fernando’s Hideaway.” The skit was a parody of Fernando Lamas, a fairly well known Argentine-American actor and director. “Fernando” would interview various celebrities, each of whom he would tell that they “look mahvelous.” The interviews would frequently end with what became an oft quoted line, “it is better to look good than to feel good and you look mahvelous!”

Until reading about this today, more than thirty years later, I had never realized that “Fernando's Hideaway” was entirely improvised; neither the famous guests nor the writers knew what Mr. Crystal would ask during the interviews. Mostly, he just tried to make everyone laugh, which was, after all, the main goal of Saturday Night Live!

I was reminded of that great line yesterday when someone said something to me that I seem to hear fairly frequently lately, “you look terrific.” This is not a line I ever heard before the past couple of years, and I am still not quite sure what to make of it.

I have never spent a lot of time fretting about my less than stellar physique. In high school, my mother assured me that the smart boys would want to marry a smart girl, and at least I had modest academic success. During most of my adult life (before cancer) I was somewhat overweight. I do not wear makeup, and have never been a fashion trendsetter. So it is a bit unnerving to have people comment on my looks.

The other piece of this that is puzzling perhaps provides a light in which to interpret these compliments. In movies and on television shows, a good way to communicate the idea that a character is at death’s door is to stick a nasal cannula on him or her. That may well be how people react to this in real life. Perhaps those folks who feel compelled to assure me that I look “terrific” are simply expressing encouragement that they do not see the end as anywhere near. And with more than twenty years of smachot (happy occasions) ahead, I do hope their optimism is well founded.

Meanwhile, I am grateful for a house with central air conditioning. This extreme heat makes breathing difficult for everyone!

Love,

Rebecca