Male Pattern Boldness

May 04, 2006

Have you seen the movie, "March of the Penguins," the documentary of the love and the anguish of the penguin way? They choose a mate for life, but how do they decide? Is it wealth? They have none. Looks? They're all the same. Leadership? None stands out above the others. Proximity? They waddle right past one to a seemingly same other on the far side of the penguin pack. What exactly are the females looking for? Size of the feet? Which penguin male can best cradle an egg on its toes? Or maybe it's the voice, since after a harsh winter's separation, that's how couples distinguish each other from the crowd.

A pair of young male Mormons greeted me on the sidewalk the other day. They were new to Duvall –"small town, real life" – having emigrated from Utah, a dry place where moss does not corrupt, four days ago. Both were wearing white shirts and black pants. One was concerned that he had cow manure on his black shoes since they had been shoveling in missionary service earlier that day. One was from Penguich, a fact he liked to tell because it was fun to say its name. One was named Elder Young and the other, Elder Jones, Jr.

I congratulated them on already finding one of our main attractions, the cow. As a welcoming gesture, I pointed out a good walking trail built along an old railroad bed. The trail leads to downtown Duvall, and I invited them to drop by our church's community space there. It's like a Starbucks without the Starbucks, though we will be getting a Starbucks soon. They didn't think they'd been to downtown Duvall yet, but I suspect that they might have seen it from their apartment window. I told them also of attractions in the neighboring town of Woodinville, like Target, a movie theater and Barnes and Noble. Come to think of it, I told them a pair of young Mormon males lives in that town in the apartment below my nephew's. Their names are Elder, too!

How coincidental that they both have the same unusual first name, these two "Elders" from Utah, rooming together, converged in Duvall. And two more in the next town. What are the odds of that happening? An older woman like myself notices these things.

It reminded me of my daughter's first roommate at college. No, they didn't have the same first name, but they were about the same size, they had the same long light brown tendrils of hair, and the same blue eyes. They both had wardrobes gleaned from thrift shops and were members of the same Celtic music group. Students sometimes mistook them for each other on campus. Even though one was from the East Coast and one was from the West Coast, one studied Slavic languages and the other Romance, their voices sounded alike.

"Allo!" they answered the phone. Boyfriends would call and get confused. I would dread calling my own child, because I couldn't be sure who answered the phone. How could I ask to speak with my daughter if I was already speaking to my daughter? A penguin mother could do better.

I asked the two young men if they had seen the movie about the life of those funny black and white birds? They could do a documentary of their own journey and call it March of the Penguichers.

Posted by cindy on May 4th 2006 at 05:45 PM

Comments
Even the second time through weeks later, you made me laugh at "a penguin mother could do better."
Posted by: john at June 25, 2006 04:43 PM