What "you look great" really means

Went to my old hairdresser today. I have abandoned him because he charges waaaaaaaaaaaay too much for my short short-hair cut. I have been going to First Choice for an $11 special for the past three years. The only reason I can manage with the sh-t haircuts one gets there is that I keep it so short I can personally manage each and every stand with precision, spray, gel and dogged determination to camoflage a very bad haircut. Anyway, we are going to Vancouver and I wanted a proper cut. So, back to Dan I loped, hat in hand. (Why is it that we feel guilty about abandoning our hairdressers?) Anyway, I had told Dan a few years ago I was going to go for the $11 deal because I swim every day and need a 'no-hair' hair cut. He was very sweet and agreed totally -- in spite of the fact that I had been going to him for 20 years. Yes, he knows every secret of my life, yes he has seen me very thin, yes he has seen me fat, yes he has seen me working, yes he has seen me retired, yes he has seen me dealing with my children and step-children, yes he has seen me coping with all my bosses.............and yes he has tried to duplicate every stupid hairdo I have presented him with -- including pictures of 20-year-olds I thought I could look like. Ha! The guy is a saint.

Today I arrived and he greeted me with a huge hug and the news that it had been exactly one year to the day since I had been to see him! Yes, I remember, I wanted a proper hair cut last Thanksgiving before we visited Susanne in Vancouver. Here's the deal: when I walked in, he rushed over and gushed! "You look great!" But what that really means is..."For an old bag it's great to see that you have actually put on makeup and dressed up a little. And you have even tried to harmonize your outfit, earrings, shoes, etc..........never mind that you're fat, you're still hanging in there!" That's what "You look great" really means. You don't really look great. You look "great" in comparison to the many women who stay in their pyjamas all day.

Something to ponder. (By the way, I love my hair cut; he is a genius.)