I had to do errands and appointments this week, and at one check-in counter I found myself being served by a trainee with the team leader overlooking his activities. He was, of course, very pleasant and engaging. As he moved his right hand to take control of the computer mouse, my gaze was instantly riveted to it. As he brought up the other hand to begin typing, I made the same observation as I looked at both of them.
This man had the most beautifully executed hands of anybody I’ve seen in ages!
I immediately told him how wonderful his hands were, and he appreciated my compliments. Even though I tried not to stare, I was compelled to take in what made his presentation so attention-getting. By way of explanation, I told him I had never seen something so well done before.
He had oblong hands with long fingers suited for a pianist, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he were not a part-time hand model for some forward-thinking company. His arms, wrists and the hands themselves appeared flawless and clean, as one would expect. This gentleman also chose to have intricate tattoos running vertically down both hands, and elongated teardrop pointed nails applied. Still, the overall look did not elicit a single negative impression.
The first thing some people might think upon looking over this person would be that he was probably gay (his voice suggested it, too), which wouldn’t matter to me, and I wouldn’t judge or dare ask. The tattoos and nails, however, suggest that he doesn’t go to the local strip mall salon. The skin work must have taken hours of long labor and dedication from an artist with considerable skill, and the acrylics were sized and polished to exacting standards. This is somebody who would not accept anything less than the best, and it was obvious that, in choosing these modifications, he wanted to only put the best presentation out there for himself. I think the scrollwork was simple lines and in black. Like I said, I tried not to stare. I was in a spot where people checked in for things, and I couldn’t hold up the line by asking twenty questions.
The grey area between what is accepted or not in terms of body modifications is as varied as the things themselves. Henna gets applied to temporarily adorn new brides, prison inmates get all sorts of hidden messages applied permanently to their skin, and there are even medical grade versions of tattoos to restore likenesses of fingernails after joint amputations or nipples on reconstructed breasts lost to cancer, in 3D replicas. Normalcy is subject to interpretation, but after reviewing the brief experience this week, I’m guessing that I found the trainee to be admirable for the effort he put into the decorations improving upon what he already has.
I don’t do my nails. Once for my birthday, my mother gifted me a salon visit for a manicure and polish, but afterward I felt so self-conscious about them, I couldn’t hold a bowling ball without worrying about wrecking them. She said that was why she only kept hers short and used translucent colors. Also, if my nails grew over a quarter inch, I think I’d never by able to type, which would mean the end of my blog.
A woman on a social media video I saw recently had what looked like ten half-length emery boards tacked onto her fingers, and while she told her story, all I could see were those pink sticks waving about like short conductor’s batons. I don’t remember much of what she said for the misbegotten effort on the claws she wasted.
This doesn’t mean I can’t admire well-done jobs on people, and I did admire that man. I hope the trainee has great success as he learns his new job.
And that he doesn’t hit Enter and break a nail.
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