The Grotto Response

"How little they could know of me or I of them."

This is a quote from the narrator of the short story, The Grotto, by Robert Olen Butler and here's my response to it:

When she said that she was referring to the women in their burkas and how different she was from them.  Deep down inside I really don't think they were that  different from each other.  Obviously we'll never know how similar they were, all we do know was how different they were in appearances.

That encounter was similar to the one she had with the man in the grotto.  She was nervous about his motives at first and what his intentions were while he was staying there.  She was not seeing beyond their obvious differences and of how little they knew of each other.  It wasn't until after she was sitting there for a while did she really come around and actually get to know a little about him.  Once she started talking to him, I think she realized they weren't so different after all.  It was the fact that both of them could share the agony of losing their mothers that helped them bond for those few minutes.  Everyone has their own life's story.  Taking the time to find out who someone is, is something that will bring us closer to each other as human beings.

After I read this it it kind of reminded me of the last Chapel we had.  The speaker was talking about how half way around the world there is someone out there who is just like you.  That's almost exactly like what happened in this story.  Clara had travelled from Alabama to Egypt and some how wound up in this grotto where there was another person who was like her.  He had gone through the same things she had.  It all goes back to that quote.  How little these strangers knew of each other......yet somehow they still were human enough to get to know a little about each other and bond.

Gardenia body oil

I know that my silky gardenia scented body oil is unsurpassed by all other brands.  I have tried hundreds of scented body liquids and all others feel insignificant to my premier lotion.  I have tried everything, baby powders, thick lotions, thin lotions, organic and homemade, scented, and body oils.  Every time I go to a department store with my dad and catch a glimpse of lotion, I can’t resist the temptation to experience the hidden powers under each cap.  I persuade him to buy me my coveted oils.  I’ve learned when and how to charm my mom into getting the new lotion  on sale. I am an aficionado when it comes to pampering oneself.  I anxiously finish my nightly hot shower, knowing that my heaven in a bottle, my gardenia body oil is waiting patiently for me.  I relish every moment I spend massaging it into my moistened skin.  When I apply that first drop, I feel like I am swimming in a sea of Chinese silk.  I’m instantly relaxed.  Of course the oil may feel sensational on my body, but the way it makes me feel inside is completely different.  I feel feminine and sexy.  I’m a confident new woman; I am gorgeous.  The silky smoothness of it, takes my mind out of reality.  I picture myself a confident model who has just been crowned Miss America.  There I am waving at the crowd, the most glamorous, beautiful female in the U.S.  I am on top of the world and wearing the extravagant beauty in a bottle makes me feel privileged.  How could anyone resist feeling this glamorous every night?