Don't Quote Me

England's Prince William has been visiting America. He became a prince just by being born, not by doing anything special. He was a regular embryo like any other, but when he went through the birth canal of the bona fide Princess of Wales, that did it, even though she had divorced the Prince of Wales and was fooling around with an Arab at the time of her death. William brought along his wife, Kate, who because she married him is now a princess. As far as I can tell, being a princess involves wearing fancy clothing and having lots of people take your picture and quote you even when you say little of value.

Fame is a strange thing. It requires almost nothing to become famous in some instances, and a lifetime of work in others. Either way, it usually brings fortune, which is why you often hear the terms "fame" and "fortune" uttered together. My problem is that I have never wanted fame but I would not mind having fortune. Indifference has kept me from achieving either and the clock is running out, so I have downgraded my goal to weighing 133 pounds, which was the number on the scale the day I got pregnant with my only child, 27 years ago.

Naturally I put on weight during my pregnancy, and eventually lost it all again, except for a little. Over the ensuing years that number--133-- took on great significance, representing my youth. This morning I weighed 134. Closing in on it as I am, I realized that I would rather reach my goal weight than be a 140-pound princess with fancy clothes and lots of people taking my picture.

My advanced age surely has something to do with this. Today's youth are so obsessed with fame, seeing it as a goal in itself, that it is likely a trait that has evolved in humans during this century.