Thank God for Kentucky Boys:

So I step out of my front door this morning to the raucous noise of what can only be described as a group of truant teenage boys walking past me. For some reason said boys assumed they had the permission to begin calling me by such friendly terms as 'baby' and 'sweetie'. Now, I thought this was odd as they weren't my closest friends or family. The tallest of the bunch decided to continue practicing his cat-calling vocabulary with a few choice phrases to which I responded with a scowl and frown and some muttered expletives under my breath. They continued on their merry way as they obviously had nothing of value to attend to while I unlocked my bike. Needless to say, I was grumpy. I just do not understand how they felt it was acceptable to speak to me in this way. I do not, as a whole, understand the purpose of cat-calling. It steps outside my boundaries of comfort. And while it can be flattering, mostly it just makes you feel uncomfortable (it's not as if this has happened to me much, though it did also happen yesterday while I was biking...grrr) and self-conscious. So, just as I had lost all faith in mankind a voice frightened me from across my garden wall. It said "Louisville, Kentucky, right?" I looked up startled to find a young man looking inquisitively at me, and pointing at my sweatshirt. "Yeah," I said. "I'm from Kentucky," he said kindly "are you from Louisville?" "I am," I responded, my breathing returning to normal with each passing moment, "Where are you from?" " Oh, about a half hour from Ashland. Do you know where Ashland is?" "Of course, I've been through it several times." He smiled at my knowledge of Ashland and said "My Mom went to Medical School at U of L." "Great! Football season starts today, that's why I'm wearing my sweatshirt," I replied, placing my lock in the basket at the back of my bike. With a knowing glace he muttered "Well, their football team is way better than Kentucky's." And I smiled brightly, responding "Thank God for that." With that he wished me a great day and headed on his way. I imagine he was a Kentucky fan, but I can't be sure. And I know nothing more about him. But as I passed the same group of obnoxious boys on my bike a few minutes later their derogatory comments didn't phase me. Because you know what? Football season starts today, the world really is a lot smaller than we think, and the best boys in the world, the ones from Kentucky, exist over here too. Thank God for that.

Go Cards!
Elizabeth