Lengthy pause for thought here, because Himself (despite the nickname) does not come from a long line of articulate persuasive people. He was the only son of doting, possessive parents, which in practical terms means they never corrected him and he never had to ask for anything, because they were so thrilled even to have had A Child, let alone one who got good grades and was mostly kind and even-tempered, and so he grew up to be a Caveman. A nice one, but a Caveman.
Plus I am always telling him not to speak with food in his mouth, which is a lot of the time, so even if he has had a random compliment or two to offer I probably didn't catch them as they were muffled - by some of the finest food on the face of the earth, true, but muffled.
and one day we were watching a tv program documenting the reunions of beloved folk groups of the 50s and 60s, and an elderly woman was being interviewed. She had flowing white hair, winged eyebrows, large round eyes, pointed chin… and just as I caught myself happily thinking that I would probably look like her in another few decades, Himself remarked "What a nice-looking woman, she must have been drop-dead stunning when she was younger."
So if he would only try not to put his fingers in his plate, he might be perfect.
