Pedicure, the ultimate stress reliever

The Flirtation. Eugene de Blaas

When the unending distressing daily news gets to you, keep calm… and book a pedicure. It will soothe your soul… and your soles. Pedicures, you should know, are the ultimate stress reliever. I can vouch for it. I have done it many times… no later than this morning.

“According to many sources, the history of pedicures goes back 4000 years to the civilizations of Babylon, China, and Egypt and it was then that this practice of looking after one’s feet started.”

 I am pretty sure that (after her camel milk bath) Cleopatra insisted on a pedicure, and what was satisfying to Cleo, will certainly be pleasing to all of us.

When I was young and stupid, I would do the job myself, but it was never as satisfying as having somebody else do it for you. Now that I am wiser (and not as flexible as when I was stupid) I go to a local “nail salon” to have my toes pampered.

And it is done extremely well… mainly by Vietnamese women. They do a thorough job, soaking, cutting, sanding, oiling, and massaging your extremities. But they labor without ever uttering a word, which can be a little disconcerting… especially to a Frenchman. We Latins are born to talk and to kid.

So, to break the monotony of the procedure, I engaged my toe specialist with an innocuous question. She answered with an accented, thin voice, without looking at me. Since my hearing is not perfect anymore and since she was wearing a mask, I didn’t comprehend a single word of her answer. But being a diplomat, I smiled politely and nodded my head in a positive manner.

This was the extent of our conversation. When dealing with a woman, a Frenchman will almost always try to make her laugh. How can you remain indifferent when a man tries so hard to charm you? In French, this badinage is called “conter fleurette » or flirting, as the English-speaking folks would say.

But this time, my legendary charm did not seem to work. My pedicure lady remained as silent and unmoved as the Egyptian Sphinx.

Oh well, win some, lose some. But most important my toes are happy. At the end of the procedure, they bowed and wiggled approvingly. And when your toes are happy, it takes a lot of weight off your feet… and your mind.

If you are stressed, get a pedicure. Tell them Alain sent you.

Alain