The Little Courtesies (Details)
citation: Collier's, June 15, 1949, 123(26):20-21, 62-64
alias: None
teaser: Why does a girl need a silk purse when she's married to an amiable sow's ear like Timberlake Ryan?
summary: While his wife Eve darns his shirt, Timberlake Ryan lies on the couch trying one ruse after another to get her to bring him a beer. This leads to a discussion about semantics, with Tim impersonating various objects, notably, a neon sign advertising beer. Annoyed, Eve asks Tim to get her a root beer.
When Tim returns with her drink, Eve notes Tim has not been paying
attention to the little courtesies; things that are a mark
of respect … the
natural courtesy of a man toward a woman … [letting other people]
know that her husband appreciates her.
Eve recounts how nicely actor Fredric March treated his wife when she saw the couple at Abercrombie's. Tim counters by making up a story that actress Katherine Hepburn complimented him when he did not pick up her dropped gloves.
Finished sewing, Eve asks what Tim wants to do with the
remainder of the evening. They debate going to a movie. To illustrate his
notion that historical movies have a certain recurring feature
about them that's fascinating,
Tim makes up a story of taking Eve to
the première of
a movie he has written.
As entertaining as Tim might have been, Eve is still annoyed with him. Tim
suspects Eve has been talking to some of her friends, and it turns out she
has: to Marge Vetter, whose husband, Walter, Tim describes as The
wonderful man who pops up and down like a piston every time the ladies, bless
them, leave or enter the room.
They play a friendly game of cassino, Tim eventually agreeing that he
had not been paying enough attention to the little husbandly
courtesies,
allowing them to retire happily, each having made their
point.
words: 5,353
genre: Timberlake Ryan, Slice-of-Life
similar: Manhattan Idyl, I'm Mad at You, Breakfast in Bed, Long-Distance Call, Week-End Genius, My Cigarette Loves Your Cigarette, One-Man Show, Sounds in the Night, Man of the Cocktail Hour, Tattletale Tape; You Haven't Changed a Bit, Sneak Preview, I Like It This Way, Husband at Home, Legal and Tender, Rainy Sunday, Expression of Love, Vive la Différence, Bedtime Story, Take One Rainy Night, Old Enough for Love, The Sunny Side of the Street, No Time for the Billiard Ballet
people: Timberlake Ryan, Eve Ryan, Frederic March, Katherine Hepburn, George V. Henderson, Marge Vetter, Walter Vetter
places: New York, NY: Lord & Taylor's, Abercrombie's, Saks; Springfield, IL; Chicago, IL
comments: Forthcoming