A Mermaid Or A Whale?

Every few days, I can expect to see a few random "forwarded" emails from a few of my friends.  Some are funny, some I forward on, and some I read and delete without a second thought.

Today, one of my friends sent me one that not only had me laughing, but also rang so true that I decided to forward it on, and am now blogging about it. 

It was titled "Do You Want to Be a Mermaid or a Whale?"

At first I thought "what the heck has she sent me now???", and reluctantly opened it, with my quivering finger already hovering over the delete button.  As I began to read, my finger settled, and I began to appreciate the words as they unfolded before me. 

Apparently, at a gym in Australia, a summer promotional poster could be seen in a window, displaying a young, thin, tan woman with the caption "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"  A middle-aged woman (looking nothing like the woman on the poster) wrote a letter, answering the question posed by the gym. 

She discussed the fact that whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans).  Whales have an active sex life, give birth to adorable baby whales, and get to play and swim in exotic seas around the world.  Whales are beautiful singers with virtually no predators (besides humans), and are loved, protected and admired by people around the world.

Mermaids, on the other hand, do not exist.  If they did exist, they would suffer from a chronic identity crisis - fish or human?  They don't have a sex life, because, well, where would anything go?  If they don't have a sex life, then they don't have children.  Additionally, they probably aren't too popular, because who wants to hang out with someone that smells like fish.

I realized, after reading this email, that she was absolutely right.  I'd rather enjoy having some ice cream on a hot summer evening, or enjoy a nice dinner without worrying about how many calories I'm consuming.  I'd rather have an active sex life and cute little whale babies.  I'd rather sing and be surrounded by friends (especially if the alternative is being alone because I smell like fish). 

Yes, all things in moderation, but in general, whales live a fuller, happier life, so I consider myself lucky to be a whale!