13 June 2008

Are We Talking Hairless Cat Ugly?



We were with friends in Frederick, MD a while back and we decided to stroll along the street and enjoy the shops. As we passed some outdoor brunchers, we noticed a stroller positioned with its grumpy baby facing us.

Friend: "That baby looks just like Winston Churchill!"

Baby's parents: *GLARE*

Friend's wife: "Shhhh!"

Friend, getting louder: "But he does! He looks just like Winston Churchill!!"

Baby's parents now *SHOOTING DAGGERS* while the rest of us drag our friend away.

In his defense, the baby did look just like Winston Churchill and not even Winston Churchill in a complimentary shot, like the one above. Not all babies look like Winston Churchill but this one sure did.

I share with you this true story, Gentle Reader, to get to today's question:

How ugly does a baby have to be before you can comment on it?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is hilarious! Well, even when I am initially shocked at a baby's ugliness, I am usually immediately won over by their innocence or curious disposition. Even an ugly baby becomes adorable in my eyes rather quickly. I am a total sucker for babies, so I have to say, there's probably no right time to comment on a baby's ugliness - but what a damn funny story this made!

urban bohemian said...

All babies look like Winston Churchill, fer realz yo. :-)

And so long as parents and any other interested parties are out of earshot? Anytime is the appropriate time. We snark on adults, why should children be exempt.

Rahul said...

So you're saying looking like Winston Churchill is not a compliment?

If you see a ugly baby you have every right to comment. We rip on Carrot top don't we?

Bilbo said...

Believe it or not, my father was a professional advertising illustrator many years ago when I was a child who looked exactly like Winston Churchill. Dad doctored one of his pictures of me to show a pudgy, scowling baby with a big cigar. His friends thought it was hilarious. In retrospect, it was...but I was torqued about it for a few years.

lacochran said...

CH: It was pretty dang funny when it happened.

Brian: Yeah, you raise a good point. The proximity thing is probably the key to not getting beat up by junior's daddy.

rs27: Now I have this image of Carrot Top in a stroller! Oh, god, the horror!

Bilbo: At least you didn't look like Carrot Top!

J.M. Tewkesbury said...

If you have to be a fugly baby, better to look like Churchill than, say, Hitler or Carrot Top or Genghis Kahn. I'm just sayin'...

That said, I've seen some ugly babies. My cousin has a couple. It was everything I could do to contain my horror and say, "Oh, what an adorable little boy."

lacochran said...

J.M.: It's hard when you have to try to hide shuddering.