Amy Walter. Adorable.
One encounters over the course of one’s life a limited number of people of whom it might be said that they are adorable. Not beautiful, although beautiful they may be. Not sexy, although that too is possible. People you are drawn to without being sexually attracted to. People at whom you cannot not look. People who do not fail to make you smile, who are the human equivalent of puppies. You know — adorable people.
Here are some of the people I find adorable, in no particular order:
- Ellen Degeneres
- Ellen Page
- Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report
- Michelle Williams
- Seth Myers
- Trevor Noah
- And yes, Canada’s new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
Matthew from Downtown Abbey. Too adorable to die.
Jian Ghomeshi was adorable until he wasn’t and Dan Stevens, the actor who played Matthew on Downtown Abbey, is so adorable that, after they pulled the plug on his character, I didn’t have the heart to watch another season. “I can’t believe they killed Matthew!” I lamented on Facebook, garnering this chilly response from my brother Peter: “Thanks for the spoiler. I’m still in Season 2.” My sister Pamela shared my distress: “What is the point of Downtown Abbey if there’s no Matthew?” she wondered.
Exactly.
During the recent Canadian federal election, my friend Andrea worked with a woman assigned the task of driving Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau between speaking engagements. It was warm outside and, having sweated through his shirt at the first engagement, he was obliged to change into a fresh one in the back seat of her car.
“It was the greatest moment of my life!” she remembers.
“Handsome Canadian Prime Minister greets adorable Syrian refugees.” Damn straight!
Recently Justin Trudeau was on hand to personally greet the first plane full of Syrian refugees coming to Canada. Slate’s headlined its Facebook post on the event this way: “Handsome Canadian Prime Minister greets adorable Syrian refugees.” A great photo op? Of course. Grandstanding? Grand gesture is more like it. And why not? In this sad, sorry world of ours, with so many of our neighbours to the South and not a few grumpy old Canadians roiling in xenophobia and entitlement, there’s no such thing as too much adorable.
Syrian refugees take selfies with the Prime Minister. Adorable.
Melissa Hardy 