Why make hard choice if you can have both?

Maude McDaniel, Columnist

This afternoon I was driving west along Route 68 past LaVale, the sun was out, and the hills were the most beautiful I’ve ever seen them. It had snowed, but only enough to cover the ground. The trees were bare and black above the snow, and lines of them outlined every curve of every hilltop against the one behind it. Only at times like this can you make out the lay of the land in our incredibly beautiful countryside, and it made me turn all philosophical.

If this scene had no snow, it would be boring, and if it were all snow it would be boring. In other words, “either/or” would not invite a second glance. I’ve seen it all before. But, as it is, “both snow/and no snow” together offered a stunning view that I will never forget.

Perfect inspiration for a column, I realized later. A column about how so often we want to choose one thing above everything else as our universal favorite. Yet, so often, I find that “both/and” fit my taste better than “either/or.”

Like Israel and the Palestinians, for instance.

Or colors. Every personality test anyone ever came up with requires you to choose between red and blue, or yellow and green. Apparently whatever you end up with says something important about you.

Well, I think it says a lot more about us that we cannot appreciate ALL the colors, depending on our mood or need of the moment. Right now, I’m loving the color of snow, but I also love blue. I love red for the fun of it, and green for the color of nature which I also love, and yellow I love more and more as I get older, and even orange can be lovable at times.

Other test questions include “diamonds or pearls?” Both/and, of course. (What, you think I’m an idiot?) Favorite candy? All of them, naturally. Hugs or kisses? I’m not choosy, as long as it’s sincere.

And that old saying, “It’s not the heat it’s the humidity.” Oh come on, folks. Any summer I’ve ever lived in, it’s BOTH the heat AND the humidity! Then we have music. I admit, in this category I’m finding it harder to make my case, since I have a tendency to dislike hip-hop and hard rock immensely. The bump bump bump without any apparent melody or meaning that accompanies so many automobile commercials these days reminds me that I am not exactly in the mainstream on this issue. (As far as I am concerned, it makes me want NOT to buy that car.) And the fact that classical music (and I don’t mean classic rock) gets more or less left out of the public domain makes me take up for it perhaps even more strongly than I might otherwise.

Still, people are always asking about favorite songs, and I don’t have favorite songs. There’s music I like for church, music I like for romance, music I like for memories, music I like for eating by, and music I like for my own personal singing in all those categories — hey, there are loads of songs for every occasion. Why does it have to be “either/or?”

Favorite restaurants. Well, there may be a few that are a little lower on the list, but mostly I like them all. Anything reasonable with food will do, and the best ones are icing on the cake. Favorite trees? All of them.

Favorite flowers? Can’t think of one I don’t like.

Favorite TV shows? Not a whole lot of current ones, but notice, this still adds up to “both/and!”

Favorite room? Living room for living, dining room for dining, bed room for sleeping. Et cetera.

Favorite food? Oh, don’t let’s go there — definitely “both/and!”

Favorite number? Now there’s a dumb question! What’s the difference among any of them, except other numbers? Definitely a “both/and.”

Favorite art work? Depends on which one I’m looking at.

Favorite dog? Depends on which one’s my current pet.

Favorite secular historic monument? Depends on your favorite secular historic figure, many of whom I admire for one reason or another.

Favorite commercial? It’s easier to mention my least favorite one, which right now is the constant notice about Feb. 17 being the end of analog television as we know it, and the beginning of digital. For goodness sake, you’d think it was the Second Coming! Is there a person in the entire country who hasn’t heard about this by now? Give us a break! But I like lots of others, both Geico (the stack of money with eyes, not so much) and anything with dogs.

Favorite social phenomenon? Not store sales! Did you notice that Kohl’s opened its new store in Cumberland on October 1 with a ------ sale? Now there’s an original idea! You never hear about this happening nowadays, but I much prefer both sales at times, and non-sales at other times, instead of sales all the time. That way you might get a bargain once in a while, instead of fake discounts.

Salty or sweet? Salty when I’ve had lots of sweet, sweet when I’ve had lots of salty.

Favorite local columnist? That’s easy. Both the one to my west, and the one to his east today, plus all the others in this newspaper.

My favorite readers? Both you/and you.

Maude McDaniel is a Cumberland freelance writer. Her column appears on alternate Sundays in the Times-News.