Aboutthetimeyoufindyourselfembarkingonacareerofteasandweddingsyoualsobegintofindyourselfworryingabouttheappearanceofyourhands。Upuntilnowthehandshavegivenyounogreatconcernonewayortheother，butsomedayyouwaketotherealizationthatyouneedtobemanicured。Onceyoucatchthatdiseasethereisnohopeforyou。Therearewaysofcuringyouofalmostanyhabitexceptmanicuring。Yougetsothatyouaren\'tsatisfiedunlessyournailsrundownaboutaquarterofaninchfurtherthannailswereoriginallyintendedtorun，andunlesstheyglitterfreelyyoufeelstrangelydistraughtincompany。
Inasmuchasnomalecreature\'sfingernailswillglitterwiththedesireddegreeofbrilliancyformorethantwenty—fourshortandfleetinghoursafteratreatmentyoufindyourselfconstantlyintheactofeitherjustgettingamanicureorjustgettingoverone。
Itisanexpensivehabit，too;ittakestimeandittakesmoney。
There\'sthefixedchargeformanicuringinthefirstplaceandthenthere\'sthetip。Oncetherewasamanicureladywhowouldn\'ttakeatip，butsheisnownomore。Herindignantsistersstabbedhertodeathwithhatpinsandnail—files。Manicuringasapublicprofessionisacomparativelyrecentdevelopmentofourcivilization。Thefathersoftherepublicandthefoundersoftheconstitution，whichwasfoundedfirstandhasbeenfounderingeversinceifyoucanbelievewhatalotofpeopleinCongresssay——theyknewnothingofmanicuring。Speakingbyandlarge，theyonlygottheirthumbswetwhendoingoneofthreethings——takingabath，goinginswimmingorturningapageinabook。WashingtonprobablywasnevermanicurednorJeffersonnorFranklin;it\'sacinchthatDanielBooneandIsraelPutnamandGeorgeRogersClarkweren\'tandyetitisgenerallyconcededthattheygotalongfairlywellwithoutit。Butasthecampaignoratorsareforeverpointingoutfromthehustlersandtheforum，thisisanagecallingforchangeandadvancement。Andmanicuringisoneoftheadvancementsthatlikewisecallsforthechange——forfiftycentsinchangeanyhowandmoreifyouareinclinedtobegenerouswiththetip。
Shallyoueverforgetyourfirstmanicure？Theshan\'tsareunanimouslyinthemajority。Itseemsaneasythingtowalkintoamanicureparlororabarbershopandshoveyourhandsacrossalittletabletoastrangeyoungwomanandtellhertogoaheadandshine\'emupabit——thewayyouhearoldveteranmanicureessayingit。Itseemseasy，Isay，andlookseasy;butitisn\'taseasyasitseems。Untilyougethardened，itrequirescourageofaveryhighorder。You，theabashednovice，seeothermensittinginthefrontwindowofthemanicureshopjustasdebonairandcozyasthoughthey\'dbeenbornandraisedthere，swappingthereadyreparteeofthedaywithdashingcreaturesofafrequentlyblondeaspect，andyouimaginetheyhavealwaysdoneso。Youlittleknowthatthesepersonswhoarenowappearingsomuchathomeandwhocansnapoutthosebright，wittythingslike\"IgotcherSteve，\"