Trina Machacek: Envy or jealousy?

The reflex to protect your eyes from the dazzling sun is strong. Just as strong is the desire you might have to see every inch of a full moon as it rises over a mountain in all its yellow glow. What is the strongest feeling?

Along the same lines, is it envy or jealousy that has a stronger attraction? The story goes like this. A friend from Southern California, yes by the ocean, smelly. She has a wonderful but almost one of the last small ranch/farm orange orchards and she is as unfiltered as I am.

She had what I would call a “pretty woman” moment when she went shopping recently. In her suit, she says she was wrongly labeled as a homeless person. It wasn’t like she went to Rodeo Drive. No, she needed parts for a bathroom.

She wore her denim pants and plaid shirt with a three-pocket apron and work boots every day that was older than me. The right pocket of the apron is reserved for lawnmowers, the central pocket for the cell phone and the left for clippings and rotten oranges.

The seller pooh-poohed her until she ordered parts worth over $500. Then the green-eyed stink eye showed up when it came to free oranges. It’s a gun, that’s for sure. If we’re lucky, we’ll all have a friend like that at some point.

Yes, I envy her too, and I think she also envies certain small parts of my existence. For different reasons. Jealousy will also get us into trouble. Jealousy is a good way to keep us, for lack of another word, in check and let our hearts take over our heads.

There really should be a course to teach envy and jealousy. It’s quite easy to mix them together. Besides jealousy is green and envy is blue, here are some observances of both.

Take for example the wonderful back fat! Yes, back fat. Not the back fat of juicy pork ribs. Dripping with sauce and… Well, you know. I mean, that’s right, human back fat that follows you everywhere and you never see it on you, but you ALWAYS see it on the lady in front of you in the buffet line.

Nice view, isn’t it? Even if it’s just a slight bump, you know this show. I’m so aware of it that I envy a woman in a sleeveless shirt in the summer. I have a certain sleeve length that I won’t wear too short.

A length that won’t allow my old lady to fly away, carrying me and my back to the confines of my stand. Yes, it’s envy. Not really jealousy. That happens later. There is also front fat. Luckily, until it’s thrown in your face, back fat can pretty much be ignored because it’s “out there.”

Envy makes us sigh and continue the journey of life. Jealousy. This sneaky and powerful emotion comes to the party and disrupts common sense. This is really not a productive attribute. Like laughing or even swearing.

I laugh with abandon and sometimes I swear like lightning would never strike me. Yes, when the words that sometimes come out of my pie hole are burning flames, I look up and say, “Sorry, Lord. You know, I’m just hedging my bets. He knows me.

Jealousy causes the normal person to look at what someone else has and want it more than they should. Like fresh oranges straight from your own tree. Next to the avocado tree which is next to the lemon tree next to the banana tree.

Oh, these trees that someone I know has. Wink. Wink. SO? I hear about how hard she and her crew worked to keep her piece of paradise in ship shape. Jealousy fades when you realize the work it takes to make sure someone has something you don’t have.

But you want it so much that you miss the time, effort, and human altruism that goes into what’s in your neighbors’ backyard. Or a house. Or bank account. Or a car. 1967 Chevy Chevelle SS. Blue with white racing stripes. OOPS.

There again. One thing she has that I might let my green/blue monsters out for a little while. It also has a real shopping center that houses the very first Jack-in-the-Box. Never! I’m pretty sure she rents this space. But being able to walk in and have a Sourdough Jack and curly fries on the cuff? Oh, I’m so jealous. Back fat and all.

Trina Machacek lives in Diamond Valley, north of Eureka. Send an email to [email protected].