Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Sept. 1, 2004

"Butt" just sounds so -- coarse!

One thing writers fear lies in an invisible world. We learn early that there are ideas floating around in the atmosphere and they are fair game for anyone to grab. We never know if another writer used one of those ideas before we did. That happened to me a few days ago.
I had just about finished this column when in the Aug. 24 Chronicle I saw the headline over David Spates' column, "Do we really need stories on tushes?" My reply was a weak yes because I was writing about butts!

I was telling about my negative reaction to the word butts. It seemed a silly thing but it bothered me and brought on a self examination. It all began last June when I attended a conference in New Orleans. When I registered I was handed a goody bag filled with local products. This was not the usual plastic bag but a large, heavy canvas bag emblazoned with the logo of Boudreax's Butt Paste. The words were in bright red followed by the drawing of a happy baby sitting and holding a diaper.

Call me a prude, an old fogy but I took that bag to my hotel room, emptied it and stored it out of sight in my suitcase. I knew I would never carry it on the street and I even considered leaving it for the maid, but I finally buried it deep in my luggage and toted it home.

The trouble was I couldn't get my negative reaction to the word butt out of my mind. In the dictionary I found five entries defining butt. In the fourth one it was the number five that defined butt as the informal term for buttocks. My American Heritage Dictionary was printed in 1969 and my search for tush brought no results so that must be a newer term.

Last week an article appeared giving the history of Boudreax's Butt Paste. It is an excellent product for diaper rash. A now retired Louisiana pharmacist invented the ointment in the 1970s and word spread rapidly among women with babies in diapers. The story goes that it was one of those mothers who first called it butt paste and George Boudreax, originator of the formula, knew a good thing when he heard it. He is convinced that if he had called it diaper cream it never would have soared into a $2 million business.

Because of the quirky name Leno made jokes about it, Oprah praised its healing powers and NASCAR driver Kim Crosby had the logo painted on his car. Talk about free PR.

I admit I overreacted. My only defense is that the coarse and vulgar has become an accepted way of life. The filthier the language the more laughs. Subjects that were once private are rolled out for public derision. I refuse to believe good taste is only good for "stuffed shirts."
My short period of self examination convinced me that no matter your age there is always something new to learn about that one of a kind -- YOU. Better yet a much younger David Spates made me feel less like an old fuddy duddy as I read his column.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.