The Stomach For It.

In 1908 Catherine Devine was stabbed to death in New York City. In an apartment at 226 West 37th Street. She had won a bit notoriety by dancing the Hootchie Kootchie naked at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. She was also arrested for popping out of a cake. She danced in burlesque shows and as a belly dancer.
In 1908 Beatrice Lillie was fourteen and later said that the belly dance was a dance she,” …didn’t have the stomach for.”
That yearning that you feel comes from the division in your mind. The division of what is and what should be. But you are not off the hook. You can’t just point to your brain and say, ‘Sorry, …bit fucked up right now’. Do you remember talking with me about what is appropriate behavior? Why don’t you look at yourself to try to see if you treat yourself with what you might call appropriate behavior. The yearning is something you either have to tackle head on or learn to ignore. Do you want it? Then go and get it.
Beatrice Lillie was a comedienne who found that laughter at the expense of other's misfortune was good for business. Mix it with a good dose of self deprecating humour and no one can call you a bitch. I’ve been stuck on a quote by Kundera for close to 15 years now. He said-and I’m paraphrasing you literature snobs-“There are two kinds of laughter; the laughter at another’s expense and the laughter of joy and forgetting.” ‘Forgetting’ what? What do you need to forget so that you can laugh out of pure joy?
Catherine Devine’s death certificate is on file in New York City. You can buy a copy of it from them. She died laughing.