Rule of Forty

As I remembered earlier this year that it has been 40 years since I graduated from high school (good grief!), I also thought about some other things from 40 years ago.

1. Neil Armstrong's small step on the moon

2. 40th anniversary of Peter Fonda's Easy Rider

3. 40 years since the Tate-La Bianca murders..Helter Skelter/Charles Manson

4. Vietnam Protest--Washington DC---250,000 protesters converged

5. Richard Nixon is sworn in as President

6. Teddy Kennedy---Chappaquiddick

7. Woodstock---350K bodies and various drugs are essentially rain-soaked and in the mud (08/15-17/1969)

But there is more:

--1969 was the year the US government instituted the draft lottery system to supply troops in VietNam;

--PBS is begun and Sesame Street debuted the same year;

--Sam Walton incorporated Wal-Mart;

--Beatles' Abbey Road album was recorded---there were rumors that Paul had died because he was the only Beatle walking barefoot across the street in the album cover photo--there was hysteria on the radio

--John and Yoko Lennon posed for the cover of "Two Virgins" album in full-frontal nudity. The album was consficated in a US airport

I have nothing profound or even interesting to say about these events except that I can only count two things that occurred for the greater good: Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon, and the inception of the Public Broadcasting System (Sesame Street).

A Blast From The Past

I may be the last person in the lower 48 to become acquainted with the AMC drama series Mad Men. This series has been nominated for many Emmys this year. My daughter suggested that I catch up to the upcoming third season by renting Seasons 1 and 2 DVDs.

Just let me say that it is like going back in time to watch these shows. The show's premise concerns life in the very urbane and sophisticated Manhattan advertising world circa 1960. Even though I was only 9 years old in 1960, I recognize the time period portrayed. There is a sense of authentic surrealism in watching a reflective time piece like this. The clothes, the habits, the homes, the food and drink are on-spot. The characters' dialogue, mannerisms, etiquette are portrayed in an uncanny manner.

There is no profanity, there is eluded sexual activity, and there are a lot of martinis being drunk and everyone smokes like cigarettes are a life-sustaining force. Women have perfect nails/hair/makeup. Men wear great suits with long-sleeved white shirts with cuff links....and the main male character (a very attractive man) wears long-sleeved pajamas. His wife wears sheer nightgowns with matching peignoirs. She is Barbie come alive.

Even with all that going for it, the story line is dynamic, the mores of the time accurate. There is a true portrayal of male (dominate)/female (submissive) interaction. Even though the brainy, smart, business-minded men show great etiquette towards women, they have no respect for their women. It is understood that a wife is supposed to spend money, run a tight ship at home, be able to feed the boss at a moment's notice, and have well-behaved children who eat supper early and are in bed before Daddy comes home. And there are many sexual innuendos thrown out there toward the lowly women in the office. The men leer, make jokes, drink hard liquor, and generally play in the office.

A very significant interaction in the first episode centered around the steno pool/secretarial supervisor (part Madame/Mom/Shark) who was orienting a new "girl" to the work area. As she showed her the IBM Selectric typewriter, she assured the young girl that it may look intimidating, "but the men who developed it made it simple enough so that a woman could use it."

Also, a newly-divorced woman with two children move into the neighborhood. This causes a new dynamic that must be approached with caution and reserve. She is attractive and of the same social stature as the wives, but she is a very real threat to the neighborhood's monogamous setting.

I can't say enough great things about this show. If you are curious, watch it.

May I Buy You A Drink?

Time is fluid. We have many things to remember. We have many memories.

Once in a great while, something will happen as a direct result of some action or event that you have long past forgotten. That something happened for me today.

There was an 11X14 white envelope in the mailbox today. I recognized the sender's logo for a catalogue I receive frequently. I opened the envelope to find the latest catalogue from The Vermont Country Store, a merchandiser that sells household products, clothing, toiletries, and foodstuffs that some of us remember from childhood or our parents remember. They even purvey toys of yesteryear. Every so often, I have purchased items from them. A box of "Goo Goo Clusters" and soft peppermint sticks for the kids would be delivered at Christmas. I buy shower curtain liners and crisp white bedlinens (hospital crisp) from them.

My husband had favorite drinking tumblers we called "barrel glasses." Perhaps your parents remember them. They became very hard to find. The old hardware store on the square in Denton sold them, but at some point they told me they couldn't find them anymore. One year, this catalogue listed the barrel glasses and I bought 24 for Clu Flu as a Christmas present. Even so, The Vermont Country Store only listed them that one time.

About five years ago, I sent an e-mail to them, requesting that they attempt to look for these tumblers (they would honor customer requests for specific items and prided themselves on hunting items down and listing them in the catalogue). And then, I proceeded to forget all about it.

Before Clu Flu died last year, we were down to our last two barrel glasses. We both thought that we would never be able to get them again.

Back to today...also in the envelope was a letter addressed to me stating that because of my request "some time back", they wanted to let me know that they were offering the tumblers on page 86 of the current catalogue! And even better was the fact that these tumblers were 9 ounce capacity compared to the 6 ounce size we had. The letter went on to say that because they found the tumblers; were offering them again; and to thank me for the suggestion...they were sending me a "redeemable purchase code" for $25.00 toward the purchase of any item in the catalogue. Looking at page 86, I found them...with the notation at the top: "Recommended by Diane Lusk, Arlington, Texas."

Clu Flu would be so pleased....