Are you familiar with the term ” hand-me-downs ” ? For those of us who are , it epitomizes a way of life that seems to have faded into a form of casual oblivion ! However, with this disappearance we lose a huge chunk of the basic tenets of our American heritage, our raison d’ etre. I’ve been wearing ” castoffs ” for the better part of my life, which is why and how I learned early to boldly ” cut and sew ” or to turn used sweaters into vests and ” bobby sox “. I was taught to knit and crochet by the age of eight and to weave by ten. It was ” disgraceful ” to discard any object that displayed even the faintest signs of ” resurrection “. Recently, I was thrilled to watch a TV program about the recycling of orange peels into feed for cattle ( chock full of vitamins ). Bravo ! When I was first married, my favorite place to shop was called, the ” Salvation Army ” , and every item chosen became a labor of love ! Each eventually made its way into a ” family heirloom ” or a garage sale, thats American ingenuity and entrepreneurship ! I must admit that as my sons entered grade school, I ceased ” making ” their clothing but they did wear ” hand-me-downs ” for an extensive time after. The result of which is that the youngest of four remains to this day a vision of sartorial splendor ! Hmm, I wonder why?
Sincerely,
Claire B.
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DATELINE: Hoboken, NJ, USA ” ORANGE PEELS ” ( 2013 ) 2013/06/14
Tags: Blog, Clothing, Commentary, Family, Life, Memories, Opinions, Recycling, Writing
Are you familiar with the term ” hand-me-downs ” ? For those of us who are , it epitomizes a way of life that seems to have faded into a form of casual oblivion ! However, with this disappearance we lose a huge chunk of the basic tenets of our American heritage, our raison d’ etre. I’ve been wearing ” castoffs ” for the better part of my life, which is why and how I learned early to boldly ” cut and sew ” or to turn used sweaters into vests and ” bobby sox “. I was taught to knit and crochet by the age of eight and to weave by ten. It was ” disgraceful ” to discard any object that displayed even the faintest signs of ” resurrection “. Recently, I was thrilled to watch a TV program about the recycling of orange peels into feed for cattle ( chock full of vitamins ). Bravo ! When I was first married, my favorite place to shop was called, the ” Salvation Army ” , and every item chosen became a labor of love ! Each eventually made its way into a ” family heirloom ” or a garage sale, thats American ingenuity and entrepreneurship ! I must admit that as my sons entered grade school, I ceased ” making ” their clothing but they did wear ” hand-me-downs ” for an extensive time after. The result of which is that the youngest of four remains to this day a vision of sartorial splendor ! Hmm, I wonder why?
Sincerely,
Claire B.
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