Orange Dresses Are American, Or, Sunday Morning at 9:53am
Well, hello! My hair is less auburn (hooray!) and last night I wore my Ann Mashburn dress to a party as I love it so much I would live in it if not for silk and practicality. This time with diamond earrings in the shape of butterflies and my grandmother’s seed pearl/diamond Cartier bracelet.
And platinum Bernardo sandals. Mom always had a pair, usually brown. Simple shapes to everything, but festive and relatively luxe.
I attended this event after a day marching through San Francisco with tens of thousands of other people (unofficial estimate of 100K but let’s not exaggerate) for No Kings Day. By now you will have read all about it, so I will only add, ours was prototypically San Franciscan.
Imagine many gray-haired women who lived through the 60s. Now imagine everyone else; Latino, Filipino, Black, Indian, French, Chinese diaspora, white, single, paired, families, straight, gay, gendered every which way. Many carrying American flags. And, because San Francisco, a few well-tanned and completely naked men hung out and chatted among themselves, while the few police at the intersections also chatted with each other, and waved back at us if we waved first.
I bought my flag at Safeway, Northern California’s big commercial supermarket chain. Yes we eat organic spinach.
All of which is to say, firstly, California is as American as Iowa, West Virginia, Mississippi, Texas or Maine. But I’d never force you to live here if you don’t like it. Secondly, this is exactly why we need democracy. If we’re all going to be different, which, after 68+ years of life I’m starting to suspect is the case, we’re going to have to support a system that enables our differences.
It isn’t easy. Even in San Francisco, with flowers in our various hairs, it seems someone drove a car into a person. No reports on serious injuries, but still.
I can’t help but struggle against my own good fortune when so many here, and around the world, lack for basic life needs. Nobody’s pure. All we can do is our best, as often as we can.
Anyway, I recommend Bernardo sandals. Sturdy Gals find them very comfortable and reasonably priced for the degree of style. I truly hope you’re having a wonderful weekend, and the week ahead brings you comfort and joy.
See You Tomorrow
Today I’ll be at a No Kings event. See you tomorrow with more iterations of an orange dress. We can do both. And yes, that
Bouquets To Art And What Fades, Or, Saturday Morning at 8:40am
Thursday I went with a friend to Bouquets to Art, a fundraiser held annually at two of the city’s older museums, where local florists install
Writing Books And Selling Shoe Mistakes, Or, Saturday Morning at 10:15am
I did write two novels. You asked what happened with my fiction foray. Yup, I wrote two novels. I queried agents for both; the first
Considering Invisible And Seen, Or, Saturday Morning at 8:46am
Dressing is communicating. Note, as young women, our clothes communicate our figures whether we like it or not. I think the species wants to continue,
If Not Pink Pants Then What, Or, Saturday Morning at 10:05am
If I could ask you to put your pretending hats on, please? Excellent. I particularly like that one with the navy stars. Now, if you
Slow Starts, Or, Saturday Morning at 9:07am
How are you doing? How are you feeling? Do you have any great summer plans? In brief, I’m helping my daughter plan and pull together
Hello, Or, Saturday Morning at 9:50am
Hello! The celebration in Houston was lovely. I got to spend time with dear college roommates. And the party was a sort of Texas magic–outside by a pool at an old country club, attended by local friends and family and a contingent of young ones from Soho. What could have been better? Why didn’t I wear cowboy anything? I figured it out, in retrospect. This is the Houston of the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Bayou Bend collection. A few people nodded to Cowboy, to The West, but in a beautiful and elevated style I could never hope to reach.
Two Developing Trends And One Long-Established Tradition, Or, Saturday Morning at 8:41am
Hi all. I’ve always taken months off posting here and here, to stay gleeful in the process. It’s hard to do now with so much happening but, despite my hesitancy, I think it’s a good idea so here we go. I’ll be back in May. I leave you now with two important developing trends: Thick cork-soled shoes Big crowds at Democratic rallies See you soon. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
On Changing One’s Mind, Or, Saturday Morning at 9:05am
I don’t know when exactly I decided that government was “inefficient.” Prior to 1978 I had no political opinions, really, more like an emotional characterization of the world that I inherited sans reflection from my family of origin. So I’m guessing our 1980s president, whose names began with “R,” might have had planted a seed. Could also have been the experience of waiting in line at the DMV, driving being so important to a teen. And then of course, that MBA. Free markets forever. Oh, sure, we learned about market failures, the Tragedy of the Commons, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, etc.