by jphilo | May 9, 2013 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- Though my parents were not of royal birth, princess was at the top of my what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up list when I was a kid.
- People with childhood vocational aspirations similar to mine don’t understand the protests against the Barbie Dream House Mansion in Germany. If someone could explain it, we’d be most grateful.
- If you’re still trying to think of the perfect Mother’s Day gift, how about buying your mom a tiara and treating her like a princess all day long? That would totally work for me!
So what’s on your Mother’s Day shopping or wish list? Leave a comment!
by jphilo | Apr 15, 2013 | Out and About
On Saturday, I ate lunch with about 20 young princesses and their slightly older female rellies at a mother-daughter princess tea at a church here in Iowa. After lunch and the program, I chatted with several of the very excited young ladies and left the gala event with the following three observations:
- At these events, complete with a photo shoot that encourages the wearing of girlie regalia, princesses have something much more glamorous than toilet paper stuck to the bottom of their shoes. They have feather boa bits stuck to their ruby slippers.
- A little sparkle goes a long way when you’re between the ages of 5 and 9. Why else would little girls ask me, an aging woman in a frilly dress accessorized with a rhinestone tiara and glittery sash, if they could have my autograph and take my picture with their cell phones?
- When you’re a young girl with stars in her eyes, being a princess really is all about the clothes.
Oh my, they make me want to be little again!
by jphilo | Jun 7, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
Literature is the unifying element of this week’s three thoughts, which makes them sound high brow and slightly intimidating. Until a little investigation reveals three of the four literary genres are science fiction, comic strips, and fairy tales. More low brow than high brow, which makes me, and hopefully you, feel right at home.
- When we read one of Ray Bradbury’s short stories in eighth grade English class in the late 1960s, I assumed he was an old man. Or maybe already dead. So yesterday’s announcement of Bradbury’s death at age 91 shocked me. If I’ve lived 40 plus years with that misconception, how many others need to be revealed?
- As was mentioned in previous Thursday thoughts, the new biography of Catherine the Great is quite the expose on princesshood. If little girls find out what palace life is really like, sales of tiaras, pink boas, and sparkly shoes will plummet. I wonder if the talking suits in charge of the Disney fairytale princess division are considering damage control?
- The other day, when the back surgeon showed Hiram the MRI of his spine, I felt like Charlie Brown looking at the clouds with Lucy and Linus. (Linus saw a map of the Caribbean, the profile of a famous painter, and a tableau of the stoning of Stephen. Charlie Brown saw a duckie and a horsie.) The surgeon and Hiram saw bulging disks, the spinal cord, and a disk fragment near the sciatic nerve. I saw black stuff and grey stuff and white stuff.
How about you? Have you had any profound, or not so profound, literary thoughts lately? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Apr 13, 2012 | Current Events
Attention all Downton Abbey wannabes! You know who I mean.
- The career woman ashamed to admit her childhood dream was to be a princess and live in a castle when she grew up.
- The mom who saving up for mother-daughter Belle gowns from the Disney catalog.
- The hunter who secretly wishes he could wear a scarlet coat and riding britches instead of a fluorescent orange vest when deer season opens.
- The husband who dreams of a life where he can ditch his wife and spend the evening smoking cigars and drinking cognac with his posh buddies.
Yup, we’re the people who make the Masterpiece Theater creators eyes shine with dollar pound signs once we’re hooked on a show like Downton Abbey.
But it’s very, very important for us wannabes to avoid taking ourselves too seriously. Otherwise, we won’t have the emotional energy needed to remain suspended on the season two finale’s cliffhanger, worrying about what really matters. Things like:
- Will Matthew and Mary really tie the knot?
- Will Mr. Bates go to prison?
- Will Thomas quit smoking?
- Will the Dowager Countess of Grantham (aka: Maggie Smith) turn quickly and knock someone over with her hat?
- Will the wardrobe mistress ever let Edith wear a pretty dress?
Those issues weighed heavily on me until a friend and fellow wannabe sent a link to a YouTube video. Those who take themselves and Downton Abbey too seriously should be prepared to be indignant. Everybody else, be prepared to laugh at this spoof entitled Downton Arby’s.
[youtube]http://screen.yahoo.com/downton-arby-s-28723019.html[/youtube]
