This weekend we went to Louisiana to see our grandmother. It was a very nice trip.
We did so many things like go to a Mardi Gras parade and then we had to count all of those beads that the kiddo got. (Which I quit counting after 100.)
When I am at our grandmother's house I love to look at all of her books. She has the most amazing collection of any kind of book you could think of. One of the books called out my name as I was perusing a certain shelf. I picked up the book titled: When I am old I shall wear purple, by Sandra Martz.
Just the title got me going. When I was in high school I had this teacher that wore all purple. Not just one color of the shade at a time. NO, she had to wear all different shades at the same time. I admired that about her. She didn't go with the norm and she made her own style.
I always joked that when I turned 30 (cause when you are 18 - 30 looks soooooo far away!) I would dye my hair black and drive a black car and wear all black clothes. And when I hit 40, I would dye my hair red and trade that black car in for a red one and wear all red clothes. And at 50 I might go with brown. At 60 I would go for white and 70 would be blue. Seriously.....
The first page of the book was a poem by Jenny Joseph that I would like to share with you.
"Warning, When I am an old woman I shall wear purple. "
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
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1 comment:
that is funny - i worked at a movie theatre in high school and this one old lady would always come in wearing all purple. the same thing, all different shades. she even had a purple car and the license plate was "LAVLADY". maybe she'd read the book?
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