from John
I thought I’d try to right about the “mommy wars” without knowing what to say. I guess a good place to start is with my own mother. Here’s a picture of her in the early 1960s having her monthly luncheon/tea party with the “tea bags.” That’s the waterfront behind them. (Click to enlarge)
I’m not sure who took the picture but it might have been Stefan Shnabel, a successful Broadway and character actor in the movies. I mention Stefan because he coined the name “tea bags.” My mother, June, is second from the left in the enlarged picture and the other ladies are very familiar Rowayton mothers in my childhood. None of these women ever had a job that I know of. They were all raising families in the 1950s. Probably the only woman who was divorced (an remarried) in Rowayton then was Jane, the woman second from the right.
I noticed at the Rowayton Hysterical Society website that my mother is still remembered for founding the Rowayton Garden Club 54 years later. We always had a great flower garden. I don’t think of my mother as exceptionally smart, especially because of the time in the 50s when she was writing a letter and asked me if you spell cat with a “k” or a “c”. I remember telling her it was with a “k”. However, my mother was an exceptional artist. Here’s just one small example.
Her artistry was what made her stand out more than anything else. I am sure each of these tea bags had a special talent of their own.
I’m not sure why but I always liked girls and women who were very smart. This is one of the reasons I ended up with Becki who has many talents and started showing these at an early age.
I’m sure Mrs. Romney does too. My kids all paid for most of their college with scholarships excepting our daughter Mariah who has other fortes. My eldest daughter, Elizabeth, is now struggling in raising three young kids, and my second eldest daughter, Christina, is raising a son and teaching acting and theatre production in the Tulsa area, and also is a successful actor in her own right locally. I talk about what’s special about Christina in “Friday Night Lights.” Much to my surprise and JTO’s bewilderment we had a run of several hundred visitors to the Café to that article on Thursday and Friday over and above the usual suspects at the Café and some actually read the article which makes me happy because she is so special. Must have been something in the news that brought them here by way of Google, Bing, and Yahoo. My son, Drew, is having twins this coming week. But of course it is his wife, Michelle, who is going to have to endure the pain if there is any. Michelle decided after their first child to quit work and focus on being a mommy. Now she’ll have more of a challenge. When you decide to be a mommy only, this doesn’t mean you lose your identity and talents. I hate to see kids in daycare, but the sad reality today unlike the 50s and early 60s is that some families and single mothers cannot pay the basic bills unless the mom works.
All women have a different story to tell and have to deal with disadvantages in the work place, as well. It’s hard enough for a guy to find a job but imagine how much more difficult it is for women, in general, to find decent rewarding jobs. Mrs. Romney has been disadvantaged for her entire adult life by her wealth … but what would you do or how would you turn out to be if you won the lottery?
I heard a female senator opine this morning that women are only 16% of the congressmen; and she suggested that things would be very different in Congress if the genders were 50:50.
I’d love to see it.
Hourly visitation from 1AM Sunday to 4AM Monday the 30th of April.
Unusual for a weekend (4/28 and 4/29) on beautiful days: Green Bar, Page Turns; Blue Bar, Visitors. But don’t pay attention to the numbers. It’s probably JTO coming to the Cafe 311 times in one day.
