Handkerchiefs and Other Musings

Yesterday I was talking to my dad and he has a bad cold, but he was still going out. I told him to make sure he had some Kleenex to wipe his nose. When I said that I remembered that he doesn't carry Kleenex because he carries a handkerchief. I asked him if he realized that no one carries a handkerchief.

"They don't?" he asked surprised, "Why not?"
"Because they don't. Only older men carry handkerchiefs."
"I didn't know that."

Isn't that interesting? I looked up the word handkerchief on Wikipedia, because of course I became interested in the subject now. I found out that one of the reasons people don't use handkerchiefs is because they consider it unhygienic. When people started using Kleenex instead, they stopped using handkerchiefs.

I asked a couple of people if they carried handkerchiefs. My babysitter's husband who is 65 said he used to but that he hasn't in a long time. I asked my husband and he said, "Gross, no!" He's one of the one that considers it unhygienic.

It reminded me of my wedding and how my friend Liz gave us all handkerchiefs to use since I had an outside wedding in August (I know, insane). They were beautiful handkerchiefs, embroidered with little flowers, and they sure came in handy that day. We used them to wipe our sweat when the guy who married us went on for almost an hour, instead of the 20 minutes my husband asked for.

Then I thought of my daughter. The way the world has changed so much since my dad was a young man, or how much it's changed in our lifetime, imagine how much more it will have changed by the time my daughter is an adult. Will she even know what a handkerchief is?

I took out her baby bonnet and I explained to her how it would become a handkerchief when she gets married. At my baby shower the same friend, Liz, gave me a beautiful white bonnet for her. It came with a little card insert that said that the baby would wear the bonnet and when she grew up it would become a handkerchief for her wedding day. I just thought that was so beautiful.

Of course I had to remind her what a handkerchief is. I guess if I keep reminding her until she gets married she'll remember.

Other Musings

I am such a sucker for Pampered Chef. I love their gadgets. I have so many already! One of my favorites is the jar opener. I like the way it can open anything as small as a jug of apple juice to a jar of honey.

NPR Features for Black History Month:
Yesterday I heard an excellent segment on the historic move by four black students who started a national sit-in at businesses that wouldn't serve African Americans.

It reminded me of something my dad used to see when he was a young boy in the '30s and '40s. When his family used to go work in the fields in West Texas he used to see signs outside of diners that read, "We don't serve Mexicans or Dogs." That also reminded me of the cities around the U.S. that are passing laws saying that they won't rent to illegal immigrants. How far have we really come as a human society?