"Don't be tempted by the shiny apple"

Temptation

“...Don't be tempted by the shiny apple

Don't you eat of a bitter fruit

Hunger only for the taste of justice

Hunger only for a world of truth

'cause all that you have is your soul.”

Tracy Chapman (All That You Have Is Your Soul)

When I was a kid, my mother made all our clothes. In that day, girls had to wear dresses to school and to church. Mother not only made them, she cared for them. She mixed up a big bucket full of Niagara Starch, and after the dress was washed clean, she dipped it in the starch and hung it on a clothesline to dry. When it was dry, and stiff enough to stand on its own, she sprinkled it with water, rolled it into a neat bundle and stored it in the refrigerator until she was ready to iron. One day a week was set aside for ironing because it took all day to get though mine and Jerrie's dresses and crinolines. Anyone who thinks the women of the 1950's didn't work should have known my mother.

We lived in a town composed of the very rich, the marginally poor, and the very poor. One of the indicators of one's status, besides which side of town you lived on, was the clothes you wore. Villager sweaters, Weejun's loafers, and dresses from Burand's or Lazarus department stores were hot. Anything else, and especially homemade clothes, were passe. At fourteen, I longed for store-bought clothes that we could not afford.

The world will tell you that you're nobody if you don't possess the shiny apple. Nothing has changed with regard to that. I watch the commercials on television for the skin cream that will transform your face, and the diet drug that will reconfigure your shape, and the underwear that will turn you into a goddess. The message is clear—we're not acceptable just as we are. We must sell our souls to have straight, artificially colored hair, spotless, wrinkle free skin, painted nails, and the same figure we had at twenty-five. It's a house of cards. It's a false idol.

In Chapman's words, 'all that you have is your soul'. What matters is what you have on the inside. Regardless of all the money spent on defiance, we're all going to age if we live long enough. Being healthy, rather than hot, is the goal to strive for. Developing depth of heart and openness of mind are worthy goals for one's later years. It's not a matter of believing the right things, or looking the right way, or living in the right neighborhood. It's a matter of living free of whatever spin the world is throwing at you. It's a matter of living deeply true to self, with compassion for oneself and for others.

When I look back now, I so appreciate the fact that my mother made my clothes. They were beautiful and they fit me. I wore a lot of hand-me-downs then, too, and guess what, I still do! Give me a thrift store over the shiny apple any day.

In the spirit,

Jane