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I’ve been reading “No Ordinary Time,” a very dense book about the Roosevelts during World War II. Interesting read, but slow. Very slow. However, this I found so funny I had to share. It’s about wartime rationing.
Women took the loss of pleated skirts and one-piece bathing suits in stride, but when the rubber shortage threatened the continuing manufacture of girdles, a passionate outcry arose. Though government sources tried to suggest that “women grow their own muscular girdles, by exercising,” women argued that “neither exercise nor any other known remedy” could restore aging muscles to their original youthful tautness. Without “proper support from well-fitted foundation garments” to hold the abdomen in place, there was no way, jouranlist Marion Dixon argued in a contemporary health magazine, that a woman past thirty could keep her posture erect or do physical work without tiring.
Hear that, ladies? All of us past thirty are DOOMED! DOOMED to flabby middles and wilting on couches! 🙂
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Perhaps I find that funny because I worked in the lingerie department at Sears for several years, and I sold many a girdle, in many a form, to many an older lady. They smell really weird. (The girdles, I mean.) I always felt torn–who wouldn’t want their flabby parts sucked in?–but I couldn’t imagine wearing such a thing.
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This lovely little trinket is on my wish list. Easier to keep track of it this way. 🙂
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One night this week, Alex was messing around on the bathroom stool instead of getting ready for bed. Nicholas came over and looked up at his big brother. “Peas Aweh, tan you moo o-er? I need bwuh teeth.” My jaw dropped–even for Nicholas, that was pretty eloquent!–but Alex, who was shadowboxing his reflection, didn’t even notice. “Alex,” I said, “did you hear your brother? He asked you very politely to make some room for him!”
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It’s been a weird writing time lately. Two story rejections, but one of them told me I made the semifinal round, which they didn’t have to tell me. A “no thanks” from an agent. But lots of encouraging developments on some flute and piano Christmas arrangements I wrote…and a note from Chicken Soup that a story I wrote made the final round for next year’s “Bride” book. My project list is now 9 items long instead of 15…but I don’t have on it “revising novel” or “publicizing Advent & Lent books.”
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And this morning, I really just didn’t want to get out of bed. My brain is all hazy. I can’t seem to wake up.
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Oh yes, and I’m posting fiction today here. Hope you’ll come read it!
6 Responses
Well, the problem was that during rubber rationing, they also couldn’t make exercise balls for improving your core strength! I don’t know how long those balls have existed, actually, but they sure are amazing.
It’s funny, the difference in perspective these days: Girdle-wearers are dying off, and people believe much more in the value of exercise, yet many people don’t DO it, so we’ve come to accept seeing flabby middles in public, and many people assume it’s normal to be unable to do physical work without tiring.
I have an exercise ball but I haven’t used it in a llllooong time. Used to use it to sit on when practicing my flute, mostly. 🙂
It seems like everyone’s exercising…but maybe that’s the people who AREN’T flabby.
The whole girdle/spanx thing is beyond me. I’ve tried spanx and was not impressed, plus it’s uncomfortable.
Also,I’ve had a hard time waking up in the morning too. I think it’s daylight savings time for me. Even though I gained an hour of sleep I’m still more tired.
In my case, I think it’s just late pregnancy and generally not feeling all that well. Here’s hoping we both adjust soon!
The excerpt really had me laughing although I do remember the imortance my Italian Nonna put on her girdle. For her it was more a health than a figure thing … according to her EVERY woman who has given birth should wear a girdle.
Love the girdle thing. I did hear a woman speak who had back problems that found out a corset really helped her but somehow I did manage to rediscover my stomach muscles on my own after pregnancy without a girdle!
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