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It's all there in black and white
Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 07:44PM 
Blanc noir: effortless and elegant
This past Monday, I went shopping.
First stop was our local meat market, where we are regular customers. Except, TG usually does the meat buying.
On this day he was not able to make the meat run, and I also had to go to the regular grocery store, so I prepared the remains for viewing and ventured forth.
It was a hot day with an abundance of bright sunshine.
While getting ready, I had looked around for the easiest outfit to wear. The pirate does not iron; the most she will do is steam and I wasn't even in the mood to do that.
I ended up choosing an ankle-length black tank dress with a white short-sleeved shirt worn open over the top.
That ensemble assembled, I picked out my jewelry, put it on, and opted for a final touch.
My new black-and-white striped Tommy Bahama straw picture hat was the obvious choice.
It both looks smashing and shields my face and eyes from the harsh afternoon glare.
You should probably know at this juncture that if I ever get into my car and leave the house, I have first taken the time to get what my mother would have called all prettied up.
As in, my hair is done, and I am wearing a face full of makeup, also perfume, and I have chosen a cute outfit and appropriate jewelry and accessories to go along with it, often up to and including millinery.
Old school.
(The pirate leaves no stone unturned. On account of, this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. This is your life, and it is but a vapor. Make hay while the sun shines. I could go on and I hope I do.)
Anyway, that's just me. You be you and God bless you but I am too old to change even if I had the desire to, which I most emphatically do not.
At any rate I walked into the meat market and was able to only narrowly avoid banging into someone with the door.
Speaking of narrow, the shop itself is longish but not overly wide. All of one side is glass cases and serving counter, and all of the other side is built-in freezer cases.
An employee was half inside one of those freezer cases when I walked in, and the freezer case door nearly touched the front door when they were both open.
She peeked out though, having sensed the door's movement, and saw me just in time.
Nice hat! she greeted me.
Why thanks! I said. I did not say: Pirate!
I walked perhaps another ten feet and was about to go in the direction of more freezer cases, when another lady caught my eye.
This time it was a fellow shopper. Lovely black lady of about forty years old.
Someone is all accessorized today, she said with a big smile, nodding towards my hat.
Haahaha, I said. Well, ninety percent of my clothes are black and of the remaining ten percent, half of them are white. So it was basically a lazy choice.
I used to do that too, she said. She was wearing a silky vibrant yellow summer top and looked spectacular in it.
Oh but you wear color so well, I complimented her, and I meant it.
Black and white go so beautifully together, she mused aloud. Just so effortless and elegant.
I agreed.
Before I could say anything else, she continued:
And it ought to be the same with people.
It was she and not I who uttered the words!
Before our too-short but no less delightful and enlightened discourse concluded, my new friend and I agreed that at some time or another, everyone older than five minutes has been put upon in some way, and if they live long enough, will likely be mistreated again, in some other way.
The thing is to stop whining about petty -- yes I said petty -- injustices and get on with the important things, like work and faith and taking care of your family and being a productive member of the community.
Like the ex-NBA player claiming r a c i s m because he was turned away from a fancy restaurant for showing up wearing sweatpants and demanding to be seated although they have a dress code and it does not include sweatpants.
In my grocery-shopping outfit I was more likely to get a table at Le Bilboquet than he was.
I've told you before: all the many put-downs and unbecoming stereotypes the Deep South endures on the world stage notwithstanding, we get along here in South Carolina.
I don't know about Atlanta; I have not lived there since Jimmy Carter occupied the White House.
Black and white accessories are a necessity
But here, black people and white people live together in peace, with little if any outrage or issue. There are just as many r a c i s t s up north as there are here; believe me, I know. I have lived in both places.
But there are not great numbers of bigots on any compass point in America. That's a myth.
I've told you before: I have black neighbors and I have white neighbors. As far as those immediately around my house go (and I wish some of them would), I unreservedly prefer my black neighbors to my white neighbors.
There are the Bothertons next door. I told you about them during the property easement debacle of 2013.
We are more or less friends now. No animosity exists on either side. It was a brief dust-up. Bygones.
I have mentioned the new neighbors cater-cornered to our house, who have lived there for a couple of years since he inherited the property from his memaw, Mrs. M, who was our neighbor for nearly fifteen years.
I had to call the police on them about a month ago.
They had been for several weeks having parties in their garage where various Harleys are housed.
The music had been cranked up too loud several times but, on the evening of the day we had Erica's baby shower, as I was relaxing for a bit after all of my guests had gone and the kitchen was clean, I could hear the driving beat clearly although I was easily one hundred yards from said garage, in the back of my house, with the windows and doors closed and air conditioning running.
I'd had enough. I called the law and complained. Nobody came so, forty-five minutes later, I called again.
I wasn't the only one.
When the officers arrived, I just happened to be standing on my front porch looking in that direction.
I heard them say: Folks, numbers of your neighbors have been calling for the last hour to complain about the volume of your music. Got to turn it down.
And our neighbor did, and there has been no problem since then.
The officers were only there a few minutes, having left after declining the offer of a cold one.
But my black neighbors? Craig and Cynthia, across the street? The only noise they make is when Craig works tirelessly in his large yard to keep it neat as a newborn kitten.
When i take my walk, I wave to -- and occasionally chat with -- additional neighbors who also happen to be black. One couple a few streets over are often sitting on their porch in their rockers, if I happen to be walking in the evening.
She keeps the most carefully tended flower boxes attached to her porch railing, and I compliment her on those. We always pause to say hello and exchange niceties.
Farther down the next street, one of the top three most impressive houses on the whole stretch is owned by a black family. The lawn looks as though the blades of grass are measured individually and cut with scissors.
There are two late-model Mercedes Benz automobiles in the garage, and one more parked beside it.
The homeowner is often outside, working on his grounds. He never fails to wave and be polite. I assure you there are no loud redneck parties there.
I'm going to rest my case here: Unless you live in a Democrat-controlled big city (if it's not busy being burned to the ground), you're not going to see a lot of the hatred being fomented by the media in collusion with assorted America-hating r a c e baiters in Congress.
We are too busy working and being with our families, and going to church, and taking care of business.
And our business includes being kind to one another, and looking out for one another, and -- in the case of my black neighbors Craig and Cynthia -- praying for one another.
In twenty-five words or less (yes; I can do that under time constraints and I will thank you not to snicker), I conveyed as much to my new friend who was waiting to be served at the meat market counter.
She wholeheartedly agreed with me that reality is very different from the many r a c i s t tropes being pushed daily by the drive-by media.
We had to part ways then but we did it with friendly smiles and a mutual God bless you.
Then I secured my meat order for the Memorial Day weekend and went home to put it in the freezer.
After that, I soldiered on and went to the grocery story for the rest of what I will need so as to feed everyone.
I was walking down an aisle, studying my shopping list, when I heard someone say I like your hat!
I looked up. It was a cute small older lady, and she had stage-whispered the compliment almost conspiratorially.
Oh thank you! I said. The black and white hat strikes a chord yet again.
You look real sassy, she added, and kept moving.
I was laughing because that is never what I am going for. Sophisticated? yes. Sassy? no. But okay! I'll take it.
When I got home, I took a moment to document that look because I wondered if, in a picture, either you or I would see sassy.
My mother always told me, Don't sass, but I guess I should admit that I still did. And sometimes do.
I thought I'd better document Pirate Sassy
At any rate I'd better keep a sharp eye because everyone and I mean everyone will be at our house for Memorial Day.
Andrew and Brittany and Ember will arrive on Saturday in the late afternoon. We have not seen them since my birthday in early March.
We are having a big spaghetti supper that night at Erica's house.
Before that, though, Erica, Audrey, Dagny, and I are going in the early afternoon to get pedicures.
Well, Dagny is getting a manicure. It's cheaper.
Then we will go back to Erica's and get the supper ready (I'm making the sauce on Friday).
Chad has built a charming deck on the back of their house and after supper we plan to sit out there and visit and eat ice cream bars and drink sweet tea in the glow of citronella candles.
I will be sure and take my Cutter Dry with me since mosquitoes may not find me sassy but they sure do find me tasty.
On Sunday -- which is Erica's birthday -- we will all go to church together.
On Sunday night, latish, after their evening service and driving from North Carolina, Stephanie and her crowd will arrive to stay with us.
On Monday, Henry will drive down from Greenville and we'll have a Memorial Day cookout with the whole gang. There will also be a birthday party for Erica.
The kids have bought TG a pretty impressive gas grill for his Father's Day, and it is already on the premises. Said magnificent appliance will get a workout what with the cookout.
Everyone will leave for home on Tuesday.
And next Thursday I'll share some pictures with you, of our many parties.
Until then I hope that you are planning, and will have, a relaxing, joy-filled Memorial Day weekend.
One in which freedom-loving Americans, both individually and collectively, pause to remember those who gave all to secure our precious liberties.
Those same liberties that are under attack from every direction.
God bless America and confound her enemies, both foreign and domestic. But especially domestic.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Memorial Day Weekend
Reader Comments (17)
Hi there Jenny, and yes, you DO LOOK sassy, sensational, sophisticated, AND GORGEOUS in your pretty hat! You and I sure share a love of the HATS....I have a pretty big collection. They are very popular in Charleston. I love your black and white outfit, it looks great. I am the same, I don't leave the house unless I'm "prettied up", learned that from my Mother, my beloved Ma-Maw, and all my great aunts, Southern women all of them, Southern women all of us. I loved this post and your exchange with the sweet lady at the meat shop, how true, how true. It is as you describe in our neightborhood as well. The mess they have on the "teevee" is not what we see here. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, ever.....but it is awfully exagerated I think. Oh my goodness.....you have A BIG AND FUN WEEKEND coming up.............enjoy enjoy enjoy!! I bet you are already planning all your fun table decor and good treats and the menu!! Cant wait to see hubby's new grill! Funny...as Mr. Front Porch just bought one as well, and he surely is enjoying his and I am SURELY ENJOYING all the good stuff he grills for us! He grilled for my b/day and it was so yummy....steaks and smoked salmon, my favorite supper. We had enough left-overs for the next night. Thank you for the birthday wishes my new friend!! And yes, it's been a whirlwind of go go go go.....I am now resting and recuperating, LOL!! It as a busy 3 or 4 days as I had my birthday and that is also our anniversary, so we celebrate for a day or two........or three.....or so!! ha ha LOL It was awful hot tho.......and our choice of activity was outdoors..........so I am left feeling drained after all the heat and humidity. But so glad we went! We hiked on our favorite old plantation and i bet you know which one it is! LOL Happy happy birthday to Erica!!! Loved your previous couple of posts.....I will have to try that Rosy Lips........such CUTE LITTLE JARS/CONTAINERS/ TUBS!!! You sure steered me right on the BEST MASCARA EVER!!----i LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! I will never use anything else and I am STILL ON THE FIRST TUBE...........it lasts a long time and I wear it daily!! I have already bought 2 or 3 more tubes to stock up and keep on hand. Hugs my friend, and have a safe and happy happy happy Memorial day with your family and the sweet grandchildren!
PS----the dangblasted "SKEETERS' are already so so so bad here!!!! Attacking like crazy!! Dang varmits!!!
Snicker, snicker... Yes, I did snicker! But I love you anyway!
I love the hat and think it's classy, not sassy. You always look put together.
I agree, the media goes looking for trouble and finds it where it isn't. And the only thing that has done is stir up more trouble.
As usual, I enjoyed your thoughts, As usual, I agree!
Happy Memorial day and happy partying with all the Webers. Give Ember a hug from Aunt Mari!
@Debbi ... did you go traipsing around Magnolia Plantation? We went there on our honeymoon! And it sounds like you were raised by the same kind of womenfolk that I was ... rarely did I see my mama without all the bases covered cosmetics and costume-wise, and NEVER did I see my Mamaw not "done up" to the nines. I hear you re: the heat taking it out of you. It's hard to stay all dolled up when it's like a furnace outside. Like I've been fond of saying ever since I saw it posted on a door in New Orleans in the '90s: "It's not the heat, it's the stupidity." Haahaha but yeah you just have to know when to wind it down and, as you say, recuperate. I am so GLAD you are loving L'Oreal Telescopic mascara. It truly is the best, in my opinion. Does exactly what it is supposed to do, for a reasonable price. I am also glad that you had a memorable birthday/anniversary multi-day celebration, and I hope you'll have a similarly enjoyable Memorial Day. We will be a crowd and we'll certainly do a lot of eating! I'll be sure to share pictures and stories of all that goes on. And I hope I don't end up being a meal for mosquitoes! xoxo
@Mari ... Yep the media and the r a c e baiters are pretty single-minded when it comes to stirring up trouble but you know what they say: When you're a hammer, everything is a nail. I WAS getting ready to talk that sweet black lady's ears right off her head but luckily for her, they called her forward to get her meat order filled. So you are right to snicker, hahahaha ... I will deliver that Aunt Mari hug to Ember at the first opportunity! xoxo
You are having a huge Memorial Day weekend, something wonderful to look forward to! All through this post, I wanted to see YOU WEARING the hat! And finally I DID! YES, you do look sassy. But to my mind, sassy means full of life and feisty, speaking your mind and being honest. And having that glimmer in your eyes. And I think you may fit all of these!
@Ginny ... Haaahahaha I knew I could not write about my convo with the sweet black lady without showing how I looked in my hat. I do so love that hat! It was so inexpensive and yet it has je ne said quoi ... a certain something! We do have a big weekend planned and I can't wait to tell you all about it next week. I hope your Memorial Day weekend is everything you want it to be, and then some! xoxo
"I prepared the remains for viewing and ventured forth" This made me laugh out loud! I'm going to use this next time I tell someone about going out! I love that hat, too! I think your outfit looks very classy and maybe there is just a little sassy glint in your eyes! Sounds like a busy and fun weekend ahead for you! Enjoy!
@Jeanette ... Use it! It's not original with me ... I think it was the late great style and comedy icon, Joan Rivers, who said it first and certainly best, but I have been saying it for years. SO TRUE in my case, hahahahaha! So glad I made you laugh out loud. I hope you have a truly special Memorial Day weekend even though there aren't any big plans. xoxo
You look stunning! Your post is so rich in wisdom about people getting along together no matter what color or even what economic class they are in. Mainstream media wants to divide this country in so many ways but the majority of the people don't think that way. They just want to, as you said, do their work, live their lives, raise their children if the kids are still at home, and enjoy what the Good Lord has given them. I always say if people would just treat others the way they want to be treated what a better world this would be.
You have such a great weekend ahead of fun times with family! Enjoy all the memories you'll all be making!! And be safe out there!!
betty
@betty ... YES and yes again! You are one hundred percent correct and I do believe that most people know this and are too busy living to add to all of the fuss. This is why I do not listen to the "news" ... not because it's depressing, as so many say (and I have in fact said) but because most of it is simply NOT TRUE. Lib propaganda. No thanks. Here is hoping that whatever you have planned for Memorial Day, it is a memorable weekend for you too. Can't wait to read about Winslow's holiday weekend activities in your next post! xoxo
WONDERFUL post! And yes, I mean the caps!!!!!!!!!!
Regular people get along, while living their lives, and working, and going to church, and paying attention to their families and etc., etc., etc. Until some punk BLM guy comes along, and tries to create trouble. Here, he has the backing of all the local Liberal College Snow Flakes, and their professors too. (Uggggghhhh)
Love that you get "all dressed up" to go out shopping, even for food. -smile- I have neat hair, and lipstick, and dressed neatly. No ("shudddder") shorts showing legs-which-have-seen-better-days, or short dresses, showing the same, or 'ratty' tops, showing arms-which-have-seen-better-days either.
A longish, cotton, floaty dress is just as cool, as those horrrrrrid shorts! And even if it isn't, my time for shorts and short sleeves 'has sailed.' And I could not go out in public, like that. I have too much self respect. Not at home either, I may add!
Of course you look stylish! But the slight tilt of that hat, adds "sassy" too!!!!!!!!!! And I love it. I would expect nothing less, of The Pirate!!!!
Oh and thank you for the Cutter suggestion! It is ordered! We both detest the insect spray, we have! This sounds wonderful. And same as you, any flying insect, within 30 miles, finds me! -sigh-sigh-sigh- And even if I don't get bitten, just the slight buzzzzing, sets me off. And I am itching for the rest of the day!!!! Eeeeeeeeekkkkkkkk....
Enjoy all your family, on this lovely Memorial Day Weekend!
Again, thank you for this wonderful post!
And remember... "Blogs are little 1st Amendment machines." -smile-
Gentle hugs,
Mari-Nanci
Delightful read. Being an ‘80’s girl, hair is very important to me and I don’t leave the house without having ‘high hair’ which really just means it’s not flat. I do modified makeup depending on the activity. And while I mostly wear Skechers these days, I’m all about my shoes, purse and coat matching when I’m socializing. I love your style! I’d term it, ‘Classy’ with a capital C!
I’ve always lived in the north. I grew up on the edge of a city and went to a diverse public school as well as having black and Jewish neighbors. Everyone got along, for the most part, and when they didn’t, it had nothing to do with color.
On the other hand, I do believe there’s racial profiling, especially in regards to the police. I’ve seen it plenty of times in my community. The suburbs in our current metropolitan area are quite segregated, which I believe lends itself to the problem I’ve mentioned.
@Mari-Nanci ... YAY for cool floaty summer dresses! And sorry not sorry -- down with shorts that reveal what should not ever be revealed, and ratty tops of any variety! I dress up as a public service ... hahaha I got that quote from my mom, who believed and lived by that mantra until her dying day. So sorry about your local Bee Ell Emm nonsense ... it's nothing more or less than a terrorist organization and should be officially labeled as such. I hope you like the Cutter Dry! I can testify that it does work, and it's not messy and greasy like some such sprays can be. I am never without it during skeeter season! Blogs are little first amendment machines ... love that! Thanks friend! Happy Memorial Day weekend to you! xoxo
@Bijoux ... High hair ... haaahaha love it. Good for you. There is nothing wrong with Skechers! I was wearing Crocs flip-flops on my shopping trip. I love what you said about, when folks in your community didn't get along, it had nothing to do with color. I know that people sometimes don't get along (only human) but I agree that it rarely has to do with color. Are there times when it does? Of course; there are always people who ruin things for everyone else.
And I am sure that racial profiling has happened in the history of our country, and is probably happening today on a small scale. I do not believe it is nearly as pervasive as the media would have us think. However, I think it has happened against people of all races and nationalities, and not just black folks. And I think that, for the most part (not always but almost always), if you're minding your own business and not breaking any laws and not associating with law breakers, you're probably going to be all right ninety-nine percent of the time. It's unfortunate that there are neighborhoods and even cities so rife with crime, that it makes it difficult for everyone. I do believe that police are sometimes in the wrong. I wish that were not so. I just don't believe that, much of the time, they can win with black folks, no matter what they (the police) do.
Happy Memorial Day and I hope it is memorable for you, with fair skies and delicious food and much relaxation! xoxo
Dear Jenny, I could never look sophisticated as you can, but I sometimes strive for sassy. The media is always looking to stir something up and is good at fantasy if it is more divisive than truth. I'm going to be short on this comment because I think my comments since the Amazon Hippo bags have not gone through. I hope this one does! You look fabulous!
@Barb ... this is the first comment I've seen from you in a while! I will say that sometimes (it even happens to me, on my own site), a comment will not be posted but it tells you immediately that it has not been. Of course if you are not expecting that, you click out thinking everything is okay. I am so sorry. I hope you will try the Hippo Sak! Thanks for the compliment and your sassiness is all but legendary, if you ask me. The things you do! Amazing. Love ya friend xoxo
Jenny, thank you for sharing the TRUTH of what real AMERICA is. Maybe us bloggers should start our own Morning News Program to share TRUTH. ;-)
Thank you so much for sharing this story with us.
@You're welcome and that is not a bad idea! Certainly I don't want to spread lies. Enough people are doing that, haaahaha xoxo