When I was a kid, Channel 2 aired these charming little ‘commercials’ that have become an integral part of my memories of childhood, conjuring up feelings of hot lazy afternoons spent idle in front of the television in our cool dark living room. My favorite featured a little boy and an old man in a canoe. The boy asks, “Jimmy said I am ‘prejudiced’. Grampa, what does ‘prejudice’ mean?” He replied that it meant that you judged someone based on things beyond their control rather than for who they really are.
“But I don’t do that.”
“Who is Jimmy?”
“Jimmy is my Jewish friend.”
“Then you are prejudiced, because you think of Jimmy as your Jewish friend, and not just your friend.”
That last line has echoed in my mind for over 30 years. Not that it made a difference - I still use qualifying adjectives to categorize my friends, such as my Republican friend, my plumber friend, or my crack-head friend. However, I don’t treat them any differently…it just helps me keep them sorted in my muddled brain.
Another of the commercials was all about the French painter Seurat and his technique of creating scenes of harmony and emotion using colored dots. But it is not my intention to discuss the finer points of neo-impressionist art history, rather the catch phrase of that snippet has been on my mind lately as my world has been infiltrated by polka dots. And I have come to a very simple yet powerful conclusion:
Polka dots make me happy.
I have not yet dissected the reasons why such a simple design should have such a profound influence on my psyche (maybe it is because their qualifying adjective evokes images of people bouncing around happily to the strains of an accordion), but I cannot help but smile when I see them. They are frivolous, uplifting, unconcerned with rigid linear thinking, unencumbered by worries of global economic crises or airline safety records. Polka dots care not about their carbon footprint nor do they fear the CIA replacing sovereign governments with sham democracies.
One of my New Year’s resolutions has been to replace my daily consumption of coffee with green tea. To facilitate this goal, I bought myself a cute little polka dot tea pot with matching cup and saucer. These items sit beside me on my desk. I cannot help feeling cheerful as throughout the day, I reach over and pour myself a refreshing constitutional of herbal anti-oxidants, knowing that the polka dots are not preoccupied with thoughts of damaging free radicals coursing through my blood stream.
Yesterday, Kevin organized a picnic, and by organized, I mean he bought the wine, while I selected the venue, planned the menu, and did all the cooking. I was feeling a bit frazzled by the end of the day, but my mood was immediately brightened by the appearance of a rather peculiar flying insect:
“But I don’t do that.”
“Who is Jimmy?”
“Jimmy is my Jewish friend.”
“Then you are prejudiced, because you think of Jimmy as your Jewish friend, and not just your friend.”
That last line has echoed in my mind for over 30 years. Not that it made a difference - I still use qualifying adjectives to categorize my friends, such as my Republican friend, my plumber friend, or my crack-head friend. However, I don’t treat them any differently…it just helps me keep them sorted in my muddled brain.
Another of the commercials was all about the French painter Seurat and his technique of creating scenes of harmony and emotion using colored dots. But it is not my intention to discuss the finer points of neo-impressionist art history, rather the catch phrase of that snippet has been on my mind lately as my world has been infiltrated by polka dots. And I have come to a very simple yet powerful conclusion:
Polka dots make me happy.
I have not yet dissected the reasons why such a simple design should have such a profound influence on my psyche (maybe it is because their qualifying adjective evokes images of people bouncing around happily to the strains of an accordion), but I cannot help but smile when I see them. They are frivolous, uplifting, unconcerned with rigid linear thinking, unencumbered by worries of global economic crises or airline safety records. Polka dots care not about their carbon footprint nor do they fear the CIA replacing sovereign governments with sham democracies.
One of my New Year’s resolutions has been to replace my daily consumption of coffee with green tea. To facilitate this goal, I bought myself a cute little polka dot tea pot with matching cup and saucer. These items sit beside me on my desk. I cannot help feeling cheerful as throughout the day, I reach over and pour myself a refreshing constitutional of herbal anti-oxidants, knowing that the polka dots are not preoccupied with thoughts of damaging free radicals coursing through my blood stream.
Yesterday, Kevin organized a picnic, and by organized, I mean he bought the wine, while I selected the venue, planned the menu, and did all the cooking. I was feeling a bit frazzled by the end of the day, but my mood was immediately brightened by the appearance of a rather peculiar flying insect:
I don't know if it was the polka dots or the cool little jazz-note on his tiny man-face!
6 comments:
Congratulations!
You have become the main source of pictures which I use for my desktop.
Hey! polka dots make me happy too! woohoo I'm not alone!
Sorry to hear you was frazzled. It was a nice time, even if my hand is still all sore and scratchy.
Actually - I wasn't especially frazzled until later that night, but it made for better copy...just over stimualated from all the convivial companionship. What happened to your hand??
I'm a bit of a stripe aficionado myself, specifically and fully giving in to the fashion faux pas - horizontal.
Love ya, kid.
See you and the boy in August.
Omg I was searching for "Seurat knew alot about dots and now so do you!"
and I found this blog!
Post a Comment