WEDDING TRADITIONS

GENEALOGY - Part VI

Have you considered celebrating your wedding in a way that appreciates the long-lived union of generations gone by? Especially, if the marriages have influenced you and your intended?

What started me thinking about this was reading the wedding announcements of my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles lovingly tucked away as mementos of a special day that described items (beyond clothing and Grandma's string of pearls). 

For example:

• One wedding (held in a private home) had decorated the parlor with flowers from the mother's garden. The mother was a master gardener with the local garden club, so, the article named the variety of flowers.     What if you were to weave some of the same type of flowers into your theme?
• In another, the bride and groom exchanged vows in the evening while standing in front of the home's fireplace. Bee's wax candles in crystal candlestick holders belonging to the bride's grandmother provided the lighting for the ceremony.     What if you found "those candlesticks" and made them part of the celebration?

While reading through these clippings, I realized it's possible to find something that would add beauty and significance to any couple's special day. Even beyond that, it may be the beginning of a new, family tradition. Something more than: 

Something Old

Something New

Something Borrowed

Something Blue

As a matter of fact, brides from the late 1800s and early 1900s pinned a small pouch to their petticoat with the following items inside:

•           A piece of bread so the couple would never go hungry,

•           A piece of cloth so they would never be cold,

•           A piece of wood so they would always have shelter, and

•           A single dollar bill so they would never know poverty.

Michelle J. Hoppe's book "Manners for Women" reminded couples that "love alone should not be a foundation on which to base a marriage, it also takes a thorough acquaintanceship, and a certain knowledge of harmony and temperament before marriage. Mutual trust? There can be no love without it. Man and wife must walk side-by-side on the same path of moral purpose and social usefulness."

This book's excerpt, I believe, is the best tradition of all.

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40 year veteran of  freelance writing and author of the Book "Begotten With Love." To learn more:

FOLLOW/Like: on Facebook or

VISIT: www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com

AVAILABLE ON: Amazon.com/author/joannglim

MANNERS

GENEALOGY - Part V

SOCIETY TOOK ETIQUETTE SERIOUSLY in the 1900s. WHERE ARE WE NOW? After reading the Youth's Educator for Home and Society 1896 by Mrs. Anna R. White and Manners for Women Part One - As A Single Woman by Michelle J. Hoppe, I found a great deal of wisdom that is as pertinent today as it was during the Victorian Era.

It was my intent to find charming and out-dated customs of a generation now long gone and some of the oppressive rules that infringed on the freedoms of young women who "just wanted to have fun" to give us something to smile about.

It's true, rules change as society modernizes. It's no longer necessary for a woman to accept a hand up from a man to mount her horse (except in certain recreational situations); and she can dance with a stranger for more than three dances; but some etiquette rules are common sense and stand the test of time, such as: never walk alone on a street after dark. I admit, I've done it but all it took was one scary incident with a man walking behind me (uncomfortably close and pacing my steps) to make me reconsider my sanity. I know he was convinced I had lost it when I turned on him yelling at the top of my lungs with arms flailing. He literally ran across the street. That was 40 years ago. He may still be running! I laugh now but it was enough for me to change my habits.

Some of the rules of etiquette took physical exercise into account and the affect it would have on the body. Even Great Grandma was "self" conscious. She knew a lady rode side saddle  and alternated sides each day "so as not to develop an overly enhanced buttock on one side." Straddle mount was considered vulgar for a woman.

One rule of etiquette some have kicked to the curb in this day and age is: "A lady never uses vulgarities, flippancy, coarseness, triviality or provocation in speech (and might I add, behavior)." We have taken rudeness and crudeness to a rarefied orbit of coolness in this generation. The next time you're tempted to "twerk," ask yourself if that's something you really want to add to your legacy. 
Personally, I think Grandma's era may have been right when her peers believed "A lady is identified by her behavior."
What do you think . . . does that still hold true in today's society?

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40 year veteran of  freelance writing and author of the Book "Begotten With Love." To learn more:

FOLLOW/Like: on Facebook or

VISIT: www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com or

BUY ON: Amazon.com/author/joannglim

 

  

TABLETS, MAGNETS & HEALTH ALERTS

One of the most popular forms of electronics on the market today is the Tablet. It doesn't matter if it's the Samsung Galaxy series, the Apple iPad  or the Microsoft Pro. They are all versatile, light, compact, powerful, and portable with amazing screen resolution. As a professional writer and passionate photographer, the Tablet was on my short list of "next" purchases. It may be on yours as well but read on before you buy.

Because my camera's battery charger was damaged on a recent trip to Europe, I made the decision to buy a Tablet sooner than later. I was in love with my choice and wanting to take good care of my new equipment, read the owner's manual up to page 52 where it said - WARNING . . . (I'm now paraphrasing because I returned it before copying the exact verbiage but it went something like this): WARNING: If you wear a pacemaker or other such medical device, check with your cardiologist before using. Nowadays, legalese cautions are affixed everywhere; to the point that most of us gloss over the jargon. This one struck me as more serious and for the sake of full disclosure as a "pacer girl," the question became, why?

David Needle (May 10, 2013) iPad Magnets Can Interfere with Pacemakers, but . . . traced the origin to a 14-year-old student from Stockton, California, Gianna Chien, who (with the help of her cardiologist father), did a study of the effects on implantable cardiac devices (ICD) as part of a school science project. Her findings showed that if the Tablets are held close to the chest, it will indeed interfere with the ICDs.

Statistics indicate approximately six million people world-wide wear pacemakers and 100,000 US citizens (600,000 world-wide) join the club every year. Pacemakers are used to regulate the heart rate and control abnormal heart rhythms. Some patients have an added benefit of a pulse generator which offers an electrical charge if the heart goes into a thready fibrillation. These are 3" life-saving devices that allow people to live normal, productive lives. Some writers will try to convince you the recipients are older and very frail. As a member of the "pacer" club, I can say with some authority, the people I know who are pacer mates are active and fully participating even though many of them are in their seventies.

What is causing all this fuss? The culprit is the internal magnets used along the Tablet's left edge; on the right side of the front of the glass; and in the protective covers used to sheath the devices.

Vidya Harrysingh, a St. Jude Medical Tech Services representative, explained the concern the medical community has regarding the use of Tablets which is echoed by the American Heart Association. "It's possible for people using their Tablet as an eBook reader to fall asleep with the Tablet resting on their chest. For some pacemaker patients this can raise their heart rate from 60 to 90 beats per minute. For those depending on a pulse generator, the necessary message from ICD to heart may be inhibited causing a potentially serious situation. Another scenario is this: you're on vacation waiting to take a picture with your Tablet. Most people hold their Tablet next to their chest as they wait."

The two suggestions from the electronic industry (buried in their owner's manuals) are: 1) Maintain at least 6" of separation from the Tablet to the chest; and 2) discuss with your cardiologist prior to purchasing this product. Wise words but shouldn't that be stated somewhere (like the outside of the merchandise box) rather than page 52 of the owner's manual?

Jo Ann V. Glim is a 40 year veteran of  freelance writing and author of the Book "Begotten With Love." To learn more:

FOLLOW/Like: on Facebook or
VISIT: www.BEGOTTENtheBook.com or
BUY ON: Amazon.com/author/joannglim