So, I went to the Dove Library in Carlsbad yesterday wanting to visit their Cannon Art Gallery, and was thwarted by news of them being closed for the installation of a new exhibition. Note to self: find out if a museum/gallery is open before you drive there. I was a bit bummed about that (though the new show, On Your Own Time, featuring artwork by City employees will open June 10th), but I was delighted by the prospect of a book sale at the library store.
Three carts of books stood outside the store beconing to me with the promise of being only $1. I can't resist a book sale. A little red paperback caught my attention: HHH Helpful Homemaker Hints. I had to roll my eyes, and then I read the teaser on the back:
Auto drivers have the AAABusiness people the BBB.
In the early '30s and '40s
American Youth had the CCC.
Homemakers too have a "triple threat"
For today or for future time
It's HHH Helpful Homemaker Hints
All done in melodious time!
WHAT!?!?! Any book with such a creative reference to the Civilian Conservation Corps was worth a buck; and it's so clearly wrong in this time of post-post-feminism that I just couldn't resist. As it turns out, it's quite an entertaining read (as long as you don't dwell on how there was a time when it was socially acceptable to think that all a woman needed was a few clever rhymes to make her a 'happy little homemaker').
Some hints are surprisingly clever:
When children roast marshmallows or hot dogs,
You can protect their little hands.
Poke a stick through the middle
Of aluminum throw away pans.
Some hints are really helpful:
To tell if fresh corn is ripe,
You don't have to peel the husk down.
Just look at the tassel on top of the corn,
And it's ripe if the tassel's dark brown. And some hints are ridiculously antiquated:
For pantyhose
To last somewhat longer,
Try the following method,
To make them stronger;
Wet, gently wring,
Freeze in plastic bags,
To protect your pantyhose From runs and snags.
Yeah, I'm sure today's woman is super concerned about the longevity of her pantyhose! Perhaps these poems won't join the ranks of Whitman or Frost within the cannon of American literature, but I'm passing the book around the Museum and so far it's a hit. 'Best dollar I've spent in a long time.
Later,
Beth
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