Forward - into the Past....

1. The Rocky Mountain News , the newspaper in Denver which reported about the Civil War for the citizens of Denver, Colorado......has printed its last issue. I suppose that caught my attention more than most, because my beloved daddy (of blessed memory) was a newspaperman since he was three years old, in 1914. He used to tag along with his big brother Dan to deliver the Duluth Tribune . He went on to graduate with degrees in Journalism -- he was City Editor for the Minot Daily News in North Dakota when I was born and went on to the Minneapolis Star & Tribune where he served in several capacities including originator and editor of "The Minnesota Poll."

So I've been blanking out all the comments about newsprint dying, even though one of our daily papers here in Madison has gone under and is now appearing as a weekly insert in the OTHER daily paper's Thursday edition. If I live to see newspapers....as we know them....vanish, I'll be a very, very sad person.

You've seen this before - it's the absolute archetype Newspaperman from the 1950s (also my daddy, see above). The hats are out of fashion, ties don't look like that anymore -- those typewriters are in museums.......and now the newspaper is going.

It makes me sad.

2. It's now the season of Lent. Reminds me of one of my girlhood friends, Carol, who was a devout Catholic and always gave up candy for Lent. She saved up every piece she got all the way up to Easter - and then shared it out with the rest of us afterward. I think it's a noble idea, giving something up for a whole forty days, so I thought I'd give up some things too, in support of my non-Jewish friends.

I'm giving up rutabaga. I'm giving up watching golf on the teevee. No more hard whiskey. And I won't do any Advanced Mathematics. I don't think I need to report on my successes or failures here; suffice it to say, I'm confident.

3. I think it's time to brag a little about one of my "babies" - the four-leggedy ones. I may have mentioned now and then that our little stripey tabby, Lilliane by name, is a terrible brat ... sometimes difficult. But everyone's good at something, and wee Lilli is absolutely masterful at Human Training. Oh, Evangeline's got a few techniques for cadging crunchy treats, I'll give her that. But Lilliane? Well...check these out:

Keep in mind - this is a seven-pound cat.

"Next, I want you to take me over there, where I'm pointing with my eyes - and keep rubbing."

Now -- this action, which also involves not just standing there but literally a perambulation throughout the house - never ceasing the stroking, petting, snorgling - can last as much as ten minutes. And she manages to get him to submit to her wishes for this several times a day.

WHO owns WHOM???

3. OK, I can't hold back. I am EXCITED!! I think I've mentioned, I portrayed a late 19th-century woman in the Museum during Halloween: Mary Hayes Chynoweth. She was born in 1825 and died in 1912 and lived a rich and full life, marrying twice, having two brilliant and accomplished sons (they became "The Prune Kings of San Jose" as adults) - and in possession of "The Power", which enabled her to be a great healer, preacher, and spiritualist.

There's so much to her (I keep falling in love with all these dead folks) that I posed the suggestion of adding her to our Outreach programs, and going around in character to talk about her life. Our boss liked the idea - and went so far as to arrange for the museum's seamstress to make me a proper outfit for Mary.

Mary Hayes Chynoweth was tall - at least taller than *I* am (I heard that, Daughter -- "everyone over age 10 is.......") and a commanding personage. Well -- Linda the Seamstress has made me a suit of clothes that will absolutely allow me to portray her:

I was worried about the hat. Ladies LOVED their hats in 1895 (the era of the gown) and I am NOT a hat person. I've almost never found headgear that didn't make me look like a toadstool; my little caps and bonnets are ok, but I've never found anything else. Well, ladies and gentlemens - I LOVE THIS HAT! Adore it, worship it, I'm going to marry it and call it George. Sophie. Sadie. Whatever.

I was worried about the hat, bigtime. And the base hat the Seamstress Linda showed me was nothing short of dreadful - with a high, round crown and floppy-ass brim. She told me that she loves doing hats. Well, I had but little faith and am now here to tell you, that lady knows her way around a millinery. Is this hat not spectacular??? Go ahead, biggify it. (Ignore my wrinkles.) It's covered in the same rich fabric the gown's made from and adorned with bows of that stunning gold brocade of the front waist - and bedecked with TWO ostrich plumes (she tells me the black one really IS very old). And she said (to my delight) if she'd FOUND a huge dead bird, she'd have given me a big dead bird. (Very fashionable in those days, I am so not making that up.)

This is the back (like I had to say that). You know that I don't sew a stitch, so imagine how impressed I am with the quality of the tailoring of this suit. The gathers at the back of the skirt, the point at the bottom of the jacket -- the perfect sleeves. It's a medium-weight smooth wool, and the front of the bodice is (as mentioned) a stunning gold brocade. (By the way - the top is one piece -- not actually a separate shirtwaist and jacket, which is authentic.)

I did cadge a full view (Mr Dearling was acting as H.H. Bennett); overlook the little pearl-headed pins at the bottom, it had just been pinned up for proper hemming. There is a small train at the back, as the very best walking skirts had.

"Mrs Mary Hayes Chynoweth, before speaking to a gathering of Free-Thinkers and Spiritualists, November 1895."

I will be getting some beautiful earbobs - gold, I think, perhaps with garnets - and black gloves, and perhaps a small tasteful watch on a gold brooch or long gold chain. I don't expect I'll know until I either Pass the Veil and ask her......or study up on mediumship enough to contact her Over There....but I think Mrs. Hayes Chynoweth will be pleased with my portrayal. Dressed thus, I'm sure I'll be able to carry off her elegance.

Can you believe, I'm being PAID for having all this fun???