Showing posts with label individualism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label individualism. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Antiques from the Apothocary

Look at the title of that red book -- looks like a first cousin to those questionable health books advertised by email spam nowadays. Yet it was probably a good reference in its time. Scan those brown bottles with their cork stoppers. Or those boxed powders and ointments. Scary, huh?

Yet, guess what -- our grandparents and their parents before them survived. We're here, after all. No need for child-proof lids; the kids back then knew enough not to muck about the medicine cabinet. Not to mention the gawdawful taste of proper medicine; that's a deterrant that's gone by the wayside in our effort to get rid of the yuck factor. Now everything tastes pink. A new sort of yuck, in my opinion.

This wonderful collection from days past catches my attention every time I go into the Goodwin Street Pharmacy. Four cabinets full of yesterdays nostrums -- legit and snake oil alike. It's good to be reminded of how far we've progressed, how protected we are, but most important, we need to be reminded of the shoulders that we stand on.

One thing I really like about independent local businesses: the unexpected, surprising and very individual art work, doodads, antiques selected for display. It might be my doctor with his mother's water colors or the old-fashioned apple-themed collection at the Apple Pan, (where else?) or the celebration of rodeos past at the Waffle Iron. All very ideosyncratic and one-of-a-kind; in the hands of a corporate design consultant, the same material would quickly turn into trashy kitsch.

Friday, December 22, 2006

All-Weather Costume

I took this picture on December 15, less than two weeks ago. Today I shiver when I have to go out for the mail or the newspaper; no, I haven't done any major walks for a week or so, even if bundled up. It's cold up here in the mountains, tho we haven't had more than a smidgen of snow. However, I'm much more interested in the young lady above, whose feet and head shout cold, but whose arms and body declare it to be unseasonably warm (which it was that day.) Perhaps a reader can explain her state of mind or preparedness or some such. I await your answers.
 
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