Social Customs – The Happy Wordcrafter

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Almost all of my friends and family are sane people who wear their shoes inside their houses as well as outside. Unless, of course, their feet hurt; then that’s a different story. But there are those humans out there who have this absurd notion that people should remove their shoes as soon as they enter a building and go barefoot — or possibly sock-footed — while inside. A few switch to special shoes that are reserved only for “in-house” wear, and several even offer said shoes to visitors. (Although it’s beyond me why they think visitors would want to wear shoes worn by any number of other people they don’t even know.)

I really don’t know if these weird people are worried about getting their floors dirty or if they have some religious scruples — like being afraid of offending the god of flooring or something. But doesn’t it ever bother them when they use the bathroom (especially in homes with boys or men who often are not careful where they aim)? I mean, when they feel something wet on their socks or bare feet, do they not even wonder what that is???

Well, either way, suffice it to say that those people never have to worry about a visit from me. I just happened to be sitting quietly and thinking about this subject recently and decided to express myself poetically.

VISITING FEET

Remove my shoes? I don’t think so.
I go no place unshod.
When entering homes, I wipe my soles
Of dirt through which I’ve trod.

But if my host requires that I
Remove my own footwear,
I must reply, being stern but kind,
I won’t be visiting there.

Some will supply soft slippers worn
For walking through their home,
But why would I desire shoes worn
By others, some unknown?

So overall, it’s best to say,
When invitations come,
If I’m required to bare my toes,
I’ll choose to stay at home.

For some reason — and I have no idea what that reason is — my mind has been grappling this morning with a bemusing question.

The dictionary definition of the word spinster is as follows: An unmarried woman of gentle family; a woman who has never married, especially one past the “usual” age of marrying.

The dictionary definition of a bachelor is as follows: A man who has never been married; a man who is not married or cohabiting, but who lives independently.

So let me get this straight: A bachelor is a man who has never married, and by the use of the word “never” one understands that he is well along in years and has passed the “usual” time of marrying. A spinster is a woman who has done the same. Yet the term bachelor carries absolutely no negative connotations with it — and in fact, some people even consider it a mark of distinction. Yet the term spinster — at least here in the U.S. — carries a very decidedly negative connotation. In fact most dictionaries give the term “old maid” as a synonym for the word spinster.

Now for the question: WHY THE DIFFERENCE???

Anyway, while cogitating on this bemusing question, I also got to thinking about a poem that was written by a great friend of mine, Lila Colloton. Lila is now a perky little lady of 82, a widow, a mother, a grandmother, and still an active poet and reporter for a local newspaper. She wrote the following poem when she was 16. I’ve shared it once before on this site, but not for a very long time. Thought you might enjoy it today.

AN OLD MAID

Being an old maid would be fun I guess:
No diapers to wash or children to dress;
You may go shopping whenever you can;
Don’t have to sit home and wait for your man.
Yes, being an old maid would be fun I suppose:
Just one person’s dishes and your very own clothes.

But just stop to think before you continue:
Don’t you feel sort of funny within you?
Kind of an empty feeling I bet.
Just suppose Mom and Dad hadn’t met.
Where would you be?
Nobody knows:
Probably just part of the breeze that blows.

So stop debating before it’s too late;
When he calls up, don’t break that date!

(By the way, if anyone can answer my question, be sure to let me know.)

~~~

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