From: Joanna Rudge Long <jrudgel>
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 10:07:49 -0400

on a small farm on Maryland's Eastern shore, and later became a very conventional housewife in College Park, MD (the town whose conservatism was so astutely meorialized in Mary Downing Hahn's STEPPING ON THE CRACKS as
"College Hill") had a strongly negative reaction to overalls. When I dressed my first-born in tiny denim replicas of that traditional farmer's garb, which were a rarity 30 years ago and a great find when virtually all baby clothes were pastels, she observed, to my astonishment, "My Poppa would never have worn overalls. He was too proud. He was a farmer, but he had standards." I don't suppose she would have like RELATIVES either. One anecdote doesn't make a generalization: apparently overalls do, or at least once did, trouble some folks--a reminder of what a minefield unexpected sensibilities will always be. Joanna Rudge Long, South Pomfret VT 05067
Received on Thu 09 Jul 1998 09:07:49 AM CDT