The Pill Box Hat

I love Jackie Kennedy. She brought to the White House such beauty, grace and charm.
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy was born in Southampton, NY. She was educated in the best private schools and learned to ride at a very young age. She attended Vassar and graduated from George Washington University.
After graduation, Jackie became a photographer for a Washington DC newspaper and met Senator John F. Kennedy. They were married in 1953. The inauguration of President Kennedy brought to the White House a beautiful first lady and the first young children in half a century.
Her favorite designer was Oleg Cassini who created elegant outfits for her. She liked only the best. She was loved all over the world. Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Kahn brought his horse, Sardar, with him to a visit to the States and admired Jackie's horsemanship so much that he later gave Sardar to her.
Even more popular back home, women wore her hairdo, pillbox hat, and had a preference to pink. There were Jackie look-alike contests and women copied her clothes.
Aside from her elegant lifestyle, Jackie was also known to be a penny pincher. When the expensive bottles of wine were empty at dinner, she had cheaper wine poured in the bottles and nobody knew the difference. She also kept two sets of books. One for her records and one for her husband. JFK of course, didn't want the world to know how extravagant his wife was.
Jackie stood by her husband through thick and thin. We all know that it took quite some effort on her part, but her grace and charm always prevailed. In the end on that day of JFK's death, Jackie, wearing a pink wool suit, now bloodstained, refused to change her clothes as she wanted the world to know she would always be there for her husband.
There have been many books written about Jackie, but I have found one in particular, that you might be interested in reading. It is called What Jackie Taught Us: Lessons from the Remarkable Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and is about her childhood growing up and her life as the first lady. It's great reading and I highly reccomend this book if you would like to know more about this truely amazing woman.

Teacher, Mother, Or Nurse

As a girl growing up in the fifties, when someone asked you, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", there were really only three choices. You could be a teacher, mother, or nurse. I of course had no desire to be any of those. My three choices were, artist, race car driver or movie star. I really believed my parents were somewhat worried about me.
I suppose they had reason to. One Christmas, I got the big gift. So excited as I ripped off the wrapping, I was devastated to find what was inside. It was of all things, a cardboard closet with little brooms and mops. My God, I thought to myself!
What are they trying to do to me! What an insult! All I wanted was a go-cart, or a bunch of toy cars and trucks. I wasn't asking for much, really. Bottom line, I was so shocked, I started crying. I think they thought I was so happy to get that gift.
My poor mother just wanted me to be like her. Well, that wasn't going to happen. I ran upstairs and hid under my bed, for fear they would come after me and make me sweep the floor. I will never forget that moment as long as I live.
Women of that time suffered with the dissatisfaction of making beds, cooking meals, and doing all the things homemakers do. Is that all there is in life? I am sure women were even afraid to ask themselves that question. Television didn't help matters much. Shows like "Leave It To Beaver" or "Father Knows Best" really stereotyped the image of the housewife.
It's interesting to think about our society. It forces boys to grow up, but not girls. Blue and pink. Black and white. Growing up in the fifties left no choices for women. Betty Friedan, who wrote "The Feminine Mystique" in 1963, called suburbia "a bedroom and a kitchen sexual ghetto." Wow! Those were strong words back then. She declared that while women were seeking fulfillment exclusively through their homes and families, they had in turn lost their own identities. She was quoted as saying, " If we continue to produce millions of young mothers who stop their growth and education short of identity, without a strong core of human values to pass on to their children, we are we are committing, quite simply, genocide." Friedan later helped found the National Organization Of Woman (NOW)
I must say, that I am truly amazed at the contributions and accomplishments women have made in modern society. My grandmother would just flip at the fact that a woman could actually run for president or go into orbit.
Myself? To this day, my main objective is not to clean house, thanks mom. I have accomplished much in my life without the push of my parents and there is much more to do.