TIDBITS 09/21/08

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We encourage you to forward this email to friends and colleagues. ====================================== Parasol Lady

1400 B.C. Mesopotamia. The birthplace of a shade sheltering device. Umbrella ... from the Latin word Umbra ... for shade. No rain down there in the desert land. They all needed a shade maker. Till about 1200 B.C. Utilitarianism becomes religious in nature. Nut ... a celestial goddess whose body formed the canopy of the sky ... spanning the earth like a vast umbrella. Only her toes and fingertips touched the ground. Man-made umbrellas were now the embodiment of Nut. Are you a nut man? Nope ... just a lowly human umbrella holder. I'm not saying that's where it comes from. But it's a thought.

The Greeks and the Romans picked up the torch . And the umbrella continued to thrive. However they regarded it to be a tad prissy. Derision and snickers pervaded a society that looked upon men who used umbrellas as women do as being a tad gauche if not downright effeminate. For women it was different. Their umbrellas became parasols. Once a year a procession was staged at the Acropolis in honor of the Feast of Parasols. Not too sure what that meant. Did they eat the little ribbed things?

And then one day ... women began oiling their umbrellas. Yes they did. If it rained in the outdoor amphitheatre ... the now waterproof umbrellas went up en masse ... much to the consternation of male attendees whose visions were now obstructed.

And then a country arose. A great wilderness was tamed. The land was populated with rough and tumble macho men. The country was called America. Old habits did not die. Women wore umbrellas. Men wore hats. Women stayed dry in downpours. Men got drenched. A man ... a true man ... would not let something like a mild deluge trouble him. He did not need shelter from the cascading waters descending from the heavens ... regardless of the fact that the rains left him sopping wet.

Till one day prudence rose her head and told one and all that she was the better part of valor. And Jonas Hanway from England came along. And through a system of public ridicule and humiliation he managed to make umbrellas acceptable for men. He carried an umbrella around rain or shine. They laughed at him. They jeered. And eventually ... they bought.

Ah ... but the parasol. Now that was another matter. A little umbrella with a fringe on top. A lady's bit of paraphernalia if ever there was one. Pink perhaps. Or white. A fluffy little thing to protect from the rain ... or the sun ... or for just plain ornamentation. Now there was a sight to behold. And as happenstance would have it ... I have one for you to behold. Lady ... Parasol ... and all. Dressed to the hilt she is she is. Sculpted in gold ... in royal metal for a royal bearing. Wanna see?

For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may I direct you to my home page at

where you will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says Current Tidbits ... and you will get to view an elegant brooch in gold of a lady with a parasol.

And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all next week. Benjamin Mark

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