Thursday, October 11, 2012

Sometimes you just have to smile and nod

Fair warning, this might make you blush.

I took a walk this evening and noticed a small white tube from a feminine hygiene product on the ground. I snickered. Thank goodness no one saw or heard me. They'd have thought me an immature senior, or a bit daft. I snickered because it made me think of an incident that happened to me about twenty years ago when I was teaching in a public school.

A community meeting room was next to my classroom. On this particular day the room was being utilized by the Young at Heart, a neighborhood senior citizen group, comprised of two dozen gussied up women reeking of Evening in Paris perfume. They loved it when I brought my class in to sing for them. After our presentation they gifted each of the students with their craft project, a rocket ship made of a Tampax. They had decorated the white cardboard tube with red, silver and blue stars and a little triangle top. The string hanging down, one woman pointed out, was for "blast off".

Sometimes you just have to smile and nod and say, Thank You. My coworker and I couldn't contain our laughter and dissolved into fits of hysteria when we got back to our room.

Really? You're curious as to what I did with them? I blasted them right into the trash can.

12 comments:

Val said...

Oh, dear. I have a feeling THAT project won't make it into your Crafts for Preschoolers book that I think you should be writing.

Chatty Crone said...

It's funny how something jerks your memory back to a funny time in the past.

Sioux Roslawski said...

Linda, you're craftier than Martha Stewart.

Lisa Ricard Claro said...

LOL Well, at least they were creative!

Karen Lange said...

Wow, I guess creativity really knows no bounds. Yes, sometimes nodding and smiling is the only thing you can do...:)

Susan said...

Oh my GOODNESS, Linda. That was hilarious. Maybe those crafters met on a "monthly" basis? hee hee Take care. Susan p.s. Thanks, too, for your visit to my blog today and comment, too.

Thank you for the pumpkin poem
Made me chuckle all the way home.

You're creative all the time
Especially when you pen a rhyme!

Southhamsdarling said...

Funny how that memory came back to you. What a strange choice to make something out of a tampax carrier!!! I love the word 'snickered' by the way!!! Hee Hee!

Joanne Noragon said...

My sister saw a presentation from a teacher of fashion design at Kent State University. He displayed a shawl of tampons in a crocheted mesh. All a startling color of red, with their little strings waving. He liked them because they resembled felted wool.

Mevely317 said...

Now that’s hysterical! Love the reference to “Evening in Paris”!

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Old people crafts. Surely they knew what the tampons were used for. That is really thinking outside the box and I would say I am hoping my mother-in-law doesn't hear of this repurposing feat. But, she is a thrifty one and sticks to RE-USING items. For many years she collected styrofoam egg cartons and made trashcans and tissue holders to dress up the powder room, then she moved on to communion cups. Yes, she gathered them every Sunday at her church, then took them home and washed and dried them. As Christmas approached she would pull them out and start dipping the rims in glue, then glitter (too cheap to buy the glitter glue). After they dried (and sometimes even before they dried completely) she would push a straight pin through the bottom and attach them to a styrofoam ball (a real splurge, these were purchased in bulk at WalMart) She would attach a long red ribbon with a sprig of mistle toe (plastic, she wanted these bad boys to last many a season). She gave them away as gifts ...... to each and every one of us. The kids were as thrilled as kids can be over this labor of love and insanity. As we each opened our treasure, we were instructed to hold it high above our heads so that she could kiss us.
What just happened here? I was telling a story, making fun of a craft and it turned into a sweet memory! Nooooooooo! I am getting old and sentimental (or ... sort of mental).

Lynn said...

I'm sure they had a good time---how funny.

Tammy said...

You have such a knack for funny stories! I'd hate to think what that group could do with condoms.