BUMBYS PREPPY NEW YEARS WISHES
Let me begin by expressing a very heartfelt Happy New Years.
Now shall we jump right in?
Did I chose this blog or did it chose me?
That’s the age-old question now isn’t?
Books have been written and university courses have been given on this very subject all in the attempt to answer this .. Is it the message or the medium?
What draws us the most. Why could I have not chosen to write about Preppy and WASP Clothing, Politics, Religion, Stuff that we collect? Anything but our Thoughts, Ideas, Feelings, Emotions, Reactions and Relationships that we all have as humans, but because of being a High WASP and our inbreed aversion to telling ourselves, let alone the entire world how we think, feel, emote.. how we as WASPS and Preppies relate to the world and each other .
So my friends beware, you are going to get some real random thoughts as I explore some of these. Here is one..
Why does a silver spoon taste and ultimately feel better in my mouth than a plastic one?.. or.. What causes me to choose a J. Press shirt over a J. C. Penney one?
Is it just mere personal taste, is it breeding, or does this speak more about my core belief system. In this ever-changing world why do I insist upon clinging to my WASP and Preppy Past? Why do I have a feeling of pride about some of the most horrid parts of my families past. The overwhelming question that I have at this moment is: Why do I feel so good about myself, my life and who I am and this wonderful tribe of WASPs and Preppies that I have been born into?
Now, I know that some of you are thinking; WOW this guy is sure full of himself. OK maybe I am… but you can’t honestly tell me that you have never asked yourself these same questions .
Most of us think it but rarely does any one say it out loud. I am shocked that I am saying such things. No truly I am.
I do believe that we all must on some level, reconcile the past, our present and our future. Why do I pull so much from my past to secure my future? Why is it important?
Looking at us (WASPs & Preppies) as a whole, we have done a very good job of alienating the rest of the population. It is one thing to tend the anchor, and quite another to keep the blinders on. There is an old saying :
IF THERE IS NO ONE IN HERE… THEN THERE IS NO ONE LOOKING OUT THERE
We have marginalized ourselves so much, that we have allowed the middle class to take over in many areas such as Wall Street, and in doing so have put in charge men and women who have no experience with extreme wealth, they lack basic character. The current state of the American economy rests squarely on our shoulders . We WASPs and Preppies have fallen asleep at the wheel… Wow that stings, it stings to read it, it stings to write it, and it stings most of all because it is the truth. So I resolve, that this year, I for one will awaken and start to regain my rightful position and find my voice as a WASP and a Preppy. I would call you to do the same.
Now, what does this have to do with the questions I posed at the beginning? I do believe that for me, it is both the message and the medium. As far as I know, I was not consulted about what family or tribe that I was to be born into, so by accident of birth or an act of God I was born into my family and this tribe of WASPs and Preppys. The silver spoon tells me that I have certain responsibilities, to my family and to the tribe and ultimately to this wonderful nation that I live in. The silver spoon tells me of the privileges and rights that I as a member enjoy… if I act responsibly. I am only a steward. And truth be told, I also just like how the spoon looks next to my Cobalt Blue china.
In my travels around the globe, I have graciously been afforded the kindness, the generosity and the open arms of friends and strangers alike, and for this I am grateful. I have had the pleasure of eating and sleeping in some
My First ..And It's from Princeton
of the most exquisite places on earth and I have also eaten and slept in some of the most harshest places on earth. So in the overall balance of things; if a silver spoon or a plastic one or none at all it is of no great consequence. I must defer to Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson …
The Importance of Friends:
It makes no difference in looking back five years, how you have dieted or dressed; whether you have been lodged in the first floor or the attic; whether you have had gardens and baths, good cattle and horses, have been carried in a neat equipage, or in a ridiculous truck! These things are forgotten so quickly, and leave no effect. But it counts much whether we have good companions in that time.
Bye for now, My new companions on this journey
Always yours Bumby Scott.
Please join me at my sister site The Preppy Chronicles II
The Preppy Chronicles Edition I vol. II
An excellent point Bumby, whether or not one asked to be in a specific circumstance, one is still obligated to act responsibly in said circumstance.
May the rest of your week go swimmingly,
tp
Love your blog! xoxo
SC
Thank you so very much, I am sorry that it has taken so long to reply back. I limit myself to 4 hours a day on the web.
And sometimes, I don’t even check my e-mail for a couple of days . I really must improve. Thank you once again for reading.
Always Bumby
I’m reading a biography of Samual Johnson, who wrote the definitive English dictionary in the mid 1700’s. One of the innovations he uses was to annotate each definition with a quotation from a notable historic or literary figure. He often used quotations from people who were originally from his home, Lichfield, Staffordshire. It wasn’t just because of nostalgia for his home, but respect for his foundation.
Your attachment to your roots as a Southern WASP sounds much the same. I have no such roots with a particular place, since my family has been quite mobile over the generations. I remember my family home in the suburbs of Littleton. But that home, like many in the second half of the 20th century felt itinerate. Everyone moved eventually. No one let their roots go to deep when they had dreams of Grand Junction, New York City or the South Pacific. From the sounds of it, your family’s geography stretches back many generations, and will remain for many more.
The difference between these Southern WASPs and people like Johnson is that you know the silver spoon and they are exceedingly middle class. The silver spoon though isn’t only about wealth. It’s a matter of privilege.
As a white male I have certain privileges. Most white males would say to you that white male privilege doesn’t exist any more, but ask a woman who goes to a dealer to buy a car and she will affirm that there is such a thing.
The silver spoon comes with its own privileges, ones that I don’t recognize except from descriptions in magazines and novels.
You, Bumby, are the only one I know who really understands what that is like from personal experience. I know people who have lots of money, but who don’t know that sense of entitlement.
Entitlement is not limited to upper class. Entitlement can also come from culture and religion and ethnicity, i.e. the cast system in India or the Irish Catholics.
Hey Ho! Found you on LPC, am enjoying reading your blog. Do stop by mine from time to time…
Reggie Darling
Princeton educated and write “aloud” instead of the proper “allowed” Shocking.
Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I have corrected it.
Always Bumby