Hello again. It’s 3 am on Saturday morning, I have a head cold, it’s 20 degrees outside, I have just put on a LP of.. The Best of Bill Monroe.. Yes I did say LP and I did say Bill Monroe. I have a glass of Sweet Tea sitting on my desk and I am writing this in longhand with my favorite Parker fountain pen with Private Reserve Ink (Dakota Red) on Clairefontaine paper…Sasha, the cat; we are fostering, is curled up in her favorite spot. Later today, we will be receiving the newest addition to the family a yr old tabby that we have named: Bootsy. ……Not bad for 3 am on a Sat. morning. This will be a short post today.
I would like to continue on the theme of the message or the medium and passions. The theme of today’s post is the same old question.
I ask you… WHAT TYPE OF WASP ARE YOU? In an article written by Margaret Talbot, where she compares The Grande Dame Julia Child with Martha Stewart . The message is subtle but very strong.
Martha, a classic self-made woman; who is endlessly anxious about making a perfect impression on Old Money, New Money and any who aspire.
Julia, on the other hand is a classic ( Boston) Aristocrat, Gawky but at ease, with a warbling voice and a bemused gently ironic manner.
Martha’s message is: THINGS MUST BE DONE RIGHT! with right being defined as looking beautiful and most important, as proclaiming the enormous amount of “taste” and hard work that went into them. She is the new lean and mean corporation. Whereas, Julia Child offers a much more relaxed, sensual and considerate view. She notes that Julia is almost cavalierly amused, at the many mistakes that will happen, and almost giddy with delight at her successes. She tends to do things not just for the impression on her family and guests, but merely for the fun of doing it and eating it.
Now, we all know that traditional WASP cooking.. is like.. eating paste from a jar, great when you were three, but nasty as an adult ( well, I must confess here and now I do enjoy the taste now and again. How sick is that?) Being raised in a Southern family I learned to cook. One of the fun things about learning and doing is watching. My fondest memory of Julia was .. Watching her cook some sort of chicken dish, she was discussing the benefits of “buttering” she moved the chicken forward and it slid right off the table and on to the studio floor. She calmly looked at the camera, and said “Oh, that’s not suppose to happen” and she went right on as if nothing was wrong.
So, Again I ask What type of Wasp are you? ……..Martha or Julia?
I am proud to say that as a Southern Male (straight) Preppy WASP. I am squarely in the Julia Child camp .
How about you ?
Enjoy The Three Ponies then scroll down to the next entry and you find the link. The Preppy Chronicles II
It’s now four Am, my head hurts and the Sweet Tea is done. So for now.
Always Bumby.
My thanks to Nelson Aldrich, for the insight into the article. Thanks to Esquire for the photo.
Well done once again, Bumby, we love the distinctions drawn between the two. It’s rather like the difference between doing something right and doing the right thing.
But enough of this, we are oh-so-excited to read about Sasha, and really off-the-chart happy about Bootsy, good for you! Hopefully things are going well with the newest addition.
Sending you a smile, we did enjoy this post.
tp
Finally, a TRUE WASP blog.
I’m sure you heard of a joke of a
blog out there believing and trying
to portray itself as the “101″ of
WASPDOM.
You,however have got it right 100%.
Yes indeed the “Julia Child” persona
the easy going confidence that
need not prove a single thing to
anyone or anybody, that doesn’t have
to ACT their way through life and can
just simply BE, IS the WASP psyche.
So sorry for loss of cat.
I had a good boy raised him from
an abandoned kitten with eyedrops
of milk blessed with 13 years plus.
Can’t ever have another pet again.
Can’t take the heartache once he
passed.
Looking forward to following
this blog.Excellent job so far.
Thank You Jinx.
Love your blog!
xoxo
SC
I’m a Julia – I love her. And her recipes work.
I’m far to busy living my life to be bothered to be a Martha.
Thanks for following my blog, it made my day!
Thanks for following my blog… always nice.
Also love your insight and take on Martha and Julia. Although I do appreciate Martha Stewart and the huge niche she has created for herself and her “lifestyle”, I must agree with you. In contrast to Julia, there appears to be no ease or grace (albeit gawky, if that is possible) with Martha.
Look forward to reading more.
Being a Martha must be so exhausting! Working to impress others and make sure every detail is perfect can only be a 24-hour-a-day job. It’s also a uniquely middle-class endeavour–it’s the aspirational middle-class person who hopes desperately to move up in the world who feels he or she must overwhelm others with her fashionable new possessions and elaborate arrangements. Old-line WASPs don’t usually bother. That doesn’t mean that we don’t try to make our guests happy and comfortable, or that we don’t decorate our houses to some extent, or that we don’t clean the house occasionally; it just means we’re more relaxed. If you don’t like us, or our furniture and clothes, or our food, eh, too bad. No great loss.
By the way, I have to take exception to your remarks about WASP food. That may be true in the Northeast and Midwest, but Southern WASP food can be wonderful.
Thank you Andrea, I totally agree on all points including the Southern WASP food. This is a point that is lost on many.