Draft: (Horrible Draft! but written)
A friend likes to keep up with the latest and sheikest crafts projects on the market. What is gaining the most popularity is the apron, sans the high heels, vacuum and eight inch strand of pearls. OUCH! Forgive me; that would be a ten inch strand of individually selected pearls. Well, maybe the Joan Cleaver look will come back in style; however I think the heat may preclude the cinched waist and voluminous petticoats. A very catty friend told me a joke about Joan Cleaver, the mom on “Leave it to Beaver”. It was something in regards to what men *really* want in a wife, or personal home assistant. It was that when they come home they want a woman vacuuming in stiletto heels , wrapped in an apron, who is willing to receive a pearl necklace after dictation. My eyes, ears and fingertips are a little too delicate to type a further explanation in detail.
Aprons are another item on the list for off the rack ready to wear Masonic lines of dressing. After doing a little web research and remembering drawings, the apron is a staple in formal Masonic, maybe even Freemasonry, wear. It symbolizes the weave of grape leaves {or was it oak leaves?} that Adam and Eve dressed themselves with when realizing their nakedness. So, an apron as a symbol of shame is one interpretation. An apron as symbol of self assertiveness in creation another. An apron as protection against the “evil eye” or irrespective eye is another. An apron with pockets just turns the scene’s fieldscape a little differently. I think more of kitchen cleaning and maybe just maybe, still trying to feel feminine while spackling to patch a wall.
The neat thing with this friend, through a discussing what decorations to put on an aprons to make it sell, was she commented that the numbers of Eastern Stars, the female component of Masonic teaching, were dwindling in number and she was interested in joining. It is great to see sparkle in a friends eyes when they talk of something that fascinates and inspires them. Dare I laugh and chide her to make aprons for regular everyday house use, not just Sunday dinner or Holy Days? She might not get the joke. Simple white, rickrack and roses; the stain of the snake will wipe from your fingers so as not to get on your noses.
If you put a back on an apron you might run into what some blogger called Skirt Masonry. The accompanying pictures looked like older, thinner catholic school girls in uniforms. The article had to do with women’s groups affiliated with Masonic purposes but by all means, they are not. An interpretation might be those who hang around the edge and have tangential purposes to the main goal. Try thinking of an organization like the Masons as compared to the structure of a garment–the apron and later, the skirt. It seems to be that the main purpose and zymology of the main garment is the management of human breeding practices. To extend one’s progeny, you do not want a wife of diminished capability, small mindedness or cruelty. In choosing what to make an apron of and how to cover it with would solely depend on personal accomplishments, current understanding, family history and genealogies of note. Skirts are a matter of descendancy in a way, especially if they are cut of the same type of cloth.
Over fifteen years ago, I understood that my life’s history is in my hair. The longer I grew it meant the more I could tolerate any toxic shame attached to my past and fear of stereotypical maturity. Keep the hair was a sign of a milestone, reflecting how I can keep my personal history. It was also a symbolic way to respect my growth patterns. Therefore the fall of a skirt from the shortness of an apron is the intellectual heritage of the core covering. A skirt can only make an apron look better. Just as the drape of the fabric of a skirt covers the legs, it is a sign that the wearer is not ready to go to Eden; and not fear to go naked in front of their maker. Is this a quote: “Naked but before the grace of God goeth I”?
by N. Constantine
Copywrite July 10, 2009
