2000-10-28 - 21:13 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Amusements

When I got to about the right height my eyes were fascinated by watch fobs. They were all different and the manner used to pull the watch out of the pocket was also unique. Some men seemed to establish their supremacy over the race by the pompous, ponderous, self important flourish as the watch came out into the light of day (which was a favor to all of course, from the watch and the man to us plebeians). How it can be done I have never been able to pin it down, but some men could take out a watch shyly as if afraid someone would take offense.

The fob itself seemed to be unique to each man, I never saw two alike although I am sure there were some in existence. A fob was as much a definition of individuality as the hatband around a Setson or the jingling spurs worn by a western horseman, it seemed to me.

From my Grandmother I inherited a watch fob made of horsehair braided in a very intricate pattern with a "Horse Shoe Shaped," dangler braided in a perfect way, lacking only nail holes. Most were a combination of metal and leather and many solely of one material or the other. They were so fancy and attractive to me that I could tell whether a man was related to us or was an acquaintance by his watchfob.

I grew a little and found out that . . . . . . there were some super fancy fobs, chains and danglers stretching from one vest pocket across the chest to another, some of them had lodge danglers and others just fancy stuff. My Gosh, what splendor, what super riches it must have taken to afford them. The chains and all metal parts were said to be gold, and probably most of them were. I was too tall then to notice a plain old watch fob hanging from a man's watch pocket when a man sported a vest. When I was young a full suit, including vest, was usually required except for machinery workers and other laboring types who had their own special work clothes. So I guess, whoever could afford one -- the across the chest model was much more splendiferous.

Somewhere in this time I began to notice men's finger rings -- many of them were fancy lodge members rings, but occasionally a diamond would hurl piercing splinters of brilliant light at me, the sapphires and rubies also caught my eye.

I grew a little more and began to notice the fancy neckties that men were wearing, some of them were gorgeous productions of the weavers and dyers art. Ahhh, but then the super part of it was the stickpins stuck into the ties, and I guess through the shirt in some manner -- more or less like a tie tack nowadays, or, are they out of style now ? Anybody wear ties any more ?

A small gain in altitude and a bit more knowledge and I learned what the different lapel pins (I guess that's what they were called) signified -- the first I learned was the Masonic one and then more, now lost from memory. It seems to me that during political campaigns, political lapel pins were occupants of many lapels. Then the political badges were worn too, big, flashy, round ones.

All along the line I was in the process of learning that no matter how fancy the clothes or the gee-gaws adorning the man, that the most important and meaningful thing was the person inside. All the adornments were just amusements . . . . .

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