In the tall grass.

Growing up I never thought about money,  it wasn’t of any concern, there is a certain freedom in that.  There are also consequences, most unintended, but still very real.

 I started to write because I was lost and needed a safe place to grow up. Today my life looks very different.

I have taken on a role that is uneasy, the role of child and aging parent. I don’t write about my family much, not because I want to hide them but because  I think that they are very typical. I know full well that is not the case, but it is nice to have that illusion. We live in a world of Have’s and Have-nots.  It is all relative, there are moments, even days that will pass and I believe that I am just like the have-nots, then I get rudely reminded that this is not my truth. I find that I no longer need to shout to the world that I am different. Yet, sometimes I must.

Some days it’s just tough to stay true to ones’ self.

 I am in the process of changing what I chose to do for work, not because anyone is making me but because I want to be happy. I have always had the luxury of being able to do what I want.

This journey that I am on is quite exciting, I feel a bit like Alice looking down the rabbit hole and I wonder what adventures await me. The preppy in me is ever drawn by all the shiny baubles and the WASP in me wants to just dig in and set up a club,  have a G&T and do this thing with dignity, after all that is what we WASPs do.  Yes, I want it all and Yes, I can have it all. However, that which I want and that which is good for me oft are at odds. In regards to my aging parent, a commitment has been made, though there are times I desperately want to be free of it.

It is of note that there is great progress on that front.

I am hoping that this work change will allow me to write again or at the very least that which I do write is worthy of you reading. Summer is almost here. and the Loons have begun to arrive is the report from Down East. The domestics are making ready the Antebellum and all relatives are still breathing. It is Derby time again, The Lady L is out of dry-dock, a few relatives will summer in Dark Harbor,  before joining the rest of the clan in Bar Harbor in the late summer. I have high hopes that I will be able to join in next year. Aging parent needs to have both knees replaced, which makes travel difficult.

Well, that about sums it up, except one item.

Which I will share next we meet.

Love, Bumby

 

 

 

 

The Preppy Chronicles Moves Forward Into The Twenty-First Century.

Alas, I am at an end of all of my toil, my research on preppy sex is done. I have been over a year digging through document after document. I have now compiled all the posts that I feel are research and turned them into pages. Which you may read at your pleasure. I need to take a break from this line of inquiry. The reason is a simple one, I need to write and this subject of sex is in the way. That is not to say that I will stay away from the subject, just that I need to write about other things. This blog is about living life as a Preppy  in the Twenty-First Century. It is time to get to it.

In the next few months I will be introducing you to a new cast of characters. I am a creative writer and as such it is time that I create. The characters have already begun to form. The process is a simple one, yet if I am to maintain  the premiss of this blog I will need to weave the story in such a way that it is relevant to the Twenty – First Century.

At this moment in time, I am thinking that I might start with a short and see where the characters led me.

  This much I can share our leading man’s name is:

 Theobold Buckley Culvert III. ( Tripp )

 John E. Sheridan, artist,
copyright 1901.

  Age 27,  Rugged build, smooth lines, Country Club eyes.

  5’7″,  Medium Chestnut Brown hair,  Smokey Eyes.  A Ladies man.

Well endowed, Medium WASP lips.

Sailor, Great dancer & Princeton Man.

Time 1919.

The issues facing America in 1919, are strikingly similar to the issues that we face in 2013.

Let the fun begin. Thank you for coming along on this journey. Any and all ideas are welcome.

 

The Politically Incorrect Preppy of the 1600’s: Part I

Welcome to this edition of The Preppy Chronicles. For those of you just joining the discussion here at the Chronicles, a brief summary of the current series. It all began April 28th 2011 during my morning meditation time, sitting in the dark, save the light of the crescent moon. I just began to cry,  Weep is a better word now that I think about it for no apparent reason. Being a High WASP, I have no proclivity to weep without reason.  I was exceedingly stunned as the tears flowed. Between weeping and a gut wrenching wail, I wrote the first post. The Road Less Traveled.

Through-out the next set of posts, I began to explore the deep history of my roots.

My family came to this country in 1635, I have had to do a bit of digging, but what I have discovered  about my family’s history as well as, this country’s, is that there is a vast difference between those that arrived here in 1607, 1630,1635.

The three groups of sojourners had their own ideas and agendas  for coming here,  had their own ideas about the religious life and the civil life and how that they connected.  They had their own conception of God and their own versions of the Bible, and exceptionally clear ideas about the roles that sex and marriage were to play in their everyday lives. What I believe to be of considerable importance, and I found strangely comforting, is that conformity to these roles was expected and deviating from the accepted norm had dire consequences to you and your family. By the 1770’s, the daily existence of the colonists was a blend of these three belief systems.

The stark reality of the time is that if you belonged to one of theses three groups you would be tolerated.  If you were of any other religious  conviction, you were not tolerated;  thus, I stand by my earlier statement that this country was founded, not on the belief of tolerance but of intolerance and that the political of 1774-6 was not about religion as that was already settled in the minds of the framers.

The settlers of 1607 were of the Anglican persuasion, and the settlers of 1620 were a variety of Anglican & Protestant. The settlers of 1630 were overwhelmingly Puritan.  Originally, the colonies of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland were known as “ Plantations of religion ”  This meant that since you were a professed Protestant, you were welcome to enjoy your beliefs in a public manner. These Plantations welcomed Baptists as well as Quakers, Shakers, and the Amish.

What is of interest is although these people had just fled the inforced uniformity of religion, as it has been called, they  eagerly  to embrace it in the new world.

Why does any of this matter ?

My belief is that for me to understand the religious views that have been passed down to me  my family and my church, I must understand what were the views of the time. Furthermore, I must understand the structure of the time. I need to do this because my family settled in various parts of the new world. I must explore my Southern as well as my Northern history.

I have also come to have an understanding that what God has to say concerning  matters of my life and  beliefs that I have held over the years, usually are in sync. There are a few areas that we diverge or at least what I have been taught and what I am discovering to be truth differ.

Again, Why does any of this matter? It matters because, we as a nation have a history. A history that has been forgotten, and been altered to suite those that want America to be this Great Melting Pot of Everything. What is missing is the proper filter of what is going into the pot.

I believe this to be truth: Ones Spiritual belief system, is directly reflected in ones political views and how you conduct your everyday life. There is an immense amount of good in America, there is also a lot of self-will run riot. The notion that one’s spiritual life has nothing to do with one’s politics would not have even been a thought process that these men and women would have engaged in.

As I delve not only into the belief systems, into the reading material  of the day, namely the BIBLE. Which versions of the Bible were being used by each of the three groups.  It is my hope that I will find out a bit more about my own beliefs.

I am happy to report that any crisis of conviction that I might have had, has been resolved. I am going to continue this series because, one of the main purposes of this blog is to set the record straight concerning our tribes history.

I know that this is not hard-hitting journalism, but because I as a Preppy and a WASP, I have had a bit of confusion about what is the truth and what being taught. I felt that an investigation was called for. Please understand that you do not have to embrace what you read, do your own research. What I have discovered about me through this journey, notice I did not use the term myself,  because this journey is about my innermost belief system. How much am I like my family that came to these shores in 1635, and how much am I different ?

 

 

 

 

 

Changes

Welcome back to The Preppy Chronicles,  this is what I just finished saying to myself. I have missed writing, I have missed the time that I spend with you. The fact of the matter is that I that I have felt dry. I am writing this series  because I am going through changes inside, there is a strong wall of resistance to share what I am going through. It is not that the desire isn’t there, it is that I am resisting the change, that is not the truth,  I am not wanting the pain of change.

“ And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I am doing new things in my life, and I am a bit afraid that I will lose control and let my light shine. I know that I am making this up as I go, and I am afraid that when the world finds out that I have no idea what I am doing the ride will stop. My greatest fear is that my light will shine, and those around me will see how brilliant it is and shun me because I make them feel small. I know how this sounds, but this is how I think. I know me, I don’t want to become  someone who bulldozes over people. The illusion of power is a strong drug.

I tell myself that there is nothing to be afraid of, but I am.

Thank you for listening to me.

I am working on the wrap for the series, but I needed to share this.

Always, Bumby

Please join me over at my sister site The Preppy Chronicles II

 

The Heart of The Preppy

As the heart grows, so does the life. We have been talking about not just the letter of the law but also the spirit. Through-out this process of looking at what the Puritans believed and how this all applies to us in the 21st century, one must never lose sight of the spirit of the thing.  Yes, man has screwed up a lot of things that GOD set forth. However, what I am beginning to see is that GOD, gave us a few basic and straightforward  rules to follow in order that we humans can be and continue to be in right relationship with him. At first, I found that I was only looking at how badly we humans have screwed things up, not at what things that we have gotten right. Let me say, that although I use the term screwed up, I don’t believe that we as humans possess the ability to screw up anything that God has created. We can cause a mess, and that is why God put certain things out of our control. A perfect example is the Earth, have we messed it up, Yes, destroy it, I think not.

I do believe that we are Spiritual beings on a Human journey, God gave us a few basic and straightforward  rules to follow, but that man has complicated and corrupted, most of these. Most religions, are so mangled, that they bear little resemblance to the few basic rules that God laid down.

As we move forward in this journey, I must remember, it is as much about the destination, as the journey. I must also remember, that what my ancestors believed is as much a part of this journey as what I believe today.

Why was sex outside marriage wrong? What was Gods intended purpose for sex ? What constraints have men imposed on man in the name of GOD.

This country was born out of intolerance.

We, WASPS and Preppies, have a long tradition of such behavior. I am not saying that this is right or wrong, just that it is. As a tribe, it is in our DNA, And we continue to use intolerance to suit our needs.

Most of us WASPS and Preppies are not Mother Teresa’s, we do things motivated out of a sense of duty. We have imposed our will on the masses for generations, and the masses go along with it. This is not to say, that this is a grievous thing. Rather, to admit that this is how things do, in fact, work. Once, you grasp this idea, nay, embrace it, the Puritan mindset becomes understandable. As we move into the Scriptures that the folks read in the colonies,  to understand the motivation behind  the concept of sex only inside marriage and the consequences of extramarital activities. Why the need for SIN and REPENTANCE and PUNISHMENT in the eye of the public and why it was essential that the leaders of a community, SIN, REPENT and be PUNISHED.

There was a method to the madness. What was their model? Was it God, or Man or a perverse combination of the two ?

Always Bumby

Please join me over at my sister site The Preppy Chronicles II and my newest site, The Preppy Journal.

 

Preppy Musings

Welcome to this edition of The Preppy Chronicles. If you have followed my journey, then you will understand what this post is all about. I will continue  the background a little later, for now, I thought a conversation about the concept that God made me perfect, flaws and all, is in order. What do I truly mean by this statement?

 

Over the past few months I have had many discussions on this subject.

I shall begin with this:

“ Thank you for sharing the darkest parts of yourself. You are a very courageous man. What I want to leave with you is this my friend, regret is useless fodder but repentance is a clear understanding of who you are. In the fathers eyes love/hate, good/bad, joy/sorrow are all the same. Life is like a coin with it’s heads and tails. They are equally important in making up that coin. You, I and everyone are that coin. There is no good or bad in our learning process. The sin is the ignorance in the self and lack of clarity. Rejoice in the goodness that GOD has created in you and discard anything else that isn’t working for you anymore. I think the Christ said it best, “go and sin no more.”

As I move forward in this process, I am discovering so many emotions that I am very ill-equipped to handle. I am not going to pretend that I have any answers to the questions that I have.

If I accept the premise that is found in Psalms 139,

“ I will praise You,
Because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful,
and I know [this] very well.

My bones were not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all [my] days were written in Your book and planned
before a single one of them began. ”

Then I must accept that every part of me is just as God intended. My Spiritual nature, my mind & emotional makeup and my body. When all are working as God intended, I am as a perfect human as I will ever be.

The problem that seems to keep surfacing is my ability or shall I say my inability, to accept & believe this statement of truth in my innermost self. Being raised to believe that there is always room to improve, that there is no one that is perfect, except Christ. While this is true, it is also understood, that Christ’s Spiritual, mental & emotional and physical parts were fully integrated and working as they ought.

If I continue to read on in Romans 8, I come to the understanding that once I have accepted Jesus as my savior,  ( He is if you will, the bridge between man and God, between that which is strictly human and that which is Spirit, I don’t pretend to understand how that all works, I just know that it does.) Once I have opened the door, I connect with my Creator. It is this connection, that causes me to function as I was  originally intended to. The more that I understand that when I am brought into right relationship with God, I become at once whole and perfect. What is left for me to do is to learn how to live with all my parts functioning as they were intended.

 

Given the family that I was born into, the tribe to which I belong, this next part is the hardest for me to share. I have struggled with sharing this part of myself; this part of my journey with you, for a very long time. The reason is a simple one when I do, it no longer is a private matter. I have no doubt that this will change how you think of me. Some of you will applaud & some of you will be very horrified. I have come to the realization that if you are to understand the entirety of my journey, then I must share this part of the story.  I am a recovering alcoholic.

In my world, the world of WASPs & Preppies there are no alcoholics, just people who sometimes imbibe a bit. In my world, one never counts how many drinks you have had, because the glass never becomes empty just “Refreshed”.  When you’re drunk and passed out, or fall out of your chair, you’re just  “ Indisposed ”.  It is the dirty little secret that we WASPS and Preppies never, ever talk about. We will talk about  our own money, before we talk about or admit that we are alcoholics.

As much as I hate to admit it, I always drank alcoholically from the age of 15. The switch that tells you to stop never flipped on. For some having this bit of insight into my life will make this blog take on a new  dimension, as well as answer many questions.  I needed to share this for you to understand the fullness of my journey. Now that, it is out there, I can share much more honestly.

Was I created with this seeming defect? Was it God’s plan? I am reminded that Jesus came to raise Lazarus, three days after he had died and was already buried. For what end?

To show the glory of God.

This is hard to swallow, because I want someone to blame, someone to be in the wrong. I don’t want to hear that I am an alcoholic, that is now in recovery, because I am to show the glory of God through it. Is there a bit of anger ? Yes, there is, only because I have been told all my life that there is something wrong with me. Not that God created me just as I am for a reason. I hope that part of that reason is to share with you, Hope.

Now, what has all this to do with sex and the Puritans? I am afraid to say that you will just have to keep reading to find out.

Thank you all for allowing me to share a bit of my life with you.

One final note, sometimes I may sound like my life is a wreck & sometimes that is true. The truth is that I live a very blessed life, and for the most part, I am very happy.

 

The Power Of The Pearl II

Welcome back to this the second part of The Power of the Pearl.

The real difference between preppies and Wasps is not couture but outlook. Preppies are infantile and optimistic, forever stuck at age seventeen; Wasps emerge from the womb wrinkly and cautious, already vice presidents, already fifty-two.

Tad Friend, Cheerful Money.

I add this quote at this time because I want to plant this idea into your mind as we move forward.

I hope that by keeping this in the forefront of your mind, it will help you settle your thoughts about your beliefs about the role that the pearl has and continues to play in your life. In my family, pearls have come to mean different things to each of us. The time, the place, the person all  change, what remains is a sacred bond.

Now, where did we leave off, Oh, yes…

The years of 1620 through the year 1635.  Outside of any personal journals, we have no idea of the exact items  that accompanied the settlers  on their journey. I stop briefly in the year of 1635  as that is the year of the first record by one of my family members of a set of six strands of almost matching pearls. Through out the successive years to the present we have only managed to lose one complete strand due to theft by the jeweler that was doing a stringing  in 1918, of that strand sixty remained only to be lost when Granny G. dancing a raucous  Black bottom in 1924 managed to whack  her partner with the strand  sending the remaining pearls into the crowed.

In the 1920s Kokichi Mikimoto, harvested the first commercially viable cultured pearls, forever changing the landscape of the world of pearls. Mikimoto perfected a method of creating and reproducing spherically round pearls. Mikimoto’s method is still in use today. In the 1920s natural pearls were very rare. J.D. commissioned a strand of 63 perfectly matched natural pearls to be strung, it took the jeweler 10 years to assemble them. With the natural supply being so low and Mikimoto’s process being viable the  modern era of the round, cultured, pearl was born with all the gusto and excitement of the 20’s and 30’s.

Soon it was not just the superrich that could afford these little bobbers but the simple rich as well. Imitation pearls flourished and became a symbol of the age. The 20’s and 30’s were a fun time for the pearl. This was soon to change.

The time 1935 to 1947 was a time for seriousness, as the country sank into deep resolve, and for the first time since the beginning of the 20th century the pearl the took on new meaning…immense loss.

Now, let us turn our attention to the 1960’s,  the new First Lady of the United States of America Jacqueline Kennedy. Although not a WASP, she represents to the world what America is all about.

Jacqueline, like her counterpart Bunny Boleyn, ( we met her in the first part of this series  ) brought the pearl back into vogue with the masses. The love affair, with this outstanding woman and her pearls truly began on the day of her wedding, when she wore a single strand of pearls.

Through out her life, she and the pearl would dominate the landscape of American culture.

Kenneth Jay Lane, would go on to design and create many pearl pieces for Jacqueline-Kennedy-Onassis

The most famous would be a three strand faux-pearl necklace, designed by Coco Chanel and created by Kenneth Jay Lane. This would be her signature piece.

Every woman needs to have one signature   piece, one piece of jewelry that defines her to the world. For the Preppy and WASP this one piece is a pearl necklace.

It seems that there are three constants whether one is a Northern or Southern bred WASP or Preppy, Male or Female we are known by our mannerisms, dress and jewelry. Many are the times that a non-wasp will advance our culture. In mannerisms… ( for the men ) William F. Buckley, in dress and jewelry ( women ) Jackie O. she gave us the pearl as well as  Lilly Pulitzer

I will end this portion of the narrative by reminding you of the fact the until recent times the pearl was the number one gem given as engagement rings, not the diamond. The Pearl is also the gem stone for the month of June, the most popular time for weddings.

In the next part of this series, I will explore the statement I made in the beginning, To understand the pearl is to understand the very soul of the WASP and Preppy.

Please also join me at my sister site. The Preppy Chronicles II

The Preppy Chronicles Edition II Volume II Part II

 

The Preppy and Technology.

That Which Is Fundamental is by its very definition, all that we hold true is it not ?

Our ability to generate the force of change, comes with it the responsibility of being the change that we seek. Change will always chose its own path; Therefore, one is wise to remember that he is not in control of the end result.

This fundamental truth is the sum of  my Princeton University education. I truly wish that I had understood it then . Two decades later it would begin to not only make sense, but become the over-riding force in my life and those around me.

As a WASP, I am responsible to try to guide change, Not by being the change but by being the stabilizing force. That is what being a WASP  is about for me and my family. Now you might ask, Bumby, What does this have to do with your last post? There is no doubt in anyones mind that the world is in the process of change, very rapid change.

In my last post, I refered to the evil that was Wang, all joking aside, the changes that started with the Wang have taken on a life of their own. It took me several years to ” Jump ” into the computer age and then only with caution. I wanted to see as best I could what direction that change was moving. I am fully convinced that this direction is best embodied by what is the Mac.

Why… just in the last month; that I have had my eMac, my life has been greatly effected by the change. This is the first post that I have not pre-written. This is straight from the heart no middle man. To aid in this process, I downloaded the sounds of a typewriter, every time I strike a key it sounds as if I am typing on a “ROYAL “,  just like the one featured in a  past post.

The Preppy in me yearns to explore all  the prospects of this new technology.  The WASP  is just horrified. I am  admittedly  conflicted and yes somewhat embarrassed by the amount of time that I am spending on “Sofia”. I have named my computer ” Sofia” and have started talking  in the third person about myself. When she announces the time on the half, I find myself answering back… “Thank you Sofia”

I am finding this behavior  somewhat unnerving and at the same time very comforting on some level. This Preppy/WASP is beginning to warm up to the idea that to survive in this new world I must accept some technology . Who am I kidding, I feel like I am in the Five&Dime with five dollars burning a hole in my britches.

Please join me at my sister site The Preppy Chronicles II

The Preppy Chronicles Edition II vol. II ( All rights reserved)

 

The Learning Curve

In the beginning God created man.

Man created the “Wang”.  God looked down on what man had created, and saw the evilness that was ” Wang “.

So, God created Steve Jobs, who created the Mac…

God  looked down and was greatly pleased,

And the peasants rejoiced.

Bumby bought an E-Mac,

And again the peasants rejoiced.

Thus, our story begins….

Bumby, fraught with guilt, made the leap into the 21st century. All the while, thinking to himself, ‘ What would my dead ancestors  have to say about all of this ,  Bumby, you must stay true to your WASP values and traditions.’  However, deep inside, the lure and pull of the Preppy, the flashy, the sparkle and yes, the occasional bang was almost more than this simple WASP could bear.

God look down, and was deeply touched and saddened by Bumby’s heavy heart.  But God, was quickly reminded that He had created Steve Jobs, and Steve, had created the E-Mac.

God was exceedingly pleased, and you guessed it … the peasants rejoiced.

Now, Bumby being the good WASP that he is, did not want to pay retail… So, God created the Mac outlet Store and placed it within blocks of Bumby.  Bumby and the outlet store found one another and the two were  happily united in Mac bliss; And the peasants rejoiced.

Thus,  The Preppy Chronicles continues………….. And why yes the peasants rejoiced.

I hope that you have  had as  much fun reading this as I had writing it. Feel free to share.

Always, Bumby

Please join me at my sister site … The Preppy Chronicles II

The Preppy Chronicles Edition II Volume I

 

The Preppy Chronicles moves into the 21st Century.

Bumby here, I just wanted to give you a small update. I am working on updating my site for this next year, mostly changing the font…  Lol…I have just changed the entire look and feel . For those that are new to the Chronicles, WELCOME. You may find my blog roll  on my sister site… The Preppy Chronicles II Please visit. To be added, Please leave your site info on my  Contact Form.

Please join me over at my newest site The Preppy Journal, your online guide of the Preppy Lifestyle.

Always, Bumby