The "Mr. Peep-ers" Edition
Readers—
Happy Easter!
Easter and Passover mean Spring. Spring means Spring Cleaning. Spring Cleaning means different things to different people. To me it means everything from closet clean-out to kitchen cabinet purge to window washing to turning the garden.
If you need a short-hand for some closet decisions, here’s some of my learnings:
I hear my mother’s voice in my head saying “darling, that blouse (shirt, pants, shoes, dress, sweater) looks TIRED.” That is short-hand for “get it out of that closet as fast as you can.” Turns out, there are actually a number of gradations of “get rid of it.”
“Tired” is just the first rung of give-away vs. throw-away ladder. Tired means a little bit faded or a little bit pilled or a little bit de-shaped from laundry or whatever. If you absolutely loved it you could keep it for “hanging around the house,” “gardening,” or “camp.”
“Worn” implied a step beyond Tired. It meant you could not wear it to school, let alone Temple or work BUT you could mayyyyybe where it to do the marketing or run errands.
“Shabby” was the deal-breaker. Out. O-U-T out.
Sporting a shabby item was a cardinal sin because in addition to looking, well, shabby, it was also deemed an insult to “those less fortunate” who would not be seen in said item because those mothers would never allow their children to be seen and judged negatively. Tthe conclusion was that if we were well enough off *not* to be judged because we could “get away with it” it was doubly insulting to those who did not have that luxury. She was right.
This went along with a strict rule against wearing “painter’s pants” and “overalls” for fashion because it insulted the people who wore those clothes to do their work and make their living. The last corollary is that, to this day I never, ever wear camouflage. This is in deference to soldiers who wear camouflage for their work, who are not exactly thinking about fashion when they go into battle and therefore it’s an insult to treat it as a luxury/fashion item.
I could take you through the gradations of the kitchen clean out, too. Bottom line— when I discover something that I moved out of my mother’s house 4 years ago that was moved from *her* old house in the late ‘90’s, it’s probably time to toss it. But what if it’s an emergency and I need that Spice Islands Cream of Tartar or those cookie sprinkles in the little jar shaped like a clown?
Every week I get rid of 100 articles I’ve read that don’t make the cut here. I only include the freshest, least tired, unshabby news that should fit you just fine. It’s the most important news of the week— Politics, Business, Health, Pop Culture, The Arts, Sports, and more.
If you aren’t already a subscriber, you should be.
If you have a story you think I may have missed or something to share with me, please still do, at LZSundayPaper@gmail.com.
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Thank you, contributors!
See you next week — enjoy the Spring weather, whatever form it takes, wherever you are…
LZ
The Pic(k) of the Week:
The Humbling Tyranny Of The Photos Our Kids Take Of Us via Romper
POLITICS:
The Tired Trope Of The ‘Power Hungry’ Woman via Elle
Two Federal Judges Issued Opposing Rulings On Abortion Pills. Here’s What’s Going On. via The New York Times
WORLD:
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Makes Powerful Farewell Speech via NBC News
BUSINESS:
A Surprising (and Growing) Gender Gap In The Most Dangerous Jobs via The Washington Post
CAMPUS CLIMATE:
Brown University Renames Center For The Study Of Slavery and Justice In Honor Of Ruth J. Simmons via Brown.edu
HEALTH & WELLNESS:
How My Journey Of Self-Discovery Unlocked Advocacy For Black Women via Marie Claire
I Woke Up Skinny One Day via The Cut
Why American Women Can’t Have Better Contraceptives In 2023 via Fortune
THE ARTS, SPORTS & POP CULTURE:
Interview: Alison Bechdel Explains A Shorthand For Representation In Movies via NPR
Brooke Shields On The Sexualization Girls Face On Social Media via The Intelligencer
New Exhibit Spotlights The Impact Of Black Feminists In Washington via The Washington Post
The Girl Scouts Open Their Own Version Of The Wing via Curbed
FROM THE ARCHIVE:
What It’s Like To Work As An Exotic Dancer via The Atlantic
OBITUARIES:
Nora Foster, 80, Who Married (and Stayed Married To) A Sex Pistol via The New York Times
The Legacy Of Mimi Sheraton, The Pioneering Critic Who Died At 97 via Eater
WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT…?:
I Am Not 80 Yet, But Among These 80-Year-Olds Is Where I Like To Be via The The New York Times