Crumbs From the Corner: Adventures in Woolgathering

Monday, June 9, 2008

Gentlemen Are Salisfactoyed





"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."
-Plato

Gentlemen are salisfactoyed for the tiaditional technology the moden time leisure styles are simple and natural. it appeared the modern style and men s handsome activity.
This garment is soft comfartlle and shrunk through special washing process natural and unique look actieved.

Mater's friends recently went to Portugal and returned bearing gifts, one of which included a t-shirt with those words on a label. Mater saw it and laughed and sent it on to me; I saw it and laughed and thought initially to write about it from a humorous point of view.
But there is more, as there is with everything. What harder battle is there to fight than in a dire situation and in a language not one's own? This poor fellow in a distant country was perhaps consigned to invent some sort of description for the item of clothing that the tag was attached to.
Beyond the glaring hilarity of one man's grammatical errors and invented verbiage, there is a deeper element to speak of, one that works men's fingers to the bone and rubs away at their souls in order to procure some degree of a life.
Gentlemen are salisfactoyed; but not all men are considered gentlemen: instead, this concerns those fellows on the lowest rung of society, for whom there is no such thing as a weekend or a moment to spare or any end in sight at all.
One person in this story had the luxury of buying the garment as a present for a friend while on a trip to another country; another had the luxury of passing on the funniest part by post, which is not cheap; and lastly, one person had the luxury of sitting down and writing about the matter in a moment of whimsy and lavish self-reflection- a concept entirely unknown, I expect, to the oblivious fellow who started this chain of events.
How far, I wonder, would a desperate man go to provide for his family? How many new words would he construct in hopes of earning that evening's crust? It seems to me that the label's text is a representation of creativity of a kind I am not accustomed to: creativity born out of fear, most likely, and cornered until something useful is hammered into the world.
Recently at my Spouse's workplace somebody asked him what I do. Spouse replied that I write. The person wished to know if I write for a newspaper or if I have had work published. When told that I do not write for money, nor do I work in any real sense of the word, his reaction was to loudly exclaim, "so you're going to support her for the rest of her life, or what?"
The colleague is quite wrong in his assumptions about Spouse and I; I am grateful every day for the fact that I have the privilege to sit and savour the pleasures of doing what I love in an easy and inspiring environment, surrounded by my cherished books, hot tea within reach and all about me endless sheets of inky paper.
Spouse works to put food on our table but that is a struggle of a different sort. Because of our circumstance, it by default lacks the desperation, sleepless nights, gnawing hunger and feverish fight that burns too many people who cannot even conceive of philosophical notions- not because of any lack of intellect but because their treacherous, soul destroying routine leaves no room for such indulgences.
So, yes, I stay at home and yes, I write for the sheer joy of it; and on occasions like today I am driven to mention those that write because their lives depend upon it.

16 comments:

polona said...

i think texts like this are more a result of the companies trying to save money and giving the job to unqualified people. professional translators and proofreaders cost money...

english is my second language and i haven't studied it but i would never give away a text like that... but the post was fun to read

Unknown said...

i figured anyone who loves tangobaby as much as i would be a kindred soul. and indeed i am correct.
your post seems to have hit a very sensitive area which i most wholeheartedly understand, so excuse my rambling, on this our first "meeting."

my husband goes out there in the world (although currently unemployed...ack) whilst i sit in my warm little victorian painting pictures. although my art does support us, it is not regular and can sometimes be truly frightening. "creativity born out of fear" (most well put) essentially becomes my mantra as my art must somehow transform into money. most (like your husband's co-worker) see what i do as mere folly. i must smile and remember plato's wise words and be happy i do not have that "treacherous, soul destroying routine" that does not allow for the beauty and necessity of art. (i think there's also a quote by goethe that's very similar...something like "be kind for everyone is facing an uphill battle.")

a most wonderful post. thank you for reminding me my experience is shared by others and to be thankful i live the life i do (even if we don't have the proverbial pot to piss in).

tangobaby said...

Oh, oh. I do love this post for so many reasons. Of course, my first instinct was to chuckle at the writing on the tag, without a thought to how that writing got there. And then, reading your sensible reasoning and thoughtful imagining of who could have written that text, reminding me of my illiterate grandma who could only spell her own name, and the grown man I tutored who valiantly tried to learn to read and write so his 8-year old daughter would be proud of him...and then the end result is that I love how you take the tiniest thing and weave it into a tale with so many layers of beauty and meaning.

As for the colleague of Spouse, I am sad for him. To live in such a black and white world, where relationships must be reciprocated in kind...I wonder if he is married? And if so, what life must be lead at home, with all duties and roles proscribed by net worth?

I'm so so very happy to see Ms. Octavine here and to get another peek into her world as well.

;-)

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Polona,
It is true there is no limit to how far the businesses will go to serve their own interests and you're right, they do save money in those ways.
I'm glad you enjoyed this.

Octavine,
Thank you, thank you, for coming by to see me :) And I would have said just the very same thing about tangobaby. I said last week that she was wise, and she refuted it, but we know better...
You may ramble as much as you wish as long as you promise to come back and ramble more! I enjoy everything from the brief comments to the lengthier ones, so feel free to add your thoughts at any time.
It's interesting to meet somebody who seems in the same situation as Spouse and I. As long as we can, I will stay at home and if the situation changes I'll go out there but for now, like you, I'm happy to be home. I can see a fine joy of living and of appreciating things between all your words.
"mere folly"- that's right. They can't understand and I feel sorry for them. If you don't have beauty and ability and time in your life to observe the world then it's a poorer life. I'm sure that pot (of gold) will turn up for you very soon.
I'm going to enjoy browsing your blog now...

Tangobaby,
We've been talking about you ;) Thank you for finding Octavine so she could find me.
It's okay that you were going to laugh- so was I at first but that would only skim the surface of a bigger matter.
Your comment was so lovely and thought-provoking. I did go off on a tangent into imagining the fellow but I may well be right about him and his life.
"reminding me of my illiterate grandma who could only spell her own name"- what a powerful image, one we don't envision too often.
I'd probably sleep better at night if a label was just a label to me, but it isn't, and so I think a lot about things. Thanks to readers like yourself I realise I'm not alone.
Spouse's colleague is indeed married, and I can't say anything more except that I am mighty glad to have Spouse.

Pappy said...

I'm always amazed when people want to comment on others' ways of making it. It comes under my "Nunya" category, i.e. "Nunya business". If you are making it in this old world, and you like what you have, then that should be the standard. I think you two have struck a very nice standard from what I deduce from your writings, and that is to be admired. Pappy

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Texican,
Looks like I missed you by a minute. You got in there while I was writing :)
It might be a fraction better if the person in question was even remotely a friend and one could say trying to help us, but he isn't, and so most certainly he was intruding into what was none of his business.
Thanks for your good words- Spouse and I are definitely living a happy life and we don't wish to change anything until it needs changing.

Jaime said...

I too read the beginnings of this post and saw the humour. And as I reach the end of this deeply thought provoking piece of writing, I sit here feeling so incredibly grateful for my life...for the freedom I have to wander and think and philosophize...things which many people in this world cannot afford to take the time to do. Life for many is purely about survival, and I am so grateful for this gentle reminder.

You have a gift for seeing the deeper things hidden inside what appears to be so simple. You have such amazing insights.
Thank you for this lovely post.

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Jaime, you are so right.
"Life for many is purely about survival" that's immensely true. If your first thought every day is how to get food for yourself and your family, you can't wander in your thoughts. Life physically depends on it. No time for reminiscing or contemplating. It's so hard for most of us to imagine a mind being conditioned to think only in terms of hand-to-mouth but it's like that. I'm glad you liked reading this, I always value your thoughts on both dark and light subjects.

hele said...

You have given me much to think about and ponder.

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Hele, it's always a fine thing to hear that from a reader. Thank you :)

Barb said...

A thought provoking post as usual ... thank you for the reminder of just how fortunate I am as well to be able to stay at home and enjoy my crafting, my home, my family. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Barb

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Barb, thank you too for sharing with us the fruits of your days at home :) Those days make for lovely blog posts from you!

Unknown said...

Well, I'd like to write more, but I gotta go...

really, living very much hand to almost mouth (and tossing it the rest of the way, spattering some egg on my face), I've been amazed to learn how this urge to "philosophize" just won't go away, so that I seem to risk my truck getting repossessed just to sit another few hours concocting another entry that gets me nothing but the profound best wishes from all you great people out there.
And each morning, there is so much simple profunditities (like your entry) to read...
Thanks for making our lives richer!

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Kip, thank you for saying that- it definitely inspires me to know that people are reading and taking something helpful from what I write.
Sometimes this thinking and wondering helps us to be better people and in the end it becomes valuable, even at the risk of being considered a daydreamer.
I do so enjoy comments like this.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

I had all sorts of reactions to this wonderful post, then I got caught up in reading the comments from your readers and of course my responses/reactions are all perfectly captured. for example

1) I too very much enjoyed the surprising way this piece evolve

2) your display a sensitivity to issues beyond the obivious

3) and of course, I was taken by the limited perspective and lack of understanding of spouse's colleague - unfortunately he's not alone. it is clear he is one of the unfortunate louts (that are running amok) that assess others by how much money they make or whether they 'make' money.... enjoyed pappy's turn of phrase with respect to this....'nunya' indeed!

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

Kimy, everyone left amazing comments and insightful extensions of my story. I love that.
As for seeing what's not obvious, I always try to see around corners so to speak and look from another angle or perspective. I go by the simple rule that nothing is quite how it appears at first glance.
And yes, we have to really shout "Nunya!" on the matter of Spouse's colleague. You're right, some people can't leave others to simply be.

Please look around, explore my writing, leave a crumb:
I welcome comments and thoughts.