White Socks

I was pulling on my socks this morning to keep my feet warm, and since I had just gotten up, I sort of sat there and stared at the white socks that I had just put on. Now my excuse for this spacey behavior is that I am trying to get over the flu and or cold and am full of drugs that are supposed to help with the recovery. Back to the socks. Aunt Mildred (not really my aunt) was the town librarian and sold hosiery on the side, and she used to pop in and get my folks to buy some of her stuff. She had some really nice white socks that I coveted. Now if you are poor, you did not wear white socks, because you had to wear your socks for several days and making them last a week was the goal. So you got brown or black socks that supposedly did not show that they had been worn more than once in a row. White socks got dirty too soon, and you had to wear more pairs, so this was a luxury we could not afford. Finally, I talked the folks into getting several pairs of white socks. I proudly wore these socks to church or school but not to work on our farm. To this day, for me, white socks are a symbol of not being poor.

By the way, Aunt Mildred was an aunt of dad's brother's wife Mary and always treated as a member of the family, which indeed she was. Besides, she got me my first white socks.