Dick and Jane are So Cool

I'm hip and I know it. I carry around my little Dick and Jane (and Sally and Puff and Spot) tote bag. Lovin' the retro look. Brings back memories of when I learned to read way back in the dark ages with Dick and Jane.

See Dick run. Run, Dick, run.

I carry my Dick and Jane bag all the time, especially on Saturdays when I go shopping. For within the Dick and Jane bag are my treasures of money saving - coupons and sale ads. Also my lists and any book I happen to be reading.

A while back, I was proudly, and cutely, toting my Dick and Jane bag.

"Oh, I love your bag!" said a woman behind me in the coffee line. "Where did you get it?"

Smile. Gush. I'm so with it and hip (hint: if you use hip as a word, then it signifies that in fact, you are not hip, but belong totally to an older generation).

"Oh, I found it at Inklings," I quip, pleased to attract this attention. Also happy that I resonate with this younger crowd, who must think I am perfectly accessorized.

"I have to get one," she said, "My MOTHER will love it!"

Shrink, wrinkle, slump. Hit by the my mother loves Dick and Jane...not the in crowd, the cool crowd, but my mother...

Still, I carry my Dick and Jane bag, no matter how uncool and out of hip I look. Because I love it. And it does bring good memories of elementary years to mind.

Until today. Again.

I was talking to a young man who I've known from church. Still toting Dick and Jane, prominently displayed in the seat portion of the shopping basket. Easy access for procuring my coupons.

"Hey," he says, "where did you get that bag?" He smiled very nicely and hinted that he liked the bag. I was hip!

"Oh, they used to have them at Inklings," I said proudly, pointing and showing off my era icon.

"I was just there yesterday," he said. "I need to get one for my mom. She loves Dick and Jane."

And so on and so on. Again with the my mother.

Blah, blah, "And she has a first and second edition"...blah blah..."had to look for a long time"...blah blah blah.

I am THE MOTHER who carries a Dick and Jane bag. The old mother, apparently. Not hip.


P.S. No disrespect intended towards those youngsters who love my bag - for their mother's sake. I'm glad they like my choice and I remind them of their mother. It does tend to make one feel a bit old though...

P.P.S. Anyone know where I can find a first and second edition of Dick and Jane?