Play Pretty
"The baby won't quit squalling," Mama said. "Hand him a play pretty." Unless you were raised in the American South, you may not recognize the words or syntax of this blog. Play Pretty evolved into "pacifier," but before that came the "sugar teat," which would have distressed the pediatricians, had there been any. We had no idea of the meaning of A.D.D., we just knew that "that kid is so hyper, he can't sit still." We had no idea that the sugar tit (I can say that now, having established that I know the proper spelling) would hold the rage back until the real article could be stuffed into the fussy mouth. I am not sure I could make a sugar tit today. If I had to, I suppose I would cut a finger from a cloth glove, fill it with granulated sugar, sew it up, and pop it into the crying maw. (Mouth, Myrtle)
My point? If I have one, it has to do with my fascination with language and the swift way it changes. New words appear and the old fashioned ones can no longer be found.
So, what was a Play Purty (sic), and where could one be found? Anything colorful, without sharp edges or swallowable toxic material might do, insects and reptiles excluded. Today colorful mobiles are suspended over children's cribs for similar purposes.
Fast forward to here and now. We are still concerned with keeping infants happy, but not everything baby reaches for is permissable. It is the older children and youth whose choice of play pretties can provide plenty of motive for intervention. The librettist for the popular 1950's Broadway show, The Music Man, posed the question that should still be pertinent today: How to keep the younguns moral after school. The new keeps chasing the old out, and I suppose it is a good thing as far as sugar tits are concerned.
OK, we seniors have forgotten the Celtic swear words, here in Geezerland, and have to blog about something.
"The baby won't quit squalling," Mama said. "Hand him a play pretty." Unless you were raised in the American South, you may not recognize the words or syntax of this blog. Play Pretty evolved into "pacifier," but before that came the "sugar teat," which would have distressed the pediatricians, had there been any. We had no idea of the meaning of A.D.D., we just knew that "that kid is so hyper, he can't sit still." We had no idea that the sugar tit (I can say that now, having established that I know the proper spelling) would hold the rage back until the real article could be stuffed into the fussy mouth. I am not sure I could make a sugar tit today. If I had to, I suppose I would cut a finger from a cloth glove, fill it with granulated sugar, sew it up, and pop it into the crying maw. (Mouth, Myrtle)
My point? If I have one, it has to do with my fascination with language and the swift way it changes. New words appear and the old fashioned ones can no longer be found.
So, what was a Play Purty (sic), and where could one be found? Anything colorful, without sharp edges or swallowable toxic material might do, insects and reptiles excluded. Today colorful mobiles are suspended over children's cribs for similar purposes.
Fast forward to here and now. We are still concerned with keeping infants happy, but not everything baby reaches for is permissable. It is the older children and youth whose choice of play pretties can provide plenty of motive for intervention. The librettist for the popular 1950's Broadway show, The Music Man, posed the question that should still be pertinent today: How to keep the younguns moral after school. The new keeps chasing the old out, and I suppose it is a good thing as far as sugar tits are concerned.
OK, we seniors have forgotten the Celtic swear words, here in Geezerland, and have to blog about something.