Red Hat Society
 
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Red Hat Society

(@pamela)
Posts: 1171
Noble Member
Topic starter
 

Just to move this out of that thread - the Red Hat Society is based loosely on a poem
Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people's gardens

and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

My mom gave me that poem when I hit 30 and I have loved it since. The Red Hat Society is a great way for ladies of all ages to get together and just celebrate being alive, being a woman and being a little outrageous!
Pamela.

 
Posted : September 9, 2004 1:40 pm
(@cleric)
Posts: 37
Eminent Member
 

Pamela,
Beautiful!!! My mother was a member and didn't know it! Thanks for sharing that!

 
Posted : September 9, 2004 2:03 pm
(@Onika)
Posts: 983
Prominent Member
 

That's what you are talking about!
I gave that poem (in book form I recall) ages ago to my mom when she turned 50.
She just retired and has signed on to be an election observer in Florida in honor of her freedom from employment and convention.
I just pray I'm not going to get a call from the Dade County jail. Talk about outrageous.

 
Posted : September 9, 2004 2:03 pm
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