The Smell of Chanel

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Art for Housewives

The Twenties were roaring and I was in Paris. Autumn leaves paved the boulevards and the crackle they made when walked upon sent vibrations up my spine. I wanted to move and resonant with the world. And I wasn’t the only one.

Women walking the boulevards dressed differently than they had before the war. The new woman was young, athletic, short-haired, and short-skirted. You know, ready for action. Women were no longer prisoners of corsets and meters of fabric. The new fashion was a political statement.

I was visiting my friend, Mona, who lived on rue Chapon in a tiny apartment with a big fireplace. Mona was exotic, intellectually sophisticated, and loved to go shopping. Often we’d have a coffee at Angelina’s on rue de Rivoli (they have the best Mont Blanc in all of Paris!). I was busy talking about my problems with Hugh when I noticed Mona, who is usually very attentive, was not looking at me but looking over my shoulder. “Just what are you looking at?” I asked. “It’s her, Coco Chanel”, replied Mona. “Coco who?” I asked. Mona looked at me as if I were a barbarian and said “How can you not know who Coco Chanel is? She is the most avant-garde fashion designer of our time. “

Feeling that she had to liberate me from my ignorance, Mona grabbed my arm and said “Let’s go!” After walking some minutes, I found myself in front of Chanel’s shop on rue Cambon with Mona introducing me to the world of Coco Chanel.

Gabrielle Chanel’s mother died when she was twelve. Her father abandoned her and her sisters at a Catholic convent in central France.  Here the nuns taught her how to sew.  After leaving the convent, she earned her living as a seamstress but also as a cabaret singer earning the nickname “Coco”.

Coco was not talented enough to sing professionally.  At the age of 23, she became the mistress of Etienne Balsan, a wealthy textile heir who provided her with a life of wealth and leisure.  And much partying.  Coco began an affair with one of Balsan’s friends, Capt. “Boy” Capel.  Capel got Coco an apartment in Paris where she began experimenting with hat making.  Capel gave her the money to open her own shop but he gave her something even more important—an awareness of style. In fact, it’s said that Chanel’s double C logo represents a ”C” for Chanel and a ”C” for Capel.

Coco’s biggest contribution was that of creating fashion that would permit women to move. Basically she transformed male clothing into female fashion.  She claimed that “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it’s not luxury”. First Coco liberated women from corsets.  Then she introduced jersey fabric, traditionally used for undergarments and sports clothing, to high fashion.

The idea was to be simple yet elegant.  Coco also introduced the collarless cardigan, black sweater with pearls, female trousers, the little black dress, costume jewelry and the shoulder bag.  And of course, there was her perfume Chanel No. 5.

Coco helped change the way women and their bodies were perceived.  Women were no longer still-lifes but action movies.

During WWII, despite the difficulties for her fellow Frenchmen, Coco continued to live a life of luxury at the Ritz Hotel surrounded by Nazi officers. Not only did she party with them, she took them on as lovers, too. There is no doubt that Coco was an opportunist and tried to make the best out of a bad situation.  Unfortunately, post-war France did not guarantee that same privilege to all women.

Tondeurs and tondues.

At the end of WWII, over 20,000 French women were accused of having had “horizontal collaborations” with the Germans.  Even prostitutes, who sold their bodies to the Germans in the same way bistrot owners had sold their wines, were singled out and publicly humiliated by having their hair shaved off then paraded in public semi-naked often with swastikas painted on their foreheads.  This punishment was obviously misogynistic as it was restricted to women.  Furthermore, because of a war instigated by men, many French mothers of young children had husbands in German prisoner-of-war camps. Without pleasure, they slept with German soldiers simply to feed their children.

Coco was not subjected to this shame.  Instead, she went off to Switzerland with her German boyfriend.  Here they lived in style for many years until Coco decided to return to Paris to save the fashion industry as, in her opinion, it had become too male dominated.  Upon her return, she was asked about her Nazi boyfriends to which she replied “I don’t ask my lovers for their passports”.

Nazi documents confiscated by the Soviets indicate that Coco had been a German spy with the code name “Westminster”.  Maybe it’s this that caused Coco to be a morphine addict for the rest of her life. Living with yourself is not always easy.

Inside rue Cambon was the famous faceted mirrored staircase, designed by Coco, that connected all four levels of the building.  That way, while standing on one floor, she could see what was happening on the others. Maybe her staircase been inspired by Duchamp’s 1912  Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 which had been inspired by Muybridge’s photo sequence Woman Walking Downstairs.

Chanel No. 5

Beauty is not just visual. Even fragrance was part of Coco’s aesthetics.  She loved to go to the marche aux fleurs to inhale the mix of intoxicating aromas. Maybe it was here that she decided to put flowers in a bottle. The summer of 1920, Coco met the perfumer Ernest Beaux and asked him to create a perfume for her clients`. He presented her with various samples in numbered bottles. She chose the sample labeled “No. 5”.

Even if one could not eat salt and pepper alone, said Beaux, it was difficult to imagine a meal without their presence. One enhances the other. And this was the philosophy he used when making perfumes. What made Beaux’s perfumes so successful was his revolutionary use of a molecule called aldehyde. Chanel No. 5 was a mix of lily of the valley, jasmine, rose, and iris root. Just like the flower market. And the iconic bottle looks somewhat like a whiskey decanter. It has a very simple label with sans serif lettering.

Elsa Sciaparelli was one of Coco’s biggest rivals.  Elsa’s best known perfume was “Shocking”.  The bottle had been designed by artist Leonor Fini who said she’d been inspired by Mae West’s dressmaker’s dummy. The perfume came in a box that was Shocking Pink, Elsa’s signature color. Jean Paul Gaultier liked the Schiaparelli perfume bottle so much that he appropriated its form for his eau de toilette.

When asked what she slept in, Marilyn Monroe responded “Chanel No. 5”.

Moby Dick is the story of men looking for whales. The protagonist, Ishmael, decides to ship aboard a whaling vessel because he wants to find and kill Moby Dick, the whale who bit off one of his legs. At the time, hunting whales was very profitable mainly because of their oil. But whales offer something even more valuable—their rancid vomit known as ambergris that’s used to make expensive perfumes.


During the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette tried to escape so she dressed as a peasant and headed towards the border. Unfortunately, she was also wearing a perfume by Houbigant. Since poor people couldn’t afford fragrances, her smell created suspicion and she was captured betrayed by perfume. But that didn’t stop Marie Antoinette’s dependency on perfume. In 1793 when she was taken to the guillotine, she carried 3 vials of perfume in her corsage to give her strength.

Napoleon loved Josephine’s unwashed smells. Josephine, on the other hand, loved the smell of violets. When she died, Napoleon had her grave covered with the little flowers. Before going into exile, he picked some violets from Josephine’s grave and put them in a locket. He wore the locket until the day he died.

Aromatherapy.


Smells can affect us physiologically. Aromatherapy uses aromas to improve psychological and/or physical well-being. Via the olfactory system, smells affect the limbic system. The limbic system is the part of the brain that deals with memories, emotions, and stimulation.

Even insects and animals are affected by smells. Peppermint is a great mice repellant whereas mosquitoes are repelled by the smell of citronella. And bay leaf repels kitchen pantry insects.

Place rosemary under your pillow to prevent nightmares. Inhaling nutmeg oil or valerian oil can help reduce blood pressure. Nutmeg oil also reduces anxiety and anger. The smell of roses has a soothing effect. The smell of sweet oranges increases alertness. A whiff of peppermint can relieve pain and improve alertness. Lavender relaxes but also improves blood circulation.

So why not make a scent necklace? You can use tiny tea balls or little pouches with scented cotton balls. Let’s say you suffer from anxiety attacks so you can fill your tea ball with lavender, rose petals, and lemon rind. Or you can put a few drop of helichrysum essential oil on a cotton ball and put it in the little pouch. And the moment you start to feel anxious, hold the scent up to your nose. Take a long and slow breath filling your diaphragm. Hold a couple of seconds then exhale through your mouth.

Smell diary.

Unfortunately, with all the chemicals bombarding our daily life, our senses have been dulled like a knife that’s lost its sharpness and no longer cuts well. To keep smell alive, it needs moisture. So drink a lot of water and humidify your air. Exercise also intensifies smells. And when we’re hungry, our sense of smell is stronger. But our sense of smell weakens with alcohol. Stay away from stinking places because prolonged exposure to bad smells weakens the sense.

The sense of smell also may fade with age. So to reanimate your sense of smell, why not keep a smell diary for a week. Write about the smells in your daily life and try to describe them. Often we use comparative descriptions such as “it smells like…” but there are plenty of adjectives to explore such as woodsy, leathery, balmy, fresh, delicate, exotic, floral, musky, peculiar, unfamiliar, pungent, putrid, smoky, zesty, sweet, tart, whispy, lemony, aromatic, coppery, burnt, fragrant, metallic, moldy, salty, spicy, soapy, sulfurous, medicinal.

No one better describes fragrance than Luca Turin. He described Chanel No. 19 like a “bitch perfume, like green sharkskin pumps.” Whereas Le Labo’s Oud 27 is “properly pornographic: a wet-hair note and a couple of macrocyclic musks of the kind found near the rear end of deer take over…really raunchy.” Turin also says that in daily life, smell has shifted from symphony to jingle. That is, the smell of your fabric softener is a door chime whereas Christian Dior’s Diorama is a full orchestra. But “fine fragrance is getting dangerously close to a ringtone: inventive, often distinctive, catchy even, but with lousy sound quality.”

And the scent that drives men wild is bacon.

Practice smelling. The next time you’re at the grocery store, sniff the produce. Experiment with the basic method used by perfumers and sommeliers. And, with your eyes closed, hold an orange a little more than 1 cm from your nose. Focus on the smell and let your olfactory receptors take note. Your breath will warm the orange making it easier to smell. Then move the orange away, wait a few seconds then repeat holding the orange under your nose as you sniff it. Smelling takes place in the bridge of your nose so after inhaling, try to hold the odor molecules in your nose. Now try to visualize what the smell does.  Does it create a mental picture or remind you of something?

Smell and memory.

Smell has an important role in the brain’s limbic system. Memory and smell are good companions. A particular smell can resuscitate memories. Every time I smell honeysuckle, I think of Texas. And the smell of cloves reminds me of my mother. She’d invented her own air freshener. Using a white tea kettle with stenciled flowers, she’d boil spices like cinnamon and cloves until the whole house smelled like a bakery.

Smell also influences our sense of taste. Both smell and of taste use the same receptors. And the foods we eat can change our own smell. For example, because of its sulfur compounds, eating cabbage can change your body odor. So can garlic and onion.  Rub a piece of crushed raw garlic on the sole of your foot and 20 minutes later you will have the taste of garlic in your mouth.  

-30-

(from Cool Breeze, aka The Age of Reconfiguration ©)

Bibliography:

Burr, Chandler. The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession. Random House, NYC. 2004.

Kummer, Corby. “A Rose by Another Name”. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/417604/a-rose-by-another-name/  Retrieved November 22, 2018.

 Vaughan, Hal. Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War. Knopf. New York.  2011

Perfumes: The A–Z Guide Turin  Luca Turin  (Author), Tania Sanchez  (Author) Profile Books; Main edition (August 6, 2010)

Posted in Age of Reconfiguration, Daily Aesthetics | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Daily Aesthetics

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Art for Housewives

Just by being where we are makes us part of our environment whether or not we want to be. So, if the world around us becomes a part of us, why not turn it into art?

To make our life beautiful, we have to think beautifully and to be active participants.  Because stasis does not lead to experience. And it is experience that shapes our sense of aesthetics. And it’s experience that forms those ideals that give our life a direction.

Simply focusing on beauty can transform our daily life. When my mom was a little girl, she had to walk to the well every day to get water for her family. It was very fatiguing but she focused on the Johnny Jump Ups she’d see once there. Just like the women of Gee’s Bend who, after a long day in the fields, would walk back home thinking about their quilt blocks. Because thinking about beauty soothes the spirit. And helps us transcend the ugliness that surrounds us.

Aesthetics are married to our senses and our senses are like invisible threads that unite us to our surroundings. But our senses need to be educated as they dramatically influence how we perceive the world around us.

Here are some examples of women who created a special rapport with smell, sight, touch, taste, and/or hearing.

Coco Chanel and Smell

Julia Child and Taste

Camille Claudel and Touch

Diana Vreeland and Sight

Chavela Vargas and Sound

-30-

Posted in Age of Reconfiguration, Daily Aesthetics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Chavela Vargas and Sound

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Art for Housewives

The Depression had left us all in apnea. New York sidewalks were populated by people with corrugated foreheads and attitudes like milk gone sour. The heaviness of it all had dulled my senses and I desperately needed some art to give me a high. Diego Rivera was in town working on a mural for the Rockefeller Center and the idea of watching him paint gave me a buzz.  So I snuck into the center to spy on the famed artist as he worked.

A young woman was taking tons of photos of the work in progress. Click click click. Soon I became more interested in her rapport with the camera than I was with Rivera and his wall. The woman made an abrupt turn and saw me. But, instead of trying to get me thrown out, she came over and asked if I was interested in meeting the artist. Rivera, whose ego always enjoyed meeting fans, was big bellied, had eyes like a bullfrog, and lips so big they looked like they could float. His wife Frida, instead, was petite and glaring. She was dressed like one of those souvenir dolls your aunt brings you after spending a tequila weekend in Mexico.

Having common curiosities is a good basis for a friendship. That’s how Lucienne Bloch, the photographer, and I became friends. Often we’d lunch together, or visit an exhibition, or have a few cocktails as we gossiped about the art world. She’d been invited by the Riveras to visit them in Mexico and, once there, sent me postcards that teased my fantasies so much that I decided to go to Mexico, too. One evening Rivera and Frida were hosting a big parranda and, thanks to Lucienne, I was invited to go.

The couple lived in a big blue house in Coyoacán. More than a home, it seemed like a museum as they had collections of Pre-Colombian and Mexican folk art everywhere not to mention Frida’s paintings. I particularly enjoyed the retablos and got the impression that Frida had somewhat appropriated the style for her own paintings. The kitchen table was set with mole, enchiladas, chile rellenos, refried beans and tons of tortillas. And bottles of tequila were everywhere.

All the people and the noise had made me feel somewhat claustrophobic so I went out in the garden for some fresh air. I was wondering how the same moon could shine the same way all over the world when the singing started. It was Cielito Lindo, Frida’s favorite song. The voice was so unique I went back in to see who was singing and saw a beautiful woman dressed in a man’s suit. She was Chavela Vargas and the songs she sang had inspired many of Frida’s paintings.

“Cielito Lindo”, for example, was the inspiration behind “Arbol de la Esperanza Mantente Firme”–a statement to the Tree of Hope to stay strong. The painting shows two Fridas. One, post operation, with scars exposed.  The other Frida, elegant and strong, holding a corset for her back, a corset that gives her hope.

The popular Mexican song, “El Venadito Herido” (The Wounded Little Deer) inspired another self-portrait showing Frida half woman, half deer painted before an operation that left her bed-ridden for a year. Frida the Deer, has arrows sticking out of her like St. Sebastian, the martyr.

After discovering that Diego had been sleeping with her sister, Frida divorced him then cut her hair and dressed like a man before painting “Autorretrato con Pelo Corto” (Self-Portrait with Short Hair). On top on the painting is a phrase from a popular folk song: “Mira que si te quise, fué por el pelo, Ahora que estás pelona, ya no te quiero” (“See, if I loved you, it was for your hair, Now you’re bald, I don’t love you anymore.”)

Like Frida, Chavela also loved Mexican folk songs especially rancheras, songs populated by the broken hearted who go to cantinas to drink away their sorrows. This music was traditionally dominated by men until Chavela elbowed her way in to make space for las borracheras, women who could drown in alcohol as easily as men could. This Cantina Solution was a reply to conformity and fake respectability. Drinking like men suggested a form of emancipation.

Chavela was born in Costa Rica to indifferent parents. As a child she suffered from polio and risked going blind. A shaman living in a nearby indigenous village spit chewed herbs in her eyes and gave her a magical tea that made her fall into a deep sleep. When she awoke, her vision was perfect. For the rest of her life she would honour shamans especially the Huichols in Mexico who gave her the name Cupaima, the last female shaman.

Abandoned by her parents, Chavela moved to Mexico at the age of 14 where she sang in the streets until she got gigs in cantinas. Here she made no secret of her homosexuality and was known as a cigar smoking, heavy drinking womanizer. Chavela sang in cantinas for years until she was discovered by singer and songwriter extraordinaire José Alfredo Jiménez.


Jiménez did not play a musical instrument and knew little about musical technicalities but he wrote over 1,000 songs many of which are still well-know today. Together, Jiménez and Chavela turned pathos into poetry. Take, for example, En El Último Trago where the singer asks an ex-lover to drink together until oblivion. Because time hasn’t taught him anything so he continues to drink again and again with strangers to mourn the same sorrows.

Once her career took off, Chavela came in contact with a new milieu. She became friends with Frida and Rivera and was often their house guest. It’s rumored that Chavela and Frida had an affair together. Chavela sang at Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding in Alcapulco and was said to have seduced Ava Gardner.

But the Cantina Solution caught up with Chavela. She became an alcoholic and, during the 1970s, gave up singing. But almost 20 years later, at the age of 81, Chavela returned to the stage. She debuted at a sold-out Carnegie Hall at the age of 83. After each song, she was rewarded with a standing ovation. The audience couldn’t have enough of her. In the words of Pedro Almodóvar, Chavela made of abandonment and desolation a cathedral in which we all found a place.

Chavela spent the last year of her life recording Luna Grande, a mixture of music and poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca, the poet who, at the age of 38, was assassinated during the Spanish Civil War.  In 1993, Chavela went to Spain and stayed in a room that once García Lorca’s. Every day, she said, a yellow bird would come peck on the room’s window and she was sure the bird was the spirit of Lorca himself. Chavela died a few weeks later.

The power of sound.

Singing is about sound and sound is a power. In Genesis, the sound of a word created the universe. In ancient Egypt, vowel chanting was used for healing. Pythagoras, believing that harmony obliterated chaos, used music for “soul-adjustments”. Vibrating strings can help the body raise its vibration frequency thus King David used harp music for healing himself and his soldiers. In Australia, the Aborigines use a musical instrument, the Didgeridoo, to speed up the healing process. Shamans worldwide use sound to heal often incorporating musical instruments such as gongs, tuning forks, and Tibetan singing bowls.

Alfred Tomatis (1920 – 2001) also believed in the therapeutic qualities of sound. While in the womb, Alfred’s mother’s resentment of her pregnancy could be felt by him. Probably because of this rejection, Alfred was born prematurely. Thought to be dead, he was tossed into a basket. But his grandmother pulled him out and saved his life. Nevertheless, the negative energy he experienced inside his mom made him a sickly child.

Alfred grew up and became an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.  His father was an opera singer and sent his colleagues having problems “staying in tune” to his son for a cure. Opera singers, singing at their full vocal power, can emit between 110 and 140 decibels. And, since the sound comes from within, said Alfred, even though the “energy of a singer is not comparable to that of a jet engine, the intensity of the sound is the same”. Because “the amount of time a singer had practiced was directly proportional to the amount of damage to the ear”, Alfred deducted that it was the singer’s own voice that caused a loss of certain frequencies from their voice. Based on his theory that “the voice contains only those sounds that the ear can hear”, Alfred developed a method for affronting frequency hearing loss.

In 1967 monks at a Benedictine monastery had become lethargic and depressed. They’d been used to chanting several hours a day but then a new abbot arrived and decided that this time could be used in a better way and stopped the chanting. Initially no one could understand the monks’ change. Consulted, Tomatis suggested that the monks start chanting again as it was a way for them to keep themselves charged. Chanting and listening to certain kinds of music, said Tomatis, energizes the brain and body.

Sound is a vibration and vibration has a frequency. Nikola Tesla said that “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” Frequencies can heal but they can also be harmful. For example, cell phone tower exposure can cause memory loss, headaches, sleep deprivation, and cardiovascular stress. Even electrical appliances in the home can make a very low humming noise that can throw us out of whack.

ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) waves have been used for mind control manipulation.  For example, during the 80s Margaret Thatcher used ELF waves to affront inner city riots to the point of turning people into zombies. As human behaviour can be controlled by frequencies, ELF Waves & Co. are being used in various parts of the world by those in power.

Music frequencies can be used to manipulate as well. Once tuning forks vibrated at 432 Hz but, in 1885, the Italian Music Commission decided that orchestras should use tuning forks that vibrated at 440 Hz instead.  This new vibration became a worldwide standard in 1953 leading to many conspiracy theories as 432 Hz resonates with the 8 Hz Schumann resonance, the heartbeat of the Earth. Some theorists claim that the Nazi Joseph Goebbels wanted the change in standards as 440 Hz makes it easier to use music for mind control. And other theorists believe that the modern music industry is using pop music to transform individuals into one of the herd so their behaviour can be controlled.

But frequencies can also be beneficial.

The throat chakra participates in the exchange of energy between the body and the head. If your throat chakra is blocked, you will have problems expressing yourself. Because through the throat we emit sound and its vibration. A blocked throat chakra can make us feel insecure. Singing as well as humming can help unblock this chakra.

Humming can also make your mood better and relax you. And it can even soothe your sinuses because it improves airflow between the sinuses and the nasal cavity. Humming also stimulates the vagus nerve, the longest nerve in the body that wanders around the body like a vagabond participating in many bodily activities. The vagus nerve helps prevent inflammation such as that that animates rheumatoid arthritis. But the vagus nerve can draw out anti-inflammatory neurotransmitters to mellow out the pain.

As we grow older, many of us experience hearing loss. The tiny hair cells within the inner ears begin to break down creating difficulty picking up sound vibrations. To protect against hearing loss, avoid exposure to persistent loud noises, never listen to high volume music with earphones, and use cotton swabs with care as they can push ear wax deeper into the ear canal and/or damage the eardrum. Hearing should be routinely checked. Loss of hearing isolates and the frustration can lead to depression and increase the risk of dementia. Because hearing helps to interrelate with the world around us.

OM is a mantra, a vibration and, when chanted, vibrates at the frequency of 432 Hz. Om or AUM, is believed to be the basic sound of the universe, the Cosmic Hum.  If practiced properly and with continuity, OM chanting can improve the efficiency of the spinal cord, improve blood circulation, and detox body cells. Chanting OM also exercises the organs by making them vibrate.

Try chanting in your bathtub. Expand your diaphragm then contract it as you chant OM.

Change your voice and you’ll change your thoughts.

-30-

(from Cool Breeze, aka The Age of Reconfiguration ©)

Posted in Age of Reconfiguration, Art Narratives | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Aesthete Within

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Art for Housewives

-30-

(from Cool Breeze, aka The Age of Reconfiguration ©)

Posted in Age of Reconfiguration, Beauty | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Healthy thoughts for a healthy mind

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Art for Housewives

The backyard BBQ had been cancelled because of the rain so I stayed in that evening to watch TV.  Eleanor Roosevelt was being interviewed by two males who routinely interrupted her answering one question by asking her another one. But she got their attention when, using carefully formed sentences spoken with a Mid-Atlantic accent, she defined a liberal. A liberal, said Eleanor, is a person who keeps an open mind, a person who can move forward instead of always looking back.  In essence, a liberal is a person who is not afraid of change.  Impressed, I wrote her a letter expressing my admiration for her aplomb. You can imagine my surprise when not only did she respond, she also invited me to tea the next time I was in New York.

Eleanor came from an affluent and socially prominent family. Her mother had more beauty than maternal instinct and often called her daughter “Granny” to indicate she was homely in her looks and in her ways. Eleanor would feel so ashamed that she’d want to sink through the floor. Her father was loving but an alcoholic and exiled from the family by Theodore Roosevelt, his brother and future president. By the time Eleanor was 10, both her parents were dead and she was sent to live with her frigid grandmother.

When she was 15, Eleanor’s grandmother sent her to Marie Souvestre’s boarding school in England. Mme. Souvestre not only taught her perfect French but, above all, Eleanor said, shocked her into thinking stressing the importance of developing an independent mind. Unfortunately, after only three years, Eleanor was sent back to the US for her social debut. Once home, she kept a photo of Mme. Souvestre on her desk to help keep her focused.

In the States, Eleanor taught immigrant children before marrying the suave distant cousin, Franklin. But it was also like marrying Franklin’s mother, too, as the domineering mother-in-law imposed her presence everywhere. Then Franklin was elected to the NY senate and the couple, along with their six children, moved to Albany giving Eleanor a chance to take control of her own home.

All seemed to be going well until Eleanor, while unpacking her husband’s suitcase, found a packet of love letters written to him by Lucy Mercer, Eleanor’s social secretary. Eleanor was crushed but it was the beginning of her emancipation. Being a good wife was no longer a priority.

One year after women obtained the right to vote, Franklin contracted polio and that’s when equilibriums radically changed. Not only did Eleanor help him with his cure, she also encouraged him to stay in politics making sure her voice would be heard as well. The Ugly Duckling was now a beautiful swan and it had nothing to do with looks.

Politically Eleanor fought for civil rights, feminism, and underprivileged youth. When the Daughters of the American Republic prevented the black opera singer Marion Anderson from singing at the Constitution Hall, not only did Eleanor resign from the DAR, she helped organize a concert for Marion on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And when Marion belted out “My Country Tis of Thee”, hearts quivered.

During Franklin’s presidential campaign, Eleanor had become friends with the bourbon drinking, cigar smoking, AP journalist Lorena Hickok. The two became very close and Hick, as Eleanor called her, moved into the White House where she remained for the next 13 years. Hick was a media expert and helped Eleanor, who had never wanted to become a President’s wife, learn how to deal with the press. Thanks to Hick, Eleanor began her popular newspaper column “My Day” about her activities as First Lady. Eleanor also had routine press conferences inviting only female journalists as they were barred from presidential press conferences.  Yin yang.

Probably what most impressed me was Eleanor’s role in promoting the United Nations.  She was instrumental in having the Four Freedoms included in the UN’s charter. These Freedoms are: 1. Freedom of Speech 2. Freedom of Worship 3. Freedom from Want 4. Freedom from Fear.

One thing I understood, had it not been for Eleanor, FDR would never have become president.

Finally I planned a trip to New York City to have tea with Eleanor.  She lived in a lovely townhouse on East 67th Street. A housekeeper led me to a lovely room with leaded windows where I nervously sat until Eleanor walked into the room. She was about 70 years old, tall, wore a violet printed dress, pearls and a hairnet. Eleanor’s eyes were like blue seas that made you want to jump inside of them and swim.

As she poured the tea she said: “A woman is like a tea bag–you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”

Looking around the room I noticed there was a knitting bag full of yarns and needles. “Oh, you knit?” I asked. “Yes, my dear, you see knitting use to help me so much when discussing politics with Franklin. Sometimes he would say the most outrageous things and, instead of commenting, I would simply speed up the stitching. Knitting also helps me think things out and I always take some knitting with me when I travel.  Here, take these.” And she gave me the most unusual pair of mittens I’d ever seen.

Eleanor knew how to spread her presence in the same way I knew how to butter my bread…a little here, a little there until you’re just about everywhere. I told her that I admired her courage as she’d often expressed opinions that had not been popular especially coming from a president’s wife. Eleanor just smiled and said: “Do what you feel in your heart to be right—for you’ll be criticized anyway. Instead of letting my role as First Lady influence my actions, I used it as a means of influencing the actions of others. Because the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Furthermore, remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

“And don’t be afraid of growing old either” she said as she took one of her chocolate covered garlic pills for her memory. “Because beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”  

As we grow old, we fear not only for our physical health but for our mental health as well. Mental health is about equilibrium. Insecurities are destabilizing because they make us rigid and fearful of change. But rigidity is not stability. Often it’s the lack of flexibility that provokes chaos. Bamboo doesn’t break when the winds blow hard because it knows how to bend.

The five things, according to some research, that most affect us when we’re old are: health, relationships, economics, sense of purpose, and discrimination.

Whatever we do often, we will do well even if it is bad for us. Because repeated actions create neural pathways. To create a path in a field of grass, you simply repeatedly walk the same route until you flatten the grass. In the same way, habits are formed. Thanks to neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change itself, we can create new pathways and transform ourselves no matter what our age.

Good mental health begins with good thoughts. If you want a positive change in your life, start with positive thinking. When a bad thought comes into your mind, nip it in the bud before the negativity goes into loop. Substitute the negative thought with a positive one. Or use a talismanic action such as making the word “happy” in sign language as you smile and say “I’m feeling glad all over”. To say “happy” place your hands in front of your chest, palms inward, then toss your hands up and down creating a circular motion. Repeat this motion with a smile on your face.

Relationships are about interrelating. So start by looking in the mirror and make friends with yourself. You won’t be happy with anyone if first of all you are not happy with yourself.

To avoid economic stress once retired: avoid debt, downsize and live near a public transport system. Get your house in order, make repairs, declutter, make your home an easy place to live in. The older you get, the more difficult is to keep up with everything so streamline now. Learn go be frugal ahead of time. Believe in less is more. And make the most of what you already have.

Things you can make with a loaf of bread when it’s no longer fresh: Croutons and Bread crumbs, bruschetta topped with a pesto made from windowsill garden herbs, and an Italian favorite, panzanella. Panzanella is a Tuscan salad made with soaked stale bread, tomatoes, onions, basil and maybe even cucumbers, capers and tuna. It’s seasoned with salt, vinegar and olive oil.

Learn to joy in activities that don’t require money: Have a picnic in the park, pretend to be a tourist in your own town and take walking tours, organize a romantic Evening in Paris at home (OK, maybe some money for the wine!).

Young or old, you need to give your life a purpose. Like Rita Montalcini. Despite her father’s objections, Rita went to medical school and became a biologist. Afterwards she became a university assistant but, because of the 1938 Italian Racial Laws, was forced to give up her position, flee, and assume a new identity. But that didn’t keep her from creating a lab in her bedroom to study the nerve growth of embryonic chicks. This eventually led to the discovery of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and, later on, a Nobel Prize.

NGF is important in regulating the growth and maintenance of neurons. NGF is important in terms of neuroplasticity. Rita was mentally sharp until her death at the age of 103. Some claim that it was because she took NGF eye drops. But it’s possible that it was because she still had a passion for life and went to her lab most every day. And when asked about aging, Rita responded: “At 100, I have a mind that is superior, thanks to experience, than when I was 20…the body does what it wants. I am not my body, I am my mind.”

Another problem with aging is the discrimination against the elderly. Often they are not taken seriously to the point they become invisible. What to do? First keep in mind that growing old is a privilege not everyone has. Socialize with others of your age, get involved, stay active. Avoid collecting dust by moving, dancing, and wiggling when you walk.

Believe in yourself. Practice affirmations in front of the mirror every day.  Say stuff like “I am having the best years of my life” and “I’m feisty and I know it”. Learn the difference between saying “I’m sad” and “I’m feeling sad”. Wear bright colors!  Dress up. Don’t be a Plain Jane. Wear a hat.  Turn up the music and wake up the neighbors.  Let them know you’re alive.

And remember what Confucius said: It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop!

-30-

Related: Eleanor Roosevelt interviews JFK video + Eleanor Roosevelt Speech Human Rights video + Whats my line? Eleanor Roosevelt video + “White Houses” book about lesbian love affair between Eleanor Roosevelt, journalist, White Houses by Amy Bloom interview + Eleanor and Franklin (1976 television movie) + Eleanor Roosevelt: The Definitive Biography of America’s Most Important First Lady (1999) + Eleanor Roosevelt interview with Bill Downs and Edward P. Morgan (people who do things for you generally expect something in return, that’s why some nations are suspicious of US help…getting these people back on their feet is necessary because we need markets…in this interview Eleanor also explains her concept of liberalism) + Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project + Eleanor Roosevelt interview (1957)

(from Cool Breeze, aka The Age of Reconfiguration ©)

Posted in Age of Reconfiguration | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments