Made in the USA

I received one of those long forwarded lists from a very good friend of mine back in NJ. She doesn't usually send me these things, not like my half-brother in Germany. He is in his 80's, retired air force who divorced his American wife and married a German woman, and usually sends me a few of these annoying things every week. Mostly they are right-wing wacky stuff, sometimes tearful, sentimental servicemen and women serving in hot places stuff. Every now and again, particularly the ones with pictures, will make me LOL. But to my utter amazement, on penalty of some catastrophe, I manage to delete them then and there. I stop the chain and will stand by any virtual consequences. But this one, from my friend, made me think. Maybe you've seen it?

"One light bulb at a time" was the header. It's about how one grasshopper on a train track won't slow down a train, but a billion would; it's about boycotting goods that are not made in this country. And how every little thing we buy is made somewhere else - even the GE light bulbs are made in Mexico. But, if you look at some generic brands, they are cheaper and sometimes made right here in the good ole USA. Well I don't know about you, but I've been doing this for years, looking at the small print...reading expiration dates...figuring out the best deal on garbage bags on the shelf through some simple mathematical equation, seeing between the lines of things. It's something we women call existing, or sometimes shopping. Brand loyalty, like many quaint things, is a thing of the past. Well, except for Tide. I still depend on Tide.

Last year I was going to visit my brother (this is another brother) and his beautiful wife in MS. They live in a wonderfully historic antebellum mansion. It's called Walter Place and is open for a Pilgrimage in April. I had just helped my daughter move to TN and my son's band was supposed to play in Oxford. Their daughter was scheduled to be married there in a few months, and so I looked for an appropriate gift to bring along. Mother taught me well, always bring a gift in hand when visiting. I looked in Macy's for a real picture album, since I know my brother is not computer savvy and likes to hold something in his hands. I found the best bridal picture album! Etched mirror, white satin, the works. NY designer - Kate Spade (check). Company - Lenox (check) - and then in tiny print "Made in China." I've told this story many times. Sometimes, they will try and mess with you and say it is assembled here, when really everything is made somewhere else. Like our cars, for example.

So I tried to find twine yesterday, yes twine that was made in America. Twine will be my elegant/rustic way of tying a sprig of rosemary around the napkins at the reception. It's impossible. It seems jute is made and spun in Pakistan or India....can you imagine how much it must cost to make it and ship those small round brown balls here for one or two dollars each? Was I supporting child labor? We will have locally farmed chicken, maybe Gulf Coast shrimp, but twine from Bollywood?? Feeling guilty, I got a response from Brian in Germany. He said we should make jobs south of the border, so they stay there and don't come across our borders to work illegally. But then, wouldn't we be importing more stuff from Mexico? I just read a quote on facebook that said,

Families are like fudge....mostly sweet with a few nuts!