The Dress

A Virgin a Day
December 11, 2010
Day 11

Our Lady of Guadalupe

A Virgin a Day is the title of this Meme Project. It is a tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It started on December first and will culminate on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is December 12th. Of course I continue to dedicate all of these posts to my Mother, Carmelina Rosa Caruso Spado. A memorial to her love and devotion to her family, and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

To participate, see Rebecca’s recuerdo mi corazon blog. There, you will get more definition and instructions as well as see other’s submissions, which, If I may add, are quite fascinating, artistic, poetic and bold.

In 2008, I volunteered to help out in an event called The Longest Walk II. A March across the USA from San Francisco to Washington DC to remind Americans to protect Sacred sites and quit harming Mother Earth. I went to help out and support this effort. I brought my van and a trailer and hauled the walker’s backpacks from daily camp to daily camp. We went non stop at first, walking miles and miles every day. After a few weeks on the road, we finally got a few days off to rest and resupply in Bakersfield, California. It was on one of these days off that I took walkers that needed to get to a laundromat, bank, store or post office where they needed to go. I did some personal things I needed to get done as well.

One day, I stopped in downtown Bakersfield for a regular sit-down meal. After lunch, I walked around the downtown area and peeked into the windows of the shops. Passing by this one trendy little women’s wear boutique, I caught a glimpse of a very unique dress in the window. I kept going back and driving by that shop, looking at that dress.

Mrs. Spadoman looks fabulous in this dress

When I saw it, I thought of how I’d like to buy it as a unique gift to send back home to Mrs. Spadoman. The walk had me away from home for months. I was always thinking of all my family members and buying trinkets or post cards to send home. This dress was special. I had to buy it. 

It was awkward for me to walk into that store and talk to the two young black clad pierced goth women about buying a dress for my wife. I mean, I’m an old guy. I know I don’t fit the stereotype of someone that would shop in their little boutique. But I did take a deep breath and go in. I don’t know what I was thinking would happen. What? Would they laugh at me? Think I’m a pervert? I was just a little unsure as dress buying, especially an old gray haired Midwesterner dress buying at a trendy chic boutique in downtown Bakersfield, was a lot out of my character.

When I walked in, there were two women working there and no one else shopping. I had both sets of eyes on me instantly. I wasn’t going to shop around, I was gonna buy, so I walked right up to the front counter where one of the women, the one with the purple hair, was standing. The other, dressed in layers and layers of what looked like rags with sleeves that hung down past her hands that had holes in them for her thumbs,  stepped up quickly. The second one seemed inquisitive, interested in what the purpose of my visit would be. Dominatrix? I mean, just sayin’!

I told them I saw the dress and I wanted to know what size it was and how much. They helped me and gave me their undivided attention. They told me how cute they thought this dress to be. It was February, but it was a sun dress. It wasn’t going to worn that afternoon. I told them I was going to send it home to my wife. I did get some accolades for being so bold as to buy her a dress. I got the idea that it’s not too common a practice.

I’ll let the pictures describe the dress. What brought my eye and interest to it was the bold bright display of Our Lady of Guadalupe prints all over it. “Very colorful,” I thought, and the image of Our Lady on a dress would be very unique. I knew Barb would love its “kitsch” tendencies that bordered on the irreverent. I also knew we both liked the folksy colorful Guadalupe image.

I sent the dress home, but before I did. I had it with me when I returned back to base camp. While talking to some of the people I met on the walk about what we did that day, I was asked and I answered with, “I bought my wife a dress.”

I had to show people. Some thought it was so cool. I did, that’s why I bought it. A lot of the younger women, the ones with eclectic taste, really liked it. I sent it home after showing it off and returned to the walk.

When Barb received it, she told me she thought it was beautiful. It was fun to pull it out in the dead of cold wintry weather yesterday for the photo shoot, (we’re expecting a foot of new snow and temperatures to plummet down to below zero in the next few days). I think Barb looks fantastic in this dress, and seeing her wearing it made me wish the winter will speed by so we can be somewhere in temperatures where a sun dress would be appropriate attire.

Truthfully, I was so excited about this whole Virgin Business as I knew I’d have a depiction of Our Lady on a dress. The odds would favor the fact that no one else would have something like this. It would trump every Virgin object, painting, statue and what have you. You can see I am proud of it. But the posts I have seen this past eleven days have been nothing short of magnificent. The art, the reverence, the history and knowledge and the personal outpouring to each other and the blog readers about The Blessed Virgin Mary have reached us all.

Gracie Jayne had to have her picture taken for this very special fashion show.
Isn't she beautiful

That’s my story for today, Day 11 of 12. Tomorrow, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the end of this beautiful, thought provoking inspiring Meme project. I am grateful to Rebecca for coming up with this fabulous idea. It brought so many ideas and people together. Coming away from this exercise, I found I have made some new connections and think about some things in different ways.

Thanks Rebecca and all of the participants of A Virgin a Day.

Tomorrow, The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at a shrine in her honor near LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

Peace to all