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Mantis
There are only two species on our planet that are on the
increase. All the rest are on a decline. They are humans and
insects. I read somewhere that the insects will outlast us because
they adapt themselves to their environment while we adapt
our environment to our needs.
Once upon a time in Middle Kingdom Egypt there was an
organization called the Order of the Golden Fly. I imagine
it was not too different from the fraternity of The Order of
Knights of Pythias of today.
Back in those olden times ... so admired were these insects because
of their swiftness ... their agility ... and their persistence ...
that the Pharaohs--in grudging admiration for these invasive
pests--gave them in the form of golden pendants as gifts to the most
valiant soldiers and diligent servants. In keeping with that most
intense form of sequential logic to which I adhere rigorously ... I
have absolutely no golden flies to show you. My methodology is arcane.
My paths are long and tortuous.
And then ... some time during the process of creation ... He who Is
created the Praying Mantis: A delightful little creature who enjoyed
nothing more --when not gobbling up other insects--than ingesting her
mate either after or even during copulation. To say this might--at
times--hinder the process of procreation would be ... in my humble
opinion ... a masterpiece of English understatement. But there it is.
Life is stranger than crap.
And so we segue--with great skill I might add--into the world of
costume jewelry. As I am sure you all know--if you are assiduous
readers of Tidbits--Costume Jewelry came into the forefront of our
culture during World War II when money was a wee bit scarce and with
but a few pennies one could still carry the look of great wealth and
taste. One could wear on one's blouse a doo-dad not dissimilar to what
Hedy Lamar or Marlene Dietrich wore ... and no one would know whose
was real and whose was fake. For those of you who would proclaim that
you could tell the difference in a snap because Hedy lived in
Hollywood and Felicia lived on Delancy street ... to you I say ...
begone you despoiler of dreams and self-aggrandizing illusions.
And so ... in a heady moment of creation ... a jeweler in 1940
created--right here in the good old U. S. of A. ... a paste on chrome
3 x 4 1/5" brooch of a Praying Mantis. It's an absolute knockout. No
value given.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits...may
I direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where
you will scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area
that says Current Tidbits ... and then click on it in order to
view the lovely cannibal of the insect world.
And there ya have it.
That's it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
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