The Later Journeys - 24. The Making of An American Consumer

                       

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Now that Ben was aware of photography, we all felt freer introducing him to materials that featured images. We were no longer strictly limited to the printed word.

I had another goal for Ben. Just as his notations had stymied me, I saw that the present-day version of the written word was difficult for him to slog through. We would have this gap unless he got some guidance. Having served as a Literacy Volunteer for many years, I got the job.

The day after Gerry’s visit, we’d all slept in a bit, so I left breakfast preparations to the guys and went out in the morning. Though I was tempted to make a side trip to see my folks, I postponed it; I wanted to get started with Ben as soon as possible.

My first stop (after Starbucks) was a local chain drugstore. I picked up several pairs of reading glasses, hoping at least one would suit Ben. Whatever he couldn’t use, I planned to casually leave around the house in case Warren or Trevor could use them. They were both creatures of habit and tended to neglect things like their eyesight, and their diets. Ben wasn’t the only one who needed to be retrained in his eating habits.

At the drugstore, I perused the school supply aisle and picked up a few early-grade level workbooks and some office supplies. What I needed to do was get Ben going in his transition from the intricate 18th-century code he still used, to the semi-standard typefaces found in most printed matter. We hadn’t gotten him up to computers yet, but when that happened, he could enjoy the flexibility of the numerous fonts.

But for now, he would get to be a schoolboy again.

Everyone was up and about when I returned to the cabin. The weather was tolerably cool and dry, so Ben was busying himself in the barn, with Warren and Trevor handling a few minor repair and maintenance jobs. The study was soon to be modernized to accommodate a computer desk, including wireless speakers. Once Ben was out of bed, they had also discreetly applied some preventive lice treatments around his room, being sure to use only natural mint oil and other non-toxic preparations on his bed. Most of his clothing had been successfully washed but some leather garments had been sealed in plastic bags and left outside until they were clear. Ben seemed indifferent to all of this, because he was thoroughly enjoying the gifts from Gerry. As we’d all hoped, he clearly saw the merits of lighter modern materials, especially when it came to his feet. Again and again, he marveled at the improvement in his gout.

Once Ben was available, I offered him the reading glasses. He tried them all on and ultimately agreed that 2.50x power worked best. They had cost about eight bucks, but I frequently saw him take them off his face, cradle them in his hands and study them like a greatly prized possession.

I then told him that from here on, he would be encouraged to read any and all items that came into the house. We had been keeping most of the mail out of sight. Nearly all of it was advertising, which typically went into the recycling bin, but now we were laying it out on the dining room table. In just one day, we had a good representative pile.

We sat down in the study and I passed him a booklet showing deals from local merchants. I asked him to start by looking at the photos; we’d get to the captions soon enough. I was glad he’d eaten a hearty breakfast because the vivid images of tempting specialties offered at nearby chain restaurants were likely to have him craving an early lunch.

Before he turned his attention to the mailer, he cleared his throat. "Jas," he asked, "please help me to better understand 'cabin fever.' I take it that is merely an expression denoting weariness from being indoors ... but is it also a medical malady?" I stifled a smile and a laugh at his earnest eyes, peering over the tops of his new glasses.

"Well, it's only a medical malady if one person is carrying an actual disease -- people in close quarters do take that risk," I said, recalling the innumerable sad tales of families that lost members to the COVID-19 virus ten years before. "But yes, it's really just an expression. I believe it came into use early in the 20th century -- and it originated here in the United States."

His curiosity satisfied, he began studying the ads. “I see many sandwiches,” was his first comment. Indeed, there were sausage biscuits, double-decker bacon cheeseburgers, Reubens, gyros, quesadillas, and the ubiquitous party pinwheels to be sampled with the eyes.

“So many goods for sale,” he murmured, paging through the ads for gym equipment, computers, smartphones, cigar subscriptions, holiday fruit baskets, replacement windows, coins and jewelry, walk-in bathtubs, and custom table pads. This didn’t even include handyman services, massage spas and chiropractors, which were also plentiful.

I had a notebook, sticky notes, and several pens at the ready. On each page of the circular, I asked Ben to identify who the seller was and what they were advertising. Food was relatively easy at first. His first guess was always “a restaurant.” He liked that word. Soon enough we would be unable to resist indulging his innocent desire to “visit all the restaurants.” He quite obviously had no true understanding of how crowded the world had become, how endless the choices were. Warren and Trevor were already doing private research into the nearest commercial areas with the lightest traffic. We didn’t want to overwhelm him the first time we took him out. So we were grateful for the delay that came from having to wait for the ID.

It was interesting to see Ben’s interpretations of what he was seeing. Through his eyes, what seemed obvious to me looked quite different to him, and sometimes mystifying. Gym equipment and computers were, of course, utterly alien; I promised to explain it all, sooner than later.

A gym franchise showed two teenage girls, clad in sweats, smilingly lifting weights. Ben tried to figure out what the weights were, and why the “lasses” were smiling.

“Phones!” he cried out happily, recognizing what was now a familiar item, displayed by a couple who we were to assume was elderly, but who looked far younger than Ben. “Auto -- cars!” he exclaimed at a dealer ad.

He paused again to scrutinize close-up images of Lincoln pennies being offered on approval. This led to a brief discussion of the U.S. Mint, which had been established in 1792, the beginning of a standard currency for all the states.

An event center showed happy newlyweds. The bride wore a strapless gown, cut very low in the back, with an abbreviated veil. Ben easily recognized the outfit, saying that anytime he returned from Europe, he fielded questions from women he knew about French fashion, and sometimes endeavored to come back with samples. He identified a bowling alley when he recognized the shape of the pins. A handyman service depicted a smiling man wearing a fully loaded leather tool belt. Ben used the magnifying glass for this, hoping to identify as many tools as he could. He asked me if I knew the young man’s name, and thought he must be quite enterprising. He paused again a few pages later, puzzled, at a photo of a man with a chainsaw and a protective mask -- a tree-cutting service.

He also squinted intently at the images of Santa Claus, scattered throughout. I asked him if he was acquainted with any Dutch people in New York, who might have shared traditions of “Sinter Klaas.” He nodded vaguely; the legend was clearly not as widespread in Ben’s time as it was now.

The photo that seemed to captivate him the most was toward the end of the booklet. It was an ad for a day spa, showing a smiling bare-shouldered young woman with flawless skin, lying prone on a sheet, eyes closed. I had invited him to mark any ad that he had questions about. He went through most of the sticky notes just for this one circular, but continued to stare at the spa ad long after he’d marked the page.

Once done, he sat back and rubbed his eyes. He needed to rest. Later, after lunch, we would resume. I decided to focus on the dollar amounts next, so he could get a feel for what things now typically cost.

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