Am I a 50s Dad?

     One Easter Sunday in the 1990s, we went for services, as usual, to Holy Ascension Armenian Church in Trumbull, CT. We were dressed in not only our Sunday best, but our Easter Sunday best. Linda McGann, a good friend, spotted Judy and Armene’ wearing corsages that I had pinned to their dresses before leaving home. She looked at the lovely mother and daughter. Then she looked at me and warmly said, “You’re such a 50s Dad.” I have never forgot her endearing observation.
      Presenting Easter corsages for ladies in my family was just something I did. It was something we did. I learned this from my Dad. I remember the Easters of my childhood when I would be with him Saturday when he went to get a corsage for my Mother every Easter. He never told me it was something I should do. It just became something I started doing when I got married. It seemed natural. It was a family tradition. It was something we did.
      Back in the day, my Dad used to go to a florist as did I the first few years I started buying them myself. That is not what I would call the low cost option but it was the only option. In the 1990s, the Stop and Shop chain in New England used to get pre-made Cymbidium Orchid corsages for $5. That was a great bargain. They were not as nice as the florist made corsages but they were worth twice or three times what I paid for them. When we moved to Chicagoland, the Dominick’s chain carried the same orchid corsages. Over the years, the price had crept up to $10. They were still worth more. There was always plenty of stock right up to Easter Sunday.
     Dominick’s closed last year. This year I looked around at a few other big chain stores. Nothing. I checked in with a few florists and they wanted $30 a corsage. The last place I checked was Sunset Foods a very nice gourmet grocer near my house. They have a nice but small floral department. They were happy to make up corsages for $15.99. We were back in business. As you can see in the photo, they did a superb job.
     I am not sure how many people buy corsages for Easter these days. They used to have a lot of those pre-made corsages around both the Stop and Shop and Dominck’s even on Easter morning and I never actually saw anyone else buy them. While I have not made a serious study of this, I recall many ladies wearing Easter Bonnets and donning corsages on the Easter Sundays of my childhood. I see almost no Easter Bonnets and very few corsages these days. Frankly, I was not even paying attention to any of this until Linda made her observation.
     So, am I indeed a 50s Dad? Certainly my Dad was a 50s and 60s Dad and I learned from him. I was born in the 50s and I am On the Other Side of Fifty. Yeah, in this regard, I am a 50s Dad and will continue small but special tradition.
     I am sure there are many traits I have picked up from my Dad. Some of them are no doubt irritating to the ladies in our lives, some are tolerable, and a few may actually be endearing. This Easter corsage thing is definitely one of the better ones. Thanks Dad.