Rock a Sock

    Mabel remembered her very first new pair of socks. Most people would not have such an odd memory from their childhood but this occasion did not occur until she was six years old. Before this time she had always been given the hand me downs from her older siblings or ones purchased from Goodwill.

   She had experienced many types of socks in those early years. There were the grayish ones that were once a nice white color. There were the holy ones that included holes in the toes and holes in the heels. There were knee socks and anklets, crew and tube, and one time she had heavy ski socks that were actually a match. Most times her footwear had been an odd assortment of mismatched and very worn cottons, wools and nylon. 

   But on one glorious day her Aunt Beatrice had gifted her with socks that were elegantly displayed in a clear plastic bag. They were originally purchased for her daughter, Thelma. Mabel was always envious of Thelma. She was born with the lucky fate of being an only child with parents that loved to coddle and adorn her with special treats and outfits. She, of course, received new socks on a regular basis, but in Thelma’s fifth year of existence, she made the momentous decision of only wearing pink socks. This momentous decision had a ripple effect on the life of Mabel, and she was forever grateful her cousin was so fussy and spoiled.

   The memory of these socks warmed her heart every time she thought about them. She remembered slipping them from the package and feeling the soft silkiness in her hands. Her fingers had gently skimmed the fabric on each sock and tingles of joyful satisfaction had smacked her senses. They were as white as a new tooth and had a beautiful lacy ruffle that folded over to encapsulate the ankle into a princess like crown. When she wore them she felt like royalty. She always imagined the socks brought her some new prestige, and it did seem like people looked at her more respectfully when wearing them. 

   People would be astonished to find out that fifty years later, Mabel still had the memorable socks. They were carefully wrapped in tissue paper and boxed up on a special shelf in her craft room. Those were her first and ever since then she kept all her socks even when they became worn and torn. This very large collection was organized in laundry baskets. Many times she would take a basket and sort through the assortment of material feeling the memory of their warmth and savoring the many colors and textures.

   The great thing about having a vast collection of socks was that when they started the Rock a Sock Convention two years ago, she had plenty of options and a lot of her own inventiveness to win this event. The first year it happened, she did not enter the contest. She did end up purchasing a newly stitched sock purse and some wooly sock leg warmers that were being sold at one of the many displays at the convention.

   The next year, she pawed through her many socks, and had so many ideas on what she could make but felt hesitant about using any of her precious collection to follow through on a project. The man who won that year inspired her by his creation of dog sweaters made from the socks of his children and actually modeled by his three Yorkshire Terriers. It was all so cute and irresistible. The judges handed him the blue sock ribbon and $50 while the dogs pounced with joy.

   This was going to be her year to Rock a Sock and she had finally delved into a creative project. She stepped into something she had never seen before at the convention. It was going to be a shoo-in she thought as she walked around looking at other displays of sock invention.

   She saw the usual hand warmers, coasters, pot holders, and dog toys. There was a beautiful display of Disney princesses and she especially loved Snow White and her seven dwarves with the dwarves being made out of baby socks. So cute thought Mabel and this project will for sure be a contender. She noticed some judges approaching her table and scrambled over there to meet them.

   “Please state your name,” said a lady wearing a sock lanyard around her neck with a badge at the end that said Judge 1.

   “My name is Mabel Adams,” stated Mabel in a clear and confident voice

   The lady was clearly the spokesperson for the rest of the judges and continued in her very serious tone, “As judges we will be scoring you on creativity, appearance, and lastly, how it will be beneficial for mankind. Each category is worth 5 points. The contestant with the most points will win. If there is a tie, the judges will decide which one is most deserving. Do you understand Ms Adams?”

   Mabel nodded her understanding and began her presentation by spreading out her arms over the display as an invitation for the judges to take in the splendor of the spectacle. 

   “Before you are uniquely made pots of chia celebrities!” She began explaining showing great enthusiasm. “They were made by filling socks with dirt and adding grass seed. Each chia’s head was selected with careful consideration from a variety of socks, and with the help of buttons, yarn, and gems, their faces became fully developed to resemble celebrities that we are all familiar with.” 

   “For instance,” she continued and pointed to one pot, “Here is Elvis! Over here,” she pointed again, “is Betty White!”

   Mabel continued pointing out other celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkston and Oprah Winfrey. The judges gazed with transfixed interest and Mabel was pleased with their attention as they picked up pots to do further investigation of her work.

   “As you can tell, I used many varieties of grass seed giving each individual chia sock their own look and flare. For example,” she said as she picked up a pot, “I used this Pampas grass which has a fluffy and lighter color to create Colonel Sander’s hair and beard.” 

   She picked up another pot and continued, “I used Cannabis Indica to establish a completely different look for Willie Nelson’s hair and beard.”

   She saw the raised eyebrows of the judges but took it to mean they were impressed with her great deliberations of grass selection. They were jotting notes and inspecting chia socks until Judge 1 thanked Mabel and pushed the others along to the next display.

   After about half and hour the judges got up on a stage and called the convention to order. Judge 1, of course, stood up by the microphone with Judge 2 and Judge 3 standing behind her with folded hands and simple smiles on their faces. Mabel felt excited and it was beginning to feel almost as momentous as the day Aunt Beatrice gave her the little white lacy socks. She again remembered the softness on her feet and it brought a warm tingle through her body.

   “I want to thank all the participants in this year’s Rock a Sock Convention. There are many fine projects out there that show socks really are very purposeful and we appreciate all your talent and creativity. This year the Rock a Sock blue ribbon and $50 goes to…Hannah’s Headbands!” 

   Mabel felt the warm tingle evaporate from her body as Hannah got on the stage carrying an assortment of colorful sock headbands. She hugged each judge and thanked them and then announced that they would be on sale at her booth for five dollars a piece or three for ten. Everyone clapped and congratulated her as she departed from the stage.

   Mabel moped back to to the table where her chia socks sat bleakly looking out at her. She grabbed a box and started organizing them for the journey home. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Judge 3.

   “Excuse me, Ms. Adams, I was wondering if you would allow me to purchase one of your chia socks.”

   She looked at him with some astonishment.

   “Really,” she exclaimed. “So my creations did impress you?”

   “Oh, yes. I found the whole concept interesting,” he smiled convincingly. He started to pull out his wallet and Mabel stopped him.

   “I will give you one and you don’t have to pay a cent, but you must do me a favor.”

   “If I can, I will certainly do so, Ms. Adams.”

   “I would like the judge’s point sheet for my project.”

   He shuffled through some papers in his hands and pulled out the one with Mabel Adams written with precision on the top of it.

   “Here you go,” he pronounced with satisfaction and handed it to her.

   She took the paper, folded it carefully and then asked him what chia sock he wanted.

   “My favorite singer is Willie Nelson!” He grinned. “He is Always on my Mind.” Mabel smiled at his song reference and pulled Willie from the box.

   “Thank you so much, Ms Adams. Hope to see you at next year’s Rock a Sock Convention.”

   When she got home that night Mabel looked over the judge’s rankings in each of the categories.

     Creativity- 2 points Comment- very similar to the terra cotta chia pets

     Appearance 1 point  Comment- looks more like blobs than celebrities 

     Usefulness 4 points Comment- great for a grade school science lesson

            Total - 7 points

   Mabel drank her tea and considered the judge’s rankings. They were rather harsh in their assessment she thought and she wondered if they just didn’t like some of her chosen celebrities for the project. It did not matter anyway. She grabbed one of her baskets of socks and started feeling the textures and admiring the colors. She was just thankful she had used socks from Goodwill and not from her prized collection.