Mr. Green Jeans

I have been reading some of the most terrific articles lately. A new great one that I have to at least mention in passing is about jeans. I know, sounds boring to some, but I have been convinced that based upon the overwhelming popularity of low low (low) rise, boot cut jeans, something had to give, and that something was, in this case, the pant leg. A garment which has now narrowed to a choke around a skinny calf. I've been convinced that big American butts (my own included) hanging out of jeans has been an issue in itself, but this whole new skinny leg thing took me by surprise. I feel the earth shifting beneath me.

Ok, enough of that. Couldn't think of much substance to add to a skinny jeans article that wouldn't be redundant and certainly not as interesting as the New York Times article I've linked to above. Eric Wilson put together an enjoyable article that takes me back to 1987, when I was 7 years old and wearing pink denim skirts and high tops, watching Michael Jackson on MTV. At least skinny jeans will flatter our skinny calves.

Another fabulous article which I picked up lately is from the New Yorker, regarding the criminal activities of Sister Ping, a woman from the Fujian province of China, who successfully smuggled in thousands of Fujianese Immigrants during the 1980s and 1990s and made over $40 million in the process. For years she evaded government officials. In 2000, she was finally caught by the Feds and recently sentenced to 35 years in prison. Her story amazes me. I can hardly believe that this woman, of my parents' generation, was so successful and conniving in her tasks.

And I can't believe what the immigrants would go through to get here - paying vast sums of money, sitting for months in filthy, crowded boats and arriving in the United States half-starved, some dead - to work their debts off for years and then spend their money bringing other family members over in the same way. And Sister Ping, who lived and worked it all, operated with her family members and husband close at hand. Her story brings to mind Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee, in which a Korean grocer learns that his work has been more sinister than he imagined before. In any case, it is nearly time for me to go to work. But read Mr. OKeefe's article. It is sure to impress and teach us about the life and times of a Chinese American Godmother.