A few weeks ago, I wanted a large towel for yoga and mentioned it to a friend of mine. She later forwarded an email for a catalog brand having a clearance sale and offering free shipping. Unfamiliar with the brand, I asked her about it.
“They’re kind of like the L.L. Bean of bath and bedding,” she said.
“
Ohmygod, I *love* L.L. Bean,” I replied.
I realized that the response was reflexive, rather odd for praising an outdoor catalog…and for one who very rarely did outdoor activities… and almost never shopped at L.L. Bean.
I mean, I remember ordering from them when I was a kid. All of my backpacks came from there, a few of my clothes. But still, why the
OH, My gosh! LL Bean is so grrrrreat! response? Reflecting, all I could come up with was that I think my mother always spoke well of the company when it was mentioned in conversation, and I, twenty years later must simply be mimicking her behavior.
Then, just last week, Mystery Man was at my house, and we were sitting on the patio drinking a glass of wine. Conversation segues led to the telling of a trip up the east coast I took with my mother and sister when I was thirteen.
“We went to the Baltimore aquarium and then on to all the historic places in Philadelphia, stopped to see my uncle in Newport, RI, and finally we made it to Maine and the L.L. Bean headquarters,” I told him.
And would you believe, without a second thought and in the exact same manner as I had done a few days earlier, Mystery Man offered an affirmation about L.L. Bean and its general goodness?
It’s pandemic!
Ok, maybe not. I have only two people to go on, but both of us reacted the same way to hearing the words L.L. Bean?!?! And then I wondered if it might be some sort of cultural or geographic or even religious influence. Neither MM nor I grew up in Texas where LL Bean is rarely mentioned, but he was mid-Atlantic while I was southeast. Further complicating the regional theory, my family made the most LL Bean purchases during the (comparatively) brief period that we lived in Santa Fe.
The only major parallel that MM and I share is that we were both raised Episcopalian, and I tried hard to remember if somewhere between the “Peace be with yous” and communions the rector would pause to give a sermon touting the latest benefits of thermal underwear and waffle-weaving. Or perhaps copies of the catalog circulated in the collection plate? Or maybe church had nothing to do with it. Maybe generalized responsive statements about LL.Bean were the password for a secret society long ago forgotten. Or maybe...
Whatever it was, it was weird.
If you’ve had this experience, feel free to share.
