aaaa elcome
to the June issue of 31! Upfront, I'd like to thank all the
readers and contributors who made our last issue such a smashing success.
It's wonderful to be part of something so creative, witty, smart,
and uplifting.aaaaAnd speaking of being part of something, you probably remember a story from your childhood that dealt with that very topic. It's a Dr. Seuss tale about unusual creatures called Sneetches, some of whom have stars on their bellies, some of whom don't. The star-bellied Sneeteches think that their stars make them superior to |
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rest, while the non-starred Sneetches walk around coveting the belly
stars and developing complexes about their genetic deficiencies. One
day, a slick con artist comes to town with a machine that puts stars
on little Sneetch tummies, for just a small fee of course. Well don't
you know that the non-starred Sneetches just have to have stars, which
makes the naturally star-bellied Sneetches feel less special, so they
go to the same man to have their stars removed, thus starting a plain-bellied
trend. Soon the whole Sneetch society is nothing more than an assembly
line of furry yellow creatures going in and out of star adding and
removing machines, desperate to look just right so all the other Sneetches
will think they're cool. Finally the con artist gives a wicked laugh,
packs up his machines and skips town, leaving the Sneetches with all
manner of odd star and non-star decorations on their stomachs, none
of them able to remember what their middles looked like to begin with.
The playing field leveled like that, they all become friends, regardless
of the appearance of their bellies. aaaaThe moral, of course, is that we're all essentially the same on the inside and thus shouldn't |
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| exclude or include others from our groups simply based on appearances. All that Sneetch madness, after all, was driven by an obviously intense desire to be recognized, valued, appreciated-to belong. We've all felt that desire at one time or another, and this month we address some of the ways the desire for belonging manifests itself in our lives. | ||||||
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aaaaIn
her debut piece for 31, Anna Torres discusses the lengths
she went to one year to "fit in" in junior high, in "Red
Upside-down Triangle". Marni Myers tells us about her experience
with the rock star treatment and becoming part of another culture
in "The Persian Club", and Amy
Bangerter reviews Housekeeping, a thought-provoking book
that causes us to question our ideas of what it means to belong.
This month's Top 31 List brings home the
theme of the Sneetches' experience, reminding us of the ways in
which we're all the same. |
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aaaaAnd hey, as you're reading and enjoying this issue, remember that you don't have to be 31 to love 31. --Marni Myers, Editor-in-Chief |
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