10.28.07
When I Was A Girl …
When I was a girl … I wore pretty dresses, white ankle socks with lace, and black, patent leather shoes.
When I was a girl … I had to listen to the songs, “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To,” “Don’t Leave Your Chewing Gum on the Bedpost Overnight,” and Elvis’, “Blue Suede Shoes.”
When I was a girl … I played with dolls, built an igloo with my big brother, and I collected toads (yes, real ones).
When I was a girl … a Hershey chocolate bar cost a nickel, the idea of “a really good show” was the Ed Sullivan Show, and I used to skip school to watch, “I Love Lucy.”
When I was a girl … the boy sitting next to me in school drew unspeakable images of Superman flying through the air. Oops! The nun did not appreciate being reminded that there were such anatomically-correct parts as were noticeable in those drawings, and the poor lad’s creativity was stifled by the use of a ruler over the knuckles. Then, he’d do it again. Being noticed is far better than being ignored.
When I was a girl … my mother would braid my hair, so I could be just as pretty as Elizabeth, the doctor’s daughter. Mother would also give me smelly hair permanents, and cut my hair with a razor. It was something akin to torture. She always wanted to be a hairdresser and I was practice material.
When I was a girl … “gay” meant happy and I was “happy” to read the book, When Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. If I remember correctly, I received an “A” on my book report.
When I was a girl … I once ate TWO hamburgers, much to the amazement of my parents, as I weighed all of 110 pounds, at the time. Between hot fudge sundaes and more hamburgers, I cannot claim that is anywhere near the present situation.
When I was a girl … people were more friendly. I’ve been trying to figure that out. I’ve come to the conclusion that the media keeps reminding us all of how evil everyone else is, and that “sexual predators” and child molesters might be living right in the neighborhood. It’s true, but that has always has been true. Crime is not a new invention. We’d all be happier to not be reminded. (Sorry, I just did!)
When I was a girl … I had every confidence that my dreams would come true. Except for the neighborhood boy throwing stones at me to knock me off my bicycle because my family was not of the same religious affiliation as his, I had a pretty peaceful existence. I’d lay in the clover and look up at the sky and imagine that all the shapes of clouds were various animals.
I’d borrow blankets from my mother and have her throw them over a metal clothesline in the backyard so I could play “house” inside, with my girl friend. When I was alone, I’d go to the stream down back, flanked by Skunk Cabbage, and watch the ripples in the water, and the little insects, and try to catch minnows with my hands.
Then, making my way up the hill, through the bushes, I’d run into the house and borrow a tin pie plate that the bakery truck had delivered, once full, with blueberry pie. I’d go back outside to collect choke cherries (poisonous before they are cooked, by the way), and I’d mix them with mud and call the concoction, “Mulligatawney Stew.”
In looking back at my childhood, I can see that it set the stage for my later life. I still love music, I still enjoy comedy, I still like my own company, and while I sometimes seek the company of others, I mostly like to think and that requires being alone and being quiet.
The 50s were great, odd, and crazy, and as goofy as the times in which we now live. Truth be known, what I really miss is the chocolate candy bar delight … for just a plug nickel.
Patricia Cummings
