My baby daughter posted a blog on her site, http://criskrinkle.blogspot.com/, last night and admonished me NOT to read it. Well, certainly I did! I'll read anything, even the labels on a soup can if nothing else is available. Anyway, it was about the things older sisters may lead you to do......or, as in my case, coerce you into doing.
Pocatello, Idaho, during the fifties,didn't have much going on, as far as entertainment went. No television (for the majority of families), ipods, smart phones, video game stores, pizza shops, a mall to hang out with friends, no Wild water parks, all those places and things kids can't live without today. What we did have were a couple of movie theaters (if you could come up with 25 cents for a ticket and treats), a city swimming pool, a few small parks, the Arctic Circle Drive-In (for teenagers with cars, mostly their Dad's) and on Saturday night, the wrestling matches at the Armory. These were semi-professional matches and........ where all the hot boys in town hung out.
My older sister, Phyliss, (a nickname) and her best friend LaWanna were about fifteen, I was almost ten. Going to the wrestling matches was their entertainment and "trolling", all wrapped into one package. They both had summer jobs which made it possible for them to afford this adventure each week. Every week I would nag to go along, of course getting an adamant NO every time. What teenaged girl wants her little sister tagging along while she is trying to impress some "to-die-for" boy at a social event? Well, when I want something, it' s difficult for me to take NO for an answer.................so I kept on nagging until one Saturday, my Mom, sick of hearing it I suppose, insisted Phyliss take me along, just one time. DeWe and MaryHell got their turn too, before the Summer was over. My turn went like this......
I was a skinny kid and tall for my age, with wild, curly blond hair and about as much sophistication as an old, worn out boot. The time to leave on this adventure was near and I was so excited about going with my big sister and her friend....it was dreamlike! Phyliss and LaWanna weren't nearly as thrilled as me and weren't about to let me ruin their fun for the night. We left the family home, out the back door, toward the alley behind, and then it would be a long walk across town to the Armory.
There was an old, unpainted, barely ever used, wooden garage in our backyard which had doors facing that alley. The minute we were out of sight of the house and behind the garage, I was dragged inside where a transformation took place. Out of my sister's purse came a bra, a roll of toilet paper, and a blue striped T-shirt. Yep, I was soon the proud owner of a set of TP boobs. The stripes on the shirt went around the body.....and, everyone knows horizontal stripes add to your size. In those days, bras were stiff cotton with circular stitched cups which gave a girl a look to rival the Teton Mountain Range. Lois and LaWanna were not going to be humiliated by some skinny, flat chested, nagging little girl. No siree, and they let me know it while I was receiving this extreme makeover. Oh yeah, I got lipstick and mascara too.
I don't know about them, but I had the best time, strutting around with those boobs and makeup. It didn't bother me in the least that the 'boobs' were way too high on my chest, the makeup probably looked ridiculous on a nearly ten -year-old or that the rest of my body was very similar to the road between Fort Worth and Dallas......no curves. I just know that I felt grown-up and beautiful for the first time in my young life. My big sister made me happy that day, coercion or not. I love my sister, Lois.
Pocatello, Idaho, during the fifties,didn't have much going on, as far as entertainment went. No television (for the majority of families), ipods, smart phones, video game stores, pizza shops, a mall to hang out with friends, no Wild water parks, all those places and things kids can't live without today. What we did have were a couple of movie theaters (if you could come up with 25 cents for a ticket and treats), a city swimming pool, a few small parks, the Arctic Circle Drive-In (for teenagers with cars, mostly their Dad's) and on Saturday night, the wrestling matches at the Armory. These were semi-professional matches and........ where all the hot boys in town hung out.
My older sister, Phyliss, (a nickname) and her best friend LaWanna were about fifteen, I was almost ten. Going to the wrestling matches was their entertainment and "trolling", all wrapped into one package. They both had summer jobs which made it possible for them to afford this adventure each week. Every week I would nag to go along, of course getting an adamant NO every time. What teenaged girl wants her little sister tagging along while she is trying to impress some "to-die-for" boy at a social event? Well, when I want something, it' s difficult for me to take NO for an answer.................so I kept on nagging until one Saturday, my Mom, sick of hearing it I suppose, insisted Phyliss take me along, just one time. DeWe and MaryHell got their turn too, before the Summer was over. My turn went like this......
I was a skinny kid and tall for my age, with wild, curly blond hair and about as much sophistication as an old, worn out boot. The time to leave on this adventure was near and I was so excited about going with my big sister and her friend....it was dreamlike! Phyliss and LaWanna weren't nearly as thrilled as me and weren't about to let me ruin their fun for the night. We left the family home, out the back door, toward the alley behind, and then it would be a long walk across town to the Armory.
There was an old, unpainted, barely ever used, wooden garage in our backyard which had doors facing that alley. The minute we were out of sight of the house and behind the garage, I was dragged inside where a transformation took place. Out of my sister's purse came a bra, a roll of toilet paper, and a blue striped T-shirt. Yep, I was soon the proud owner of a set of TP boobs. The stripes on the shirt went around the body.....and, everyone knows horizontal stripes add to your size. In those days, bras were stiff cotton with circular stitched cups which gave a girl a look to rival the Teton Mountain Range. Lois and LaWanna were not going to be humiliated by some skinny, flat chested, nagging little girl. No siree, and they let me know it while I was receiving this extreme makeover. Oh yeah, I got lipstick and mascara too.
I don't know about them, but I had the best time, strutting around with those boobs and makeup. It didn't bother me in the least that the 'boobs' were way too high on my chest, the makeup probably looked ridiculous on a nearly ten -year-old or that the rest of my body was very similar to the road between Fort Worth and Dallas......no curves. I just know that I felt grown-up and beautiful for the first time in my young life. My big sister made me happy that day, coercion or not. I love my sister, Lois.
1 comment:
I can just picture you now with those pointed little boobies!
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