Memory Lane

Okay, for my trip down memory lane, I thought I would blog about HAIR.

Because there are few things more representative of the teen years that the battles you fight with you hair. And few things chronicle a woman's life better than her hair.

I happened to grow up in the era of BIG 80s hair. Snooki has NOTHING on me. NOTHING. You think I'm kidding? Check out the photographic evidence.


BIG. BIG. GIANT. HAIR. And the BATTLES to get it that way. Hot rollers. Curling irons. Perms.

Then . . . I turned 20 and my first white hair appeared. Premature gray runs in my family on my mom's side--but they're all blonde. In my (natural) hair color of dark brown/black (photo above was a dye job) . . . it showed up. So I had NEW battles to fight. Dying it every four weeks. For YEARS. As long as I was dying it, I tried red, black, striped, highlighted. It was only hair, right?


I also stopped trying for the big hair thing (thank God, right?). Only this weird thing happened and it got more unruly the older I got.

Eventually . . . I reached some sense of peace. With myself. And my hair. Then this summer I spent a long stretch in the hospital. And if ever there was a time to let the "real" me come out, it was then. I wasn't able to get to the salon anyway. So I decided to see what was under all that dye. And it turns out, it's ALL white. So this is the new me.

And this me is ME. My real color (who knew after all this time???).

Ahh, but my hair? Thanks for the memories.

So how about you? Is you hair some sort of timeline of your life?

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Curtain Call

So this week at the café we’re blogging about movies, books, TV, & music—and the truth is, I haven’t indulged in many of these lately—I’m a little behind.

As for books, well, despite TBR piles that seem to be multiplying while I’m not looking, the only one’s I’ve read recently are my own (revisions!) and the ones I use for research (pyschics, mediums, ghosts--oh my!). Though I did take part in a book signing last Sunday with a lot of really cool book writers, at one of my absolute favorite bookstores—so hopefully that counts for something?

(From L to R: Mary Pearson, Marlene Perez, Debborah Lytton, Kathryn Fitzmaurice, Alyson Noel, Debby Garfinkle)

And Movies? Well as much as I love a good matinee and big a tub of popcorn, the last movie I saw in the theatre was “Slumdog Millionaire,” the last one I saw on the airplane was “Doubt,” the last one I saw on Netflix was “An American Werewolf in London”—so clearly I have some major catching up to do where movies are concerned!

And I’m afraid it doesn’t fair much better for TV. Even though it seems like I should be far more proficient here since TV watching is pretty much what I do once I’m done writing for the day, one look at my DVR list (98% full anyone?), and you’ll know I’ve got a lot of catching up to do here as well. Though I did just work out while watching an old episode of “Deadliest Catch,” which brought me down to 96% full. Progress, right?

But music? I’m there!  I’m constantly downloading from iTunes, (except for a brief period this morning when I was in iPod Hell), and my list is crazy eclectic. Lately I’ve been going through a vintage Aerosmith faze- downloading the live version of “Train Kept a Rollin’”, “Crazy,” and “Cryin’,” –those last two are also great videos by the way!  But just a week before I was downloading Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Still & Nash, and the new Green Day—though by next week, I'm sure I'll be downloading the soundtrack to "Hair" since I'm going to see it in NYC!

So how about you?  Seen or read or listened to anything good lately? Your suggestions are needed!

 

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Sister Golden Hair Surprise

Not long ago I spoke at a book club for my adult novel, Fly Me to the Moon, and as I was signing books, a woman walked up to me and said, “Where’s your curly, frizzy hair?”

My hand immediately sprang to my head, smoothing my flat-ironed locks as I bit down on my lip, her disappointment ringing loud and clear. “Believe me,” I assured her. “It’s still there, still obstinate with a mind of it’s own. It’s just temporarily subdued for the evening, it’ll be back in full force by morning, I swear.”

I’m used to people thinking that book is autobiographical. After all, like the protagonist I too was a flight attendant and now I’m an author, but that’s all I’m willing to cop to. Well, that and my character’s temperamental hair.

Growing up, I never really thought much about my hair. It was long, wavy, and present. Demanding to be washed more often than I liked, but other than that, it went mostly ignored.

And then came seventh grade, and suddenly, it refused to do anything right, like it was plotting against me, sabotaging all of my efforts, clearly out to get me, and sadly things haven’t changed much since.

I’ve done just about everything a person could possibly do to their hair—
Big eighties perm? Check.
Japanese straightening? You bet.
Home dye job gone wrong? Um, yes.
Blonde ambition turned Brassy Rendition? Sad but true.

And after all these years, I still can’t figure out just what it should be when it grows up.

My best friend never changes her hair. Oh sure she may trim a few inches, before growing it back out a few more, but basically, it’s exactly the same as it was back in eighth grade. “Hey,” she says, smiling. “When it works, it works.”

And even though it definitely does work for her, I just couldn’t do it. It would feel too much like surrender, as though I was forfeiting the game before it really got started. So as long as I’ve still got the fight in me, it’ll continue to be my own personal work in progress.


So how about you? Any hair neuroses you’re willing to cop to??

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