I love this a whole lot. I find it totally relatable (aside from the part where you reveal you can roll your r's). And I miss Obama! Wasn't it cool to have someone extremely literate as president?
Great piece and even greater picture. Your dad certainly looks like the man about town, how awesome. Women's hair is a curse no matter what you were born with. It's something rational people will never understand.
And you speak as a woman who has known and fully conquered every single hair style with aplomb. I was assigned one hair style for life and have learned to embrace it because might as well!
The mean girls are never going away. Disgusting. I'm so glad you shared your picture with your dad in the paper and your stories. Please keep writing and thank you.
Especially enjoyed the observation of what those bubble-haired high school mean girls have now morphed into ... I hugely relate to the struggle to find one's "tribe" also.
This was clever, honest, refreshing. (And I didn't even think your hair was that bad!!!)
No…I dont think it was that bad either. NOW. That I am a million years old. Back then all I knew is that it did NOT resemble what I was trying to achieve AT ALL. (And what I was trying to achieve was to turn into an entirely different person.Preferably someone who was dating a Beatle)
After being "thick-black-smoke-bombed" by a pick-up truck during the protest in our little town, l feel like l have atoned in some tiny way for my absence from protests during the Viet Nam War, when l was l was just trying to graduate & get a job. (P.S. lf you ever need someone to proofread your stuff, l will do it for free!)
Summer of '77 a summer student job brought me to live in a big old shared house of instant compatriots in Palo Alto. ($50/month.) Bought a used bicycle at the bike shop on Varsity 1st day. Previous housemate left in my room a small record player and pile of Dylan albums. PA movie theaters, housemate meals, bike lanes, hot eucalyptus trees and an assumed strong gentle politics in the air. Ppl accepting and liking me. The coffee. What a place PA was that summer, w/o having any spending $ at all.
Yeah. It was a really interesting place back then. Sleepy but quietly hip. The big hangout spot for me was Kepler’s books where the person who rang up your purchases was said to also work at a peace movement retreat of some kind with Joan Baez. That bookstore had more mystique for me back then than any bookstore since.And there was a coffee house called The Tangent where all the big folk music acts played. PLUS Stanford. I too used to navigate it all on a beat up bike.
I suspect my hair would have done that at that age too, 15 years later. One good thing about now being old, I no longer care much. And I do wear hats.
Even in that old grainy picture, I can see it's you. I too fell in with the theater crowd when I'd just switched towns and went to a new high school. I barely remember the popular idiots.
One thing that gives me hope from here on the left coast was the many people in small, red places across the country that showed up to protest. I live in Eugene, Or, and we protest. Like you, I’ve been protesting wars and deforestation my whole adult life. Let’s not stop now that democracy hangs in the balance.
My annoying housemate actually posited something interesting the other day on the subject of contemporary protests. To wit: protests don't directly lead to changing the thing in question. Ever. Not without violence. No one every says, "What the hay? A lot of you turned out today. We're impressed and Proposition XYZ will be deleted from the lawbooks tomorrow at opening." The purpose seems to be gathering together people with a shared outlook simply to see the potential power in the size and to experience the comfort of open fellowship within the "hive." As an old man, I see the value in this. For many, attending protests is a re-connection with long-disappeared friends and a way to make new contacts and acquaintances. In some ways, the press coverage and possible interest from politicians are secondary outcomes. Maybe it is more important to see and enjoy your people, your community. (Feel free to delete this if it goes against the grain.)
I think that’s true. And I think its also true that showing the appearance of a lot of support for something ends up having an effect. It effects the tactics of the politicians who want to be voted back into office. And I think it had one on the war in Vietnam.
I am hoping that by your pointing out the horrors of having a bad hair day when you are the “new girl in town” means your husband is home and doing well. That surgery is a medical marvel and brings joy and much better health to so many!
And yes, I think we all thought about our hair when we were demonstrating. Thank you for reminding us!! ( and sharing the humor in it) .
Obama killed terrorists with drones and involved America in Libya with NATO. I supported those and I support bombing Iran which has nuclear ambitions. Let's not be hypocrites and praise Obama while condemning Trump for things that Obama did.
Loved this, Merrill! Our beautiful Bay Area will never stop protesting!
Great read
I love this a whole lot. I find it totally relatable (aside from the part where you reveal you can roll your r's). And I miss Obama! Wasn't it cool to have someone extremely literate as president?
Great piece and even greater picture. Your dad certainly looks like the man about town, how awesome. Women's hair is a curse no matter what you were born with. It's something rational people will never understand.
And you speak as a woman who has known and fully conquered every single hair style with aplomb. I was assigned one hair style for life and have learned to embrace it because might as well!
We could have discovered another planet or cured some disease with all the time we spent on our stooopid hair.
The mean girls are never going away. Disgusting. I'm so glad you shared your picture with your dad in the paper and your stories. Please keep writing and thank you.
So much to love here - as always.
Especially enjoyed the observation of what those bubble-haired high school mean girls have now morphed into ... I hugely relate to the struggle to find one's "tribe" also.
This was clever, honest, refreshing. (And I didn't even think your hair was that bad!!!)
No…I dont think it was that bad either. NOW. That I am a million years old. Back then all I knew is that it did NOT resemble what I was trying to achieve AT ALL. (And what I was trying to achieve was to turn into an entirely different person.Preferably someone who was dating a Beatle)
After being "thick-black-smoke-bombed" by a pick-up truck during the protest in our little town, l feel like l have atoned in some tiny way for my absence from protests during the Viet Nam War, when l was l was just trying to graduate & get a job. (P.S. lf you ever need someone to proofread your stuff, l will do it for free!)
Thanks. Proofreading is how I rewrite. I realize I miss some stuff sometimes anyway but I do my best to catch most of it.
Summer of '77 a summer student job brought me to live in a big old shared house of instant compatriots in Palo Alto. ($50/month.) Bought a used bicycle at the bike shop on Varsity 1st day. Previous housemate left in my room a small record player and pile of Dylan albums. PA movie theaters, housemate meals, bike lanes, hot eucalyptus trees and an assumed strong gentle politics in the air. Ppl accepting and liking me. The coffee. What a place PA was that summer, w/o having any spending $ at all.
Yeah. It was a really interesting place back then. Sleepy but quietly hip. The big hangout spot for me was Kepler’s books where the person who rang up your purchases was said to also work at a peace movement retreat of some kind with Joan Baez. That bookstore had more mystique for me back then than any bookstore since.And there was a coffee house called The Tangent where all the big folk music acts played. PLUS Stanford. I too used to navigate it all on a beat up bike.
Wow blast from the past!
I suspect my hair would have done that at that age too, 15 years later. One good thing about now being old, I no longer care much. And I do wear hats.
Even in that old grainy picture, I can see it's you. I too fell in with the theater crowd when I'd just switched towns and went to a new high school. I barely remember the popular idiots.
Your protest bonafides are impeccable.
One thing that gives me hope from here on the left coast was the many people in small, red places across the country that showed up to protest. I live in Eugene, Or, and we protest. Like you, I’ve been protesting wars and deforestation my whole adult life. Let’s not stop now that democracy hangs in the balance.
My annoying housemate actually posited something interesting the other day on the subject of contemporary protests. To wit: protests don't directly lead to changing the thing in question. Ever. Not without violence. No one every says, "What the hay? A lot of you turned out today. We're impressed and Proposition XYZ will be deleted from the lawbooks tomorrow at opening." The purpose seems to be gathering together people with a shared outlook simply to see the potential power in the size and to experience the comfort of open fellowship within the "hive." As an old man, I see the value in this. For many, attending protests is a re-connection with long-disappeared friends and a way to make new contacts and acquaintances. In some ways, the press coverage and possible interest from politicians are secondary outcomes. Maybe it is more important to see and enjoy your people, your community. (Feel free to delete this if it goes against the grain.)
I think that’s true. And I think its also true that showing the appearance of a lot of support for something ends up having an effect. It effects the tactics of the politicians who want to be voted back into office. And I think it had one on the war in Vietnam.
I am hoping that by your pointing out the horrors of having a bad hair day when you are the “new girl in town” means your husband is home and doing well. That surgery is a medical marvel and brings joy and much better health to so many!
And yes, I think we all thought about our hair when we were demonstrating. Thank you for reminding us!! ( and sharing the humor in it) .
Obama killed terrorists with drones and involved America in Libya with NATO. I supported those and I support bombing Iran which has nuclear ambitions. Let's not be hypocrites and praise Obama while condemning Trump for things that Obama did.
This is great Merrill. Love it, funny as hell, as always.
How ‘bout them Trumpettes, eh? First two from the left: those are some significant pieholes.
Jesus.
I still haven’t figured out how to take anyone who gets the massive lip implants seriously. My brain just does a disconnect
Such an additional expense for lipstick!
Haa. Didnt even think of that. You kind of need a paint roller.
Do they puncture easily? Maybe not good to suck on cracked crab legs and so on.
I don't think you're missing anything by not taking them seriously. None of them seem like serious people.
The only time my lips looked like that was when I found out I'd become allergic to mangos. That's the visible symptom.
damn this is so extremely good. thank you.
Thankyou so much Lily.