One evening last week, a friend of mine and I strolled past an imports shop in Portland's old town, and I pointed to the funky--I don't know, Nepalese? Bolivian?--knit caps, the cute, whimsical kind with ear flaps that tie beneath your chin (which are typically left to dangle) with a pointy crown topped by a tassel, and I commented that perhaps I should buy one cause they were so cute.
In a crunchy sorta way.
To which he replied with just the merest hint of bemused pain, "Don't be that girl."
And I had to laugh, cause I knew exactly what he meant. I went to Evergreen with a LOT of That Girl, the blowzy, make-up free, patchouli-scented Hippie Maidens that stared, grinning and blank-eyed and probably tripping or at least terribly iron-deficient in their Indian skirts and trail boots and leggings and bulky Salvadoran-knit sweaters and long, straight hair, exuding their earthy, I-run-naked-through-the-woods-and-use-reusable-menstrual-pads sexuality, and the men they attracted--while also classified as "hippies" or, at least "hippie-ish" or "hippie-wannabes" or probably more appropriately, "nouveau hippies" 'cause, in spite of the let-me-experience-poverty metaphors many of them adopted, still hauled ass to various Rainbow Gatherings or Phish concerts in the brand-spankin'-new Honda Accords bought for them by Mumsy and Daddums, but I digress--were generally totally cute and so, I admit, I wanted to be That Girl for a while, I wanted (I thought) that whole dreamy metaphor, if only cause it was, it seemed, an idealized externalization of whatever it is I thought I valued and wanted to become.
Luckily, people grow up.
I'm not and never could be a true Hippie Maiden, in spite of my Berkeley pedigree; I can't wear all those bulky layers and the idea of washable menstrual pads totally grosses me out, no matter HOW down with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle I am. And I've gotten my borderline anemia under control.
But this is not to say that I'm not, deep down, That Girl.
Yes, I wear make-up, my favorite scent is a perfume by Carolina Herrera, I can actually walk in heels higher than an inch, I love costume jewelry, and my alter-ego is a drag queen.
But I also wear sensible shoes, I've baked my own bread, I was raised Unitarian, and when I get lazy I let my leg hair grow. Acupuncture needles have pierced my skin, numerous times. I meditate on a pillow in front of a candle in the lotus position. And I've referred to my cat as "My Familiar."
Oh, yes. I have.
Add to this, I grow alfalfa sprouts on the kitchen drainboard, in my new-ish "Sprout Master Triple Mini" sprouter I bought with an Amazon gift card I got for my birthday, along with 2 pounds of organic seeds.
I think this brings me back to my Berkeley childhood; my mother used to grow sprouts, but she used a huge Co-op Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Jar, rinsed and shaken daily until the seeds sprouted. Mine is a bit easier, and the sprouts are delicious--I stuff them into quesadillas or pile them on sandwiches, the same way you'd use lettuce.
So, okay, maybe NOT so deep down.
So, while I think I can probably refrain from buying an imported cap with ear flaps and a tassel, I'm never giving up my sprouter.
I'm on batch #3.
Peace out.
8 comments:
Oh I am laughing so hard.....yes, I know THAT girl so well! I thought I could be her, too, but it was sooo not to be. Your writing hits all the right nails on the head. I'm going to have to tell Mom to check in and read.
Jeez, Wuff, your feedjit map is all over the world! It's all the image searches....I don't get that because my images aren't labeled. How cool that people everywhere are looking and hopefully reading!
I thought I was THAT girl for maybe, four years, then I grew up. All things in moderation. Some people are just into the image. I DO have a hat like that though. I like to wear it birding. Did I wear it to Fernhill? It's so cozy warm....and quite the fashion statement.
Yep, Michele, you DID wear the hat and I still thought it was totally cute and I STILL might get one--I can get one that's a bit more refined than the imports I saw, cause the Swedes make 'em too...I like the ear flaps! I have short hair--I need my ears to be WARM!
Note to BGG: Dude, you even know my NICKNAME! You roar on with your bad self!!
Not so "deep down" at all...
I've been baking *a lot* of bread lately...albeit in my (used) bread machine!
Ate with a vat of homemade soup during the rain(s)!
Am I *that boy?* (What about the whiskey n' cigars, thing? Maybe *that boy* could just be like Mark Twain?) ;-)
Alright, Wuff, are you still using the sprouter? My Sprout Garden blew away in Hurricane Ike, I think. I'm not sure the Sprout Master Triple Tray Sprouter will work well in humid Houston, and I'm not keen on cleaning it with bleach per directions, either. (I'm a dishwasher, steam-it-to-death, kinda gal.) Thanks for the feedback before I sent $40 into the electro-sphere.
(Btw, that girl would buy the Nepalese/Bolivian/Peruvian/Tibetan/Swedish ear-flap hat; Super Chick would *make* one, no?)
Why, yes, J., indeed I AM still using the sprouter...in fact, I even grow my cat's "Kitty Grass" in it! For mere rectangular plastic, they're pretty tough little trays. And no, I don't BLEACH them, either--that's too neurotic for me. I scrub them with a brush & dish soap by hand, and even though they've long lost the new-from-the-box whiteness, they're still fine and totally functional.
And I concur: Super Chick would INDEED create her own hip little flappy-hat, preferably from an old unraveled "re-purposed" sweater bought from Goodwill...(and preferably of organically-dyed yarn, but perhaps that's asking too much of a thrift shop....)
Thanks for reading!
Thank you, OneWuff . . .
Post a Comment