Today I volunteered to help the local 6th graders spiff up our city park, as part of their Earth Week activities. The boys were in charge of mulching, while we gals made up the paint brigade. When the head honcho started pouring out the paint for us in smaller containers, I had a terrible flashback. Oh, no! It was a deep forest green--the same color of paint that I got in my hair when my almost-next-door-neighbor Literary Diva and I were snooping in the Bore garage one really boring afternoon almost 50 years ago!
I don't know why the Diva and I were in the garage in the first place. It was, and still is, a dark, dank junk pile with a rock floor. We certainly weren't there to find a gallon of paint, but that's where we ended up--and a streak of green found its way to the upper part of my ponytail, "accidentally on purpose." Of course, it had to be oil-based paint, so a little dab of White Rain shampoo wasn't go to get it out. Mom Bore said I had two choices: let her cut off my ponytail or let her wash my hair with kerosene. Neither choice sounded like much fun, but I opted for the kerosene and away we went to the bathroom.
Mom had me lie down on my back on two dining chairs, with my long, green hair flowing into the tub. She brought in the can of kerosene and started scrubbing away with a washrag. It wouldn't have been so bad, but my big brother Beans was quite interested in what was going on. He stood out in the hallway striking matches, threatening to turn me into a human torch. I began screaming bloody murder, while Mom shooed him away with profanity before the whole house exploded.
When I saw the evil green paint this afternoon, I decided to overcome my dread, face my dismal past head-on, and not run away. I ended up painting the railing around the ball diamond bleachers--a two-hour job in the wind, being VERY careful not to get any green in my ponytail or too many other places. A few dabs of gasoline cleaned me right up in no time, but I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of 12-year-old girls, dressed in forest green, getting yelled at when they get home after school.
2 comments:
OK! so here is the story, the part you have forgotten. We were out to buy something, probably paper dolls and we didn't have any money--again! so we were going to reclaim something from your garage and sell it. We had found an old standing floor lamp in need of a coat of paint. We were sure all we had to do was get that big can of paint off the top shelf of the garage. I got a pole and nudged it off the edge, unfortunately right onto the top of your head!! the lid came off and we found out it was green by looking at your hair!! I ran for home and safety after we went into your house and your Mother took one look at you. I went home whailing to my mother that you were never gonna like me again. I mean the lavender Easter dress thing was still an issue and here I'd done you in another color already. I remember a few weeks later we needed disposable income again for another venture and you and I just looked at each other and decided to beg for money this time!! Great Earth day volunteering! Made you younger just by doing it.
Hey! I remember that crappy floor lamp! It's all coming back to me! Yeah, we were so hard up for money that sometimes we ended up making the clothes for our paper dolls. It's a wonder we both didn't end up with jobs at Versace!
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