Back in the late 1950s-early 1960s, when I was an impressionable teeny bopper wanna-be, I was a fan of The Twilight Zone TV show. One of my favorite episodes, “The After Hours,” was about department store mannequins taking turns coming to life for a month out of each year. They’d go out and about and live among the truly living, then return to the store when their time was up. It was spooky deluxe in a cool sort of way…and I’ll betcha that most of my Baby Boomer readers remember the same episode
Well, we’ve all heard the adage that “truth is stranger than fiction,” so here’s the scoop: I think something similar to that Zone show is going on in my hometown. You see, there’s this dress shop that has been located at the same place on the town square for close to 50 years, but it doesn’t really seem to be open for business anymore. Every time I’m home, I drive by, just to see the “Sorry, we’re closed” sign plastered to the front door. What’s going on here?
The same ancient, pasty mannequins are always in the store windows--two little girls and two adult-like females, eyes staring vacantly into nowhere and arms positioned stiffly. They wear really ba-a-a-a-a-a-d wigs, poor things. Anyway, my theory is: they run the joint. From time to time, their clothing changes. I suspect they occasionally get tired of wearing the same old outfits, like most fashion conscious gals, so at night, when everyone in town is fast asleep, they go back into the bowels of the store, dust off something different to wear, and make a quick change.
I’ve assigned Mama Bore to do an undercover investigation to find out what’s happening. She’s to call me the minute that the “Sorry, we’re closed” sign is switched to “Open,” so I can get inside the store for a personal interview--human owners or mannequins, I don’t care which. Until then, I will keep making drive-bys around the square when I’m home, looking for some signs of life. When one of those brittle window babes finally winks at me, you’re gonna be the first to know that I’ve totally zoned out and, as Twilight Zone host Rod Serling used to say, gone into “another dimension.” ;)
4 comments:
Did you see Sheila ManneQuinn there?????
No, M2, Sheila was not there, although these gals look like they might be relatives...they have that same glazed look in their eyes that Sheila always had!!
Love the Twilight Zone eps. Remember the guy who works in a bank but just wants to read all day? He survives a bomb blast in the bank's safe, comes out to find himself alone with all the books in the world... just to step on his glasses. :-/ That would be my luck! ... Well, maybe that's no my fav. episode, but it came to mind. :-)
p.s. for the first time ever, the letter jumble is giving me a true word - it's picante. I think that's a real word. Pace Picante, you know, the salsa? anyways...
Nancy that was my favorite one too. But to this day those things creep me out!
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