Me At 17

 Hey Colleen - check this flashback out! 😁

I'm going to give you an oldie but goodie. 

I was speaking with Colleen the other day on the phone which made me remember our 'camping' days. Oh, I hated camping but I always enjoyed these weeks of wine, pot, and boys in the early 70s. 

Sounds debaucherous but it was so damn innocent. Even the ole transistor radio to listen to our music. We played Sly and the Family Stone a great deal I recall and Helen Reddy on Sue's 8 track in the car. Ah, 8 tracks and a matchbook to keep it from skipping. While I don't miss 8 tracks sometimes I do miss albums and the story and not just streaming a song but I'm old and we old people do that don't we?

Here ya go...

______________________

FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2010

Flashback Friday

My friend Susan convinced me that going camping would be fun.
Her dad would drive down and help us get the "camp" set up. 
He would stay for the day and then we were on our own for 5 days. 
I didn't like the idea of sleeping in a tent or any of that nonsense.
She told me there were real bathrooms and showers etc.
I said okay because I really never ever believed my dad would allow me to go.

Imagine my surprise when he spoke to Susan's Dad and then said YES.
I was convinced he said yes because he knew I didn't really want to go.
Why would I want to lay on the ground in a tent to sleep or walk to a public bathroom that was gross and smelly?  But the fact that my father said yes made me want to go.

So off to camp, I went with Colleen and Susan in July 1973.
It was the summer before I became a senior in high school.
I have a lot of fond memories of this week and here are a few of them on film. 

This is Susan - Susan was our great fire starter!
Her bell bottoms are back in style now only we call them flares.

This is Susan getting her hair washed by Colleen.  We had to go to a pump to get water, fill a bucket, wet our hair, lather, rinse, repeat...you get the drill.  This was the water we drank too.  No bottled water back in the day. Now boys/guys camping would no more wash their hair during the 5-day period but we girls sure felt we had to but oh wait.....

This is us sitting around the fire in the evening. Colleen had washed and set her hair.  

Today, I find this hysterical.  I think Collen only got straight hair if she rolled it, I could be wrong. And since everyone in 1973 had straight hair you did what you had to do. 

There were no straight irons or blow dryers back then.

This picture does make me laugh, a 17yr old in rollers around a campfire.

Because we didn't have blow dryers then, we had those big ugly dryers with a tube attached to the cap that went over your head. To dry your hair you had to bring that damn dryer with you from room to room or just sit still forever while your hair dried. 

Those were not the good ole days!  Hairstyling in 2010 is so much better!

Before peri menopause I was a very heavy sleeper. And I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat.  That drove the girls crazy. On this particular evening I was freezing.  I had on several coats and sweatshirts.  Then I got under my sleeping bag and before you know it I was sound asleep. Susan and Colleen put these suitcases on me and not ever so gently I've been told.

I never woke up.  I never even knew they did this until the film was developed in my camera.  I long to be able to sleep like that now.

Susan and Colleen knew I was very very self conscious about having big boobs. 

While sun bathing if guys came around I would throw on a T-shirt. 

If I didn't notice they were coming over I made them promise me to tell me so I would have time to cover up. I would get so angry at them if they "forgot" to tell me.

I know, I know, it seems so silly in today's world where people are paying big bucks to have big ole fake boobs planted on their small frames to show 'em off every chance they get.

But it was a decade of Twiggy and flat was in.  I hated those puppies! 

This is me at the beach after 2 boys came over and I grabbed my T-shirt so quickly so no one would see my big chest.  What's funny to me is that even in a T-shirt you could see that I had DDD's so why sweat - take off the shirt and prance around in your bikini. 

Whoever said Youth is wasted on the young is so damn right!

When we left the parking lot of the beach area on this particular day there on Susan's '73 Plymouth Duster car antenna were a pair of tighty whities (check out the white racing stripe which we thought was so cool)

We were so grossed out because the tighty whities had shall we say "skid marks" on them. 

Sue and Colleen were looking for a big long stick to take them off the antenna. 

Sue was ready to cry and while I was grossed out I still found it very funny so I had to stop to get a picture. Sue did get a stick and remove the underwear!

You wouldn't catch me camping today for anything. 

Camping is a hotel without room service!

This old back couldn't take sleeping on the ground anymore anyway!