One nice piece of furniture in the apartment was the rattan peacock chair my sister brought back from Burma and gave to me when I was in high school. I still have that chair in my bedroom fifty years later. The bedroom suit I used in 1981 was kept for some thirty-five years before we sold it to someone in need. There was a Duncanville Panther sticker on the mirror. I added a TSU sticker. I won’t go into the visitors I had in that bedroom, but, I had fun seducing a few guys. That was some three months before I met Glenn. After finding him, there was no need to “make myself available.”
Back to the play. I had to wear false eyelashes, wear heavy makeup, and roll my long hair into a hairstyle of the 1940s. When I took that roll down, the hair went wild. One night, after the play, I left all the extreme makeup and false eyelashes on, (funny how those things are in style now) and went to an apartment where some friends were having a party. I felt rather manic and looked like something out of Rocky Horror Picture Show. That freshman ex-boyfriend was sitting on the floor and seemed pretty drunk when he said, “I used to know her.” I tossed my head with the crazy hair flying, and quoted a line from the movie, “But not anymore!”
It is odd to realize that was forty-two years ago. I don’t feel that much older! Looking at that peacock chair, I can transport back to that time, when, as Rick Springfield sang in the 1981 song, “I’m going out on the town tonight to get as wild as I can be. I’m gonna find out what it’s really like to be loose, high, and free.” High on fun. Loose and free to do as I pleased. Me, the green Nova, my friends, and the unique time bring a smile to my face and make me want to go Ridin' Around.