Ah, the 80's

Yes, more numbers.

My brother, Jim,

did another post with a reference to me yesterday on the bus. You might want to check it out.


Anyway, he included these two pictures.


The first one is of my brother Ed, Jim's wife, Regina, and me, with the ugliest expression ever captured on film on my face.

This one is of me taken in the mountains of central Arkansas by the side of a highway with a gorgeous view of the mountains behind me. Taken by Patty Hunter, whose Dad had the coolest Dodge Rampage (his was white), Circa 1988.

Remembering the 80's. Ah, punk rock, disco, college, Mardi Gras, VW buses, VW bugs, Peugeots, that Mobilux motorhome my Dad had, Joan and Marti in Little Rock, their conversion van, trips to Table Rock Lake, partying with Mike Carbone, Catherine Bingle, Tim Penn, the Big Kat (RIP), thinking the Hard Rock Cafe was cool, Jim's big house out in Ozark (or Nixa?), all of his VW's, Jim Bingle's estate sale (came away with a cool old muscle car poster I still have), Brown Derby, uncounted girl friends, Mom and Dad's house on Jefferson, the list could go on and on

but...

This post is about that freakin perm and mullet.

When I was right out of high school, my sister, Carol, invited me to move to Grayton Beach, Florida, a sleepy little beach hamlet about 30 miles west of Panama City Beach. Seems she and her future ex-husband were building a beach house, themselves, and Carol thought I could help. So I moved on down there. My first time at living in Florida. I helped build that beach house, although, I nailed all the hurricane clips on backwards. This incident played a part in their divorce proceeding when they were trying to determine who would get the house. Carol thought she should as her brother, me, worked on the house all day while her husband would go to work. He brought up to the judge that I nailed all the clips on backwards and I got called in to relay just what I did. Carol got the house.

But I digress.

While I was living there, my hair naturally turned bleach blonde. It never really had in the previous summers in my life but then it did. I remember going back to the Ozarks and going to a party with all my high school friends and Linda Vienhage accused me of dying my hair.

So anyway, it is now years later and my hair still has stayed that blonde. I am now living back in the Ozarks just finishing up my education at SMS and my brother, Ed, decides to marry his long time spouse, Cheryl. Yep the Ed and Cheryl here in the Birthplace of Speed.

Ed asked me to be in the wedding party. I, of course, was honored and accepted.

Many, almost everyone, think Ed and I look alike. You be the judge.

In fact, when we were kids, my Mom and Dad's friends, and my future ex-wife's family, Stan and Vera Kilfoyle, would visit Haven Lee Farm from St. Louis. Vera thought Ed and I were twins. One visit, Ed and I wore those old 70's era, yes more numbers, tie dyed tee shirts, see, I haven't always worn polo oxfords. Anyway on this visit, Ed wore the brown one and I had the purple one on. It took Vera all day to get this straight and finally, she got it right, Ed in the brown and me in the purple. We promptly went to our room and switched shirts! Everyone had a hearty laugh about that and my Dad even complimented us on thinking that up.

Now back to Ed's wedding.

All guys look alike in black tuxedos. I know, I own one and it is true. My Mom asked me to perm my hair so that she, back then, and everyone in the future would be able to tell us apart in the photos. I didn't point out that everyone would know who Ed was as he would be the one with the miserable expression on his face. Instead, I agreed and went to my stylist at the time, Sandy Catt, and told her to perm it. Now, Sandy works at her sister's salon, Ultimate Impressions on South Campbell, by Inmon Furniture, if it is still there. It was primarily a female based salon but I ended up there as Sandy was a friend of one of my old girlfriends, the one whose Dad had that cool Rampage. Anyway, the crowded salon cracked up when I told them why I wanted it.

As far as the mullet, in my defense, and I need it now, it wasn't planned on a being a mullet, just hadn't gotten a haircut in a long time.

Thankfully, the mustache and mullet are now a part of history.

Unfortunately, it is now, thanks to Jim, not unforgotten history.

Right back at ya, Jim.