Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Perm Disaster

Back in the early days, and I am speaking 40’s, I was attending a one room school house in the state of Oklahoma near a town called Glencoe. I was excited about getting a perm. I had never had one because money was something that was always talked about, but never seen. My rich brother had joined the Air Force and was now a private stationed in Hawaii at Hickam Field. I wrote him a letter pleading with him to be so kind as to send a few dollars so I could get a perm. I explained to him that everybody thinks I am the ugliest girl in school and if I had a perm it would really help the situation. (Little did I know it would remove all doubt) Much to my delight and surprise he sent the money in his next letter. In the next few days he also sent me a beautiful fresh Hawaiian Orchid lei. I thought he sure likes me better than he used to. One Saturday morning, my mother and I got all gussied up and went to town to get this perm. They shampooed my hair and put a lot of rollers all over my head and than sat me in another chair and began to clamp something that hung down from a huge machine of some kind on to each roller. It must have been plugged into electricity. I don’t know how long I sat under that monster, but it got hot and it got hotter. I tolerated it because I wanted curly hair, like Shirley Temple. Finally the torture was over and I could look in the mirror. I saved my tears until I got in the car. It was the worst disaster you could possible imagine. One huge tumble weed sitting on top of my head is what it looked like. It couldn’t be covered up. It was big. Whoever coined the word big-hair must have gotten a glimpse of me. I had to go to school so I put the exotic fresh Orchid lei around my neck and to school I went. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.








8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I bet you where a pretty sight to behold. I'm glad we don't have to go though that now.

Lorrene said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE SISTER !!!

Jimh. said...

You just have to act like that what you wanted and sometimes they will think you got it right. Awesome post! Grndma, you are hilarious!

Given today's date, this is fitting post. May we never forget Pearl Harbor!

E said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
E said...

Oops, that was me trying to correct a word then messing it up... But what I said was. I bet the flower totally drew attention away from your head. I just wore a stocking cap for weeks in the summer. lol... dang, never thought of a flower.

frogglet said...

I am a little late commenting, oops. But this reminded me of my first perm. Also a disaster although not of the same sort. I ended up with blisters and the loss of much hair. I can't believe I ever had it done again although the next time was in a salon not over the kitchen sink.

Anonymous said...

I just love you art work
Okie

Anonymous said...

Doesn't matter what decade, bad perms are part of life for every generation. I had one that left me looking like a deranged poodle. It was in the days of the home perm craze and I think I was in the 7th grade or so. I forced my mother to give it to me then blamed her for it being awful.

I think of it now as a rite of passage.