That Girl!

Remember Marlo Thomas in the TV sitcom "That Girl" in the 60's? I loved that show! Marlo was perky, beautiful, smart, & funny...and to top it off, she had the cutest hair! The year was 1968--I was 9 years old. I was visiting Grandma Lillie at her house on Woodlawn Avenue in Montpelier (had to be summer--look at those shorts and white anklets!) and I begged Grandma to let me go to the beauty parlor to get my hair done like Marlo. She had to have been somewhat reluctant--I WAS only 9 and liked to climb trees and ride bikes and rollerskate, and I'm sure it cost her a pretty penny--but bless her sweet heart! she agreed. I remember the invigorating shampoo as I lay back in the chair...I remember the mountains of fat curlers pinned to my head and sitting under the hot, noisy dryer...I remember the thick clouds of hairspray that glued the hairstyle to my head...and then, I remember Grandma taking this picture in her driveway, with the poppies waving willy-nilly behind me in the summer breeze, and me feeling so very grown up and HIP and beautiful! I also remember Grandma urging me to "be a lady" so all the work and expense of this "do" would last, and oh, I tried so hard. I even remember going to bed that night and trying to sleep without my head touching the pillow, which was, of course, impossible, so that I awoke the next morning to disaster--no more curls, no more poof, no more Marlo. Just plain old me. My little heart was broken. I was sad for Grandma, too, that she had paid for something that lasted only one day and could not be fixed or redone, no matter how hard we tried. It taught me a lesson about vanity and how quickly our pride can be dashed! It also taught me that nothing is so important as what's inside. And when Grandma helped me comb out the snarls from the hairspray and said, "It's okay. I like you better this way," I believed her, thank heavens.