Saturday's Old Photo
Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 8:45PM
The other blonde girl in this photo is my friend Suzanne. When we were in high school we sang duets occasionally in our little country church. Back in those days, I sang alto to Suzanne’s soprano. Our specialty was an obscure song called Dear Jesus, which, like all obscure songs, has lyrics posted on the web.
We weren’t all that good, but we were told we sounded like sisters, which must mean our voices blended well.
This photo was taken after a wedding in the big Lutheran church in town in 1973. Yes, someone was crazy enough to ask us to sing at their wedding. We were used to singing in front of a small congregation of people we knew, so this gig was a little frightening. We had to sing a couple of song from Fiddler on the Roof that neither of us liked with the guitar guy in the photo. He was the bride’s friend from university and we didn’t meet him until the rehearsal, so I don’t remember much about him, but the back of the photo says his name is Fred. The pianist’s name, it says, is Vicki.
We made our matching dresses for the occasion; or at least, I made mine. Suzanne’s mother was a wonderful seamstress so she never had to learn to sew.
I always wanted Suzanne’s hair. Hers was nice and straight and silky, and those were the days when very long and very flat was the only acceptable way to wear hair. I had to brush my hair dry—there were no blow dryers or straighteners in the olden days!—to get it as straight as it is in this photo and it still took only a little bit of humidity to make it go—poof!—into something more like my photo in the sidebar, or worse. Some people without naturally straight hair ironed theirs with a clothes iron, but I was too afraid of split ends to go that route.
I still remember the cup of coffee I had at the reception in the church basement after the wedding. It might have been the best cup of my whole life. It was—wouldn’t you know it!—Swedish egg coffee, also known (appropriately, in this case) as Lutheran church basement egg coffee.
To this day, I love a good cup of black coffee and hate the song Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof. And I’ve made peace with my hair.
Reader Comments (6)
I'm with you on the black coffee and "Sunrise, Sunset." And I like your hair!
Oh! I forgot about Swedish Egg coffee! I saved your recipe some time ago. Thanks for the reminder.
I like your hair. Mine is straight as a stick. That was good for the 70's when we all wanted to look like Marsha Brady, I don't want to look like Marsha anymore! I'd love to have hair that would do something!
When it comes to the hair department, I think we all want what someone else has! : D
Especially when we're teenagers!
I grew into my hair at some point and began liking it, except on hot humid summer days. :)
Is there a place on earth more comforting than a Lutheran Church basement? I haven't been Lutheran in years, but I still think coffee is a means of grace.
I remember that song, too. For a while there, I think it was guaranteed to be sung at every special church event.
I haven't been Lutheran in years, but I still think coffee is a means of grace.
Ha! Me too.
I once had long straight blond hair and was really skinny too! I tried to sew but was too impatient to do a good job. I did embroider on my clothes though!
I love a good STRONG cup of coffee.