Happy New Year!

Posted to OGR 01/02/2011

The ball in Times Square has dropped, the million plus revelers have departed and the confetti has been cleaned up. Monday begins the “heavy lifting” part of the winter season. Why do I say that, you may ask? It is because I think of winter as having two separate parts; the holiday season and the cold hard time that follows. We have made it through the fun part, and now we have the rest to get through. Like most southerners, I live for the sun and that is a scarce resource these days. Local sunset where I live is 5:26 PM today and the sun will be up only 9 hours and 56 minutes. I am so ready for the sun to be still up at 8:30 PM. Now, don’t get me wrong winter is not all bad; it just isn’t my favorite season! Hey Spring! Bring it!

One of the things I used to like in winter when I was in high school was girl’s sweaters, especially the ones with the fake fur collars. You don’t see those much today, but back in the day they were the rage, just like Bass Weejuns, Gantt pants and Madris shirts were for the boys. There was something about the way those fur collars framed a pretty girl’s face and the way cashmere shaped her body that drove boys like me crazy. My high school had uniforms so sweaters and jackets were the only way to make a fashion statement. Of course for the boys, that usually meant letter sweaters. My letter sweater was white and it was a struggle to keep it clean all winter.

I remember the strict dress codes that applied to co-eds who lived in college dorms back in the mid ‘60s. Girls were not allowed to wear slacks or jeans through the lobby, much less shorts. That was strictly against the code. Girls were expected to go to class in a skirt or dress, and the hemline had better be no more than 1 inch above the knees. If a girl was going out to a place where she needed to wear jeans or shorts, she had to wear a raincoat over them to go through the lobby. Not only that, but she had to sign out and in as she left and returned to the dorm. Oh yes, I almost forgot, there was a curfew! As I remember, it was 10 pm on school nights and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Of course, there were no curfews or dress restrictions for the boys, and no signing in or out either. I guess we did not need protecting, like the girls did. If we wanted to, we could roam the town like packs of wild wolves. As I look back on it, that is a pretty accurate analogy. Wow! Times have changed! Oh MY!

Copyright 2011 Rick Wrigley