WHO'S COOL

Our Lachlan -a.k.a.- Bubba,is the coolest! He's the bomb!! (though I'd like you to notice that Builder Bob ain't so bad either!)

Do you remember when try'n to be cool was all there was to life?
May I share a few things about what it was like to attempt to be cool in the 70's? I say attempt, because that was as close as I got to being cool. Only sorry attempts.

First a small refresher course on what was considered cool and to reacquaint you with what was going on in the 70's. Also, remember, I was NEVER cool.

What I had playing on my turntable was the likes of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Santana and Chicago. But to keep myself safely excluded from the cool list, I could also be found listening to Seals and Crofts and even Bread. I loved Billy Joel and Jefferson Starship, but also enjoyed John Denver. Never truly cool

In 1972 the skateboard was invented. One turned up at our home and I distinctly remember crashing to the sidewalk with about as much uncoolness as an adolescent girl could muster.

I wore bikini bathing suits and slathered on generous amounts of coconut oil and baked in the sun for hours. (oh wait a minute, I still do that dont I? Minus the bikini) I know now just how uncool that behavior is, due to the prominent wrinkles developing on every square inch of skin surface, and yes..... I still do it, though I do protect my face from here on out! coolness-wrinkles-coolness-
wrinkles...hummmmm?????


I wore puka shell necklaces, the same as my boyfriend. I wore the Gunni Sax dress and the mood ring, to see if this could make me cool-to no avail. I wore cutoff denim shorts that cause me to shudder with embarrassment right now. I was no Dasiy Mae to be sure!!(though Builder Bob to this day still admits to admiring me in my white short shorts, as I strolled across campus one day) I wore the gathered neck halter tops and Dr Scholl sandals and clogs. None of these things helped me to achieve any advancement in coolness. Most of it sunk me further into ridiculousness.

I read like a geek.(was this a word we used back in the 70's?) I read books of all varieties. Jaws, and Lord of the Rings, Love Story and The Exorcist. Books by Leon Uris and teenage romances. Im not sure that this was the activity of a cool kid, but this was just something I did and loved.

For a time I even worked at McDonalds. I really enjoyed working there. It was a lot of fun. It really was. How 'cool' is that?

No, I definitely wasnt cool. I was tall; taller than most of the boys. I was and still am flat chested. My mom sewed many of my clothes. I didnt have an older sister to show me how to wear make-up or tell me what to wear or more importantly, what NOT to wear. I never dared to wear the platform shoes that were so popular 'cause I was already tall and gangly enough. I hung out at the 'stoners' corner of the high school(every school has one);not really fitting in there, but definitely not fitting in with the jocks or the brains or the cheerleader types either.

I was doing the uncool thing of floundering where 'er I went.

I suppose the cool kids knew they were cool. I have no idea-even now- what that would feel like. But guess what.... ?
I wonder if those kids are still cool?
I wonder if they are any better off than I?
I wonder if they are any happier than 'uncool' me?
I wonder if it really matters much who you think you are in jr. high or high school?

Here's how it all turned out for little ole me-
I can honestly say that being 40 something is definitely the coolest. I have no idea what 50 somethings has in store for me- but I have high hopes. I plan of being a groovy grandma, a cool mother and mother-in-law and a hip adventurist and a far out Senior Citizen!!

Growing up is tough- to be sure. There's no other way to describe it. Trying to be cool complicates matters even more than they already are for most of us. Did being cool in jr. high and high school matter much in the grand scheme of things??....I think not.
There are a lot of folks who think they are pretty neat, who really aren't. And there are a lot more who don't realize they are.

Stay cool to all of you that I know and love.
Peace out!