The next decade was such a varied and significant one that I am breaking it into two eras.
I'm sure the sordid post title was a real attention-grabber, but the era was quite mild compared to the antics in recent films like Thirteen. There was no body piercing or "hooking up" during my frisky '60s. Girls started to "develop" and were fitted with Teenform training bras with names like Bra-O-Mine. (Believe it or not, there was no Victoria's Secret...my friends and I had to shop with our mothers in weird little boutiques called "foundation shops.")
Having built our foundations, we then set out to charm the boys. We had our first co-ed parties at 12, and the girls (aggressive little vixens that we were) served as amateur DJs (selecting the vinyl records for the evening) and orchestrators of Spin-the-Bottle games. They were generally disappointing, unless one landed one of the two "popular boys." One of these boys is still a friend -- in Facebook and real life. I'm sure he'd be flattered to know his lips were coveted by 10 sixth graders at one point.
The parties became more elaborate as we entered the "Bar/Bat Mitzvah stage." The most elaborate hoo-hahs and horahs took place at Leonards of Great Neck-- which is, I was shocked to discover, still in existence. Their website is as over-the-top and tasteless as the catering hall was back then. We were the original "Bar Mitzvah Crashers," wandering into other people's affairs and swiping whiskey sours from oblivious cocktail waiters. (Back then, teen drinking was generally controlled. Who could possibly consume more than one whiskey sour without going into sugar shock?) I smoked my first cigarette on the sidewalk outside Seth Nagel's bar mitzvah. (We all had to be evacuated because his grandmother accidentally set fire to the tablecloth during the candle lighting ceremony.) It was all very exciting, but fairly tame.
The wild years were just beginning, however. David Bowie and Bob Marley came out with their debut albums (a far cry from the Hokey Pokey and Hava Nagila.) I got scary-skinny and wore hot pants and go-go boots. The "mod" era evolved into the tie-dye years. By the end of this "half decade" I had a boyfriend who sported a ponytail and adored Frank Zappa. Bras were being burned, not coveted. The revolution had begun...
To get in the mood:
...and still more songs
i heart getting nostalgic...i've been going through all of my old journals since 5th grade and having a blast doing so...at one point, oddly enough, there is even mention of us burning a bra, but I'd be willing to bet it was with completely different motivations ;)
Posted by: Jon Ray | January 22, 2009 at 10:21 PM