When I was young and single and loved to mingle, back in the day when I dated Fred Flintstone, I lived at an apartment. I think that was a rite of passage back then. My apartment was upstairs and faced the pool. In the summertime it was always BBQ and beer by the pool. (Coke for me; I don’t like beer.) My good friend Rosie was a school teacher, so she had the summers off. I was a freelance illustrator so my schedule was my own. I remember we laid out by the pool when it was 103. My dad actually brought a fan by so I could be more comfortable outside while I baked myself. (In retrospect, not my brightest moment.) We were a tight group always involved in each others lives.
Traditionally, Feb is the worst weather month in Houston we were ready to have some fun. Almost 35, yes 35 years ago now, our little group got together and planned a party for Valentine’s Day. Only 1 of us was in a serious relationship so we planned at Valentine’s Party with a twist. We had a costume party. It was called the VD party. All the girls came as hookers and all the guys as pimps. It was a hoot.
The guys went shopping before the event and found the most God-awful clothing you can imagine. One wore a bright gold crushed velour shirt and a number wore heinous polyester print shirts with the top three buttons left unbuttoned. There was a lot of heavage. Gold chains were everywhere. One of the guys even sported a huge hat.
My girlfriends and I wore an assortment of trampwear. Diana, who’s tall, but boob challenged wore cut-offs so short that little was left to the imagination. Our friend Debbie wore a black slip. Rosie wore an old dress that she slit up the sides so high you could almost see the promised land. As for me, I wore a dress that I used to wear when I partied at UT in the early 70′s. Of course for the hooker party, as it came to be known, I hemmed it up- way up. To add an air of realism, I even pinned some real $100 bills into the top of my dress. (I was a working girl after all.)
Now before anybody gets their sensibilities in a twist, in the interest of full disclosure I must state that all clothes stayed on and no untoward acts were performed while at the party. Still, the party was deemed a huge success and repeated the next year, different costumes and apartment of course. (I think I’ll hold onto that photo for next year’s blog.) Anyway, I just thought I’d share this old photo and give everyone a chuckle to start off their week.
