Standing Out?
In 1961 I first grew a beard. Later that year I joined the Navy (under threat of being drafted into the Army) and had to shave it off. As a matter of fact we recruits all ended up with the same haircut; shaved bald. The Navy still does not allow beards except for certain rare circumstances. As soon as possible thereafter I regrew one and have never shaved it off. Back then beards were somewhat unusual. I had two friends with beards and when we were out and about we drew attention.
As hippies, beards became a symbol of being different and demonstrating anti-establishment creds. Fast forward to today. In our area nearly every guy over 50 has a (gray) beard, whether their hair is long or short. Half the talking heads on TV toy from time to time with the 3-day unshaven look. I mean...Ted Cruz, for god’s sake. How to stand out: shave and a crewcut.
Women stood out as well, with ever-shorter dresses and psychedelic clothing, and no doubt many other manifestations I’m forgetting. Oh, yeah…..bralessness. (Please fill us in, those who were there). I don’t recall too many changes in physical appearance except for the ever-growing length of eyelashes.
I went to the Sonoma County Fair this week. It’s always warm at the fair, being August, and people dress accordingly. In other words, short shorts and minimal shirts. In the last few years tattoos have become more and more popular. One could stand out with a particularly spectacular and/or ostentatious tattoo. No longer. Everyone was tattooed from head to toe and probably in places I couldn’t and wouldn’t even want to see. And the age range was from teens to even older than me…..no, seriously! The only way to stand out now is to have no tattoos!
Beyond the tattoos, the women stood out with the variety of hair colorings. It wasn’t Pride Week or anything but you wouldn’t have known it from the rainbow of hair colours. I was reminded of the extremely serious and super-efficient emergency room nurse from two weeks ago. Tats all over and bright purple hair. The times, they are a changin.
Well, you can join them or not, but I found a site called Straytats where you can get realistic temporary tattoos. And I ordered some. I haven’t tried it yet, but my plan will be revealed this week and I will take photos for my records and of course for KTK’s as well. After all, y’all are my Facebook.