A Memorial Post And Flashbacks Of Other Eras Long Gone

 I just watched a 1928 Silent Film Sunday Night with Joan Crawford in her Younger Years called "Our Dancing Daughters".  Also starring Anita Page and Dorothy Sebastian, and Swedish Actor Nils Asther. The Old Silent Films are funny now coz they're so overly dramatic and corny by Today's standards, but I Love seeing the fabulous Flapper Era Fashions, Sets, Architecture and Decor of the Time they were set in.  My Welsh Nanna got Married in a Flapper Dress and was a Dancer and Stage Actress during that Era in Europe.  I just adore the Fashions, Accessories, and Style back then and how they flattered Women's form even before Bras were properly Invented and widely worn.  And the Men's Fashions were so Suave' too.  Everything about that Era seemed very Sexy, Classy, Sensually "Hawt", and Fashionable in a Timeless and distinctive way.

  I enjoyed watching the whole Movie on TMC.  The Movie, to me, also had a Surprisingly Strong Queer and Lesbian Subtext to it, which was quite unexpected, given it's Era.  The Emotional Core of the Film to me was more about Female intimacy with each other, and Female Independence and Rebellion, rather than the Male Romances.  The Men seemed merely a means to an end of the Times, which makes sense, since until the 1970's Women couldn't even get Loans or Bank Accounts without a Male Co-Signer.  There were Pre-Code Kisses on the Lips of Women in the Film and obvious intimacy implied.  The Film seemed rebellious, defying Norms, and rejecting Traditional Patriarchal Gender Roles.  So, it read to me very much like a Counter-Culture Film perfect for Gay Pride Month.  Since, the LGBTQ+ Community has always existed, just not as Openly, due to deep Social Biases and extreme long standing Prejudices denying Human Rights to so many, Gays, Women, the Disabled, and Minorities.  

 The Son gets a kick out of me watching such Old Movies, but he had to admit, the Film implied a lot, for it's Era.  And he noticed it too and asked if it was a really Old Movie about Lesbians in Love, but pretending to have Romantic Involvement with Men?  Mostly for their Money and the Security, Social Acceptance and/or Standing it provided Females, especially attractive ones?  Makes me wonder how Scandalous it was received in the 1920's?  Yet, they made it and it shot at least Three of the Young Actresses in Lead Roles into their height of Stardom after making it.  I wondered if it was just us who had noticed it and drawn that conclusion from watching it for the first time?  So, I Googled it, and Nope, lots of Modern Watchers of the Film felt the Emotional Core was Female Love for one another.  Opposed to Romantic Love with the Male Characters, who they had quite complex "Relationship" and infidelities with in the Roles.  Lotsa Creeping with OPP going on for sure, with much deception between the Male/Female Relationships.  Damn, very Progressive!   Makes the Sixties Hippies seem Quaint, quite Nature Girl Natural and Tame!  *LOL*

I was very much looking like Janis and the Gal Below during the late Sixties and early Seventies, that was my predominant Vibe and way of just Being.  In many ways it still is, I say if ya dug it then, why change it now?  *LOL*  I'm most comfortable in my own Skin in that Style and Aesthetic, both then and now, no difference in my Essence and at my Core of Being, whether I was 16 or over Sixty actually.  I've included some Old Photo Booth Pixs that me and my High School Friend Debbie crammed into at the Mall, remember those?  It would spit out a thin strip of Images of you and you'd share some with the Friend(s) that crammed in there with you.  I kept a few of those Old Photo Booth Wallet Sized Photos of Debbie and I.  They were still popular when The Daughter was Young and she often took some with her Friends too while in High School, then the Booths fell out of favor and I can't recall seeing one now in a very long time. 

Below is me back Then, no Makeup, very long straight Hair that I never fussed with, smelling of Nag Champa or Patchouli Essential Oils, wearing my Love Beads and a colorful Dashiki for my High School Mug Shot Pix, which, this Photo was the only School I.D. I kept.   I never was in front of the Lens very much in my Youth, our Family didn't own a Camera and I didn't either for a long time.  But, I was very much the Granola Gal Epitome of the Counter-Culture Era.  My Parents didn't mind coz they were very Bohemian Spirits of their own Era and not your Garden Variety Traditional 1950's Era folks either.  Almost all of my Friend's Parents were more like the Typical 50's Parents you saw on TV Sitcoms like "Leave It To Beaver" and "Ozzie and Harriet".  

 

I was trying to look up this Old Friend Debbie via FB and couldn't find her, I'd run into her in Peoria many Years ago and knew she and her Husband owned a Locksmith Shop there in Olde Town Peoria.  But I did find a mutual Friends of ours, also Named Debbie, who I knew had Passed Away quite prematurely, becoz this Debbie had told me the shocking News when we ran into each other and started talking of people we knew in High School.  She was only in her 30's and Died in her Sleep according to this Debbie.  Her Obituary popped up on FB and ended up taking me to our High School Memorial Page set up by Alumni, to keep track of Dearly Departed Trevor Browne Students from 1972 when the School Opened in Phoenix, all the way to the present day.  I only went there in my Senior Year, so didn't get to know a lot of people well.  But too many of those I knew from that High School had Died by now.  I was saddened to see just how many!!!  I Saved some Photos of those I remembered fondly, who are now Gone, including Debbie and several others.  As a Newbie to the School everyone was Kind to my Brother and I.  A Tribute Below in Remembrance to those Lost, all are their Yearbook Photos:

   

The last Two Photo {Directly Above} were Twins, Pat & Pam, the Sister Smiling big in her Pix Passed in her early 30's, her Twin Sister at 50, all Three of their Brothers have now Passed too, so the whole Family of Siblings are Gone!!!   Not as many of the Guys I knew have Passed, tho' a few had.  I didn't Date in High School, tho' the one Friend, with the Butterfly Clip in her Hair {3rd from Last Pix Directly Above the Twins}, I Dated her Older Brother after High School.  He too has Passed Away, even before she did, and only her Older Sister is left now.  It was hard to keep in touch with people after High School, we all drifted away from keeping track of one another and I only went to One Reunion.  Quite a few People had already Died by then and it was only the 1980's!!!   Sadly, even most of those Pictured Above were relatively Young and didn't make it to Old Age.  Old Age indeed being a Privilege not afforded to many.  And of coarse most Teachers are long Gone, only a couple of Pixs of the Fav ones I had were available for Lost Staff of my Senior Year {Below}:

I think one of the most shocking revelations was how many Classmates had been Homicide Victims!!!   And how many others were Killed by Drunk Drivers!!!   Most did succumb to Illness tho', or the cause of their Death wasn't mentioned, just the Date and their Age.    It's Solemn to know whose Gone now, the Older you get, the more of them precede you into the Afterlife.  It's why I haven't gone to any more Reunions.  So few would be left that I knew or even remember anymore.  I remember way more people and Friends from my previous American High School in England at Lakenheath AFB where I spent Freshman thru Junior Years.  I've kept in touch with my BFF from there, and reconnected to some via FB too.  More Military Dependents kept in touch even tho' we always moved a lot with at least One Parent being Active Duty Military. 

 Above were a bunch of my Friends in High School here.  I didn't see any of them Memorialized, which was good.  When I finally went to a Civilian School in Phoenix, I realized most of the Civilian Students had grown up together, so already had long term Lifetime close Friendships established by High School.  So they probably did keep in Touch with one another.  Below is a Trio I knew who did remain Close and formed a Professional Dance Troupe, the Middle One has Passed Away now.  She was the 3rd from the Top in the Memorial Pix Tribute with Long Dark Hair.  She was Amerasian, her Mom from Japan, her Dad a White American G.I. and she had a Sister I knew too, who is still Living.  Quite a few of the other Students I knew had Foreign Born Moms who had Married American Military Men who were Stationed in their Countries, and many were Families like mine of Intercultural Interracial Unions.  The Gal on the far Left and with the Snake below that, is Anandha, and we had Classes together.  She went and joined an Ashram and had her 1st Child while still in High School.  She is a Professional Dancer and Choreographer to this day and is as Exotic, and as Beautiful a Soul, and as Artistic as she was in High School.  She's my Age and still looks amazingly Ageless!

So, even as a Teenager, and after my Dad had Retired after 27 Years of Active Duty Service, I mostly only knew other Military Families or Young G.I.'s who were Active Duty and Stationed at Luke AFB nearby.  And those who were still Active Duty of coarse would be moving a lot still.  My Parents Retired in 1974 and I've lived in the Metro Phoenix area ever since.  I moved a LOT within the Metro Area, just about as much as I ever did while we were in the Military, I was just used to moving often and it took until 2000 for me to stay put any length of time, even Locally.  Since then I've only Moved Three times in the past 25 Years.  For me that's a Record.  I had been known to Move more than Three times in any given Year before then!  *LOL*  And so I Traveled Light and was a Minimalist until the early 2000's actually.  And then swung to Staying Put and Maximalism, so Moving became harder and more expensive.  *Le Sigh*

*******

Time marches on... and some of us, the privileged few allowed to grow Old, are still here... Dawn... The Bohemian