mascara and the church picnic

Kathy Butte was another blonde friend of mine but think party-down Ellie May, not Cheryl Tiegs. I invited her to go on an outing with our church on a Saturday for a picnic to a park some distance away. There were a bus ride and boys included so we were glad to be going.

I waited for her at the corner like we'd arranged but she never showed up. It was getting late so I walked the several blocks to her house. When I got to the door, I heard shouting and something about,

"If I can't wear it then I'm just not going."

I knocked and as Mrs Butte let me in she yelled back to my friend,

"Kathy, she's here. If you're going, go!'

Even though I'd never been in her house before, I made my way to Kathy's room by following the shouting. Kathy was dressed in her cut-off jeans and a red print button up sleeveless blouse. She looked like she always did. Big, teased, curly blonde hair and heavy eye makeup; lots of black eyeliner, shadow and thick mascara. She looked OK to me.

"Kathy, you're not going to a church picnic with that mascara on. Go wash your face and get out of here. You're going to be late."

"If I can't go like this, then I'm not going," Kathy shouted back.

If I had ever threatened my mom like that, she'd just tell me to get myself in the bedroom and stay home then. If Kathy didn't go with me I'd be all alone on the picnic. I needed some backup. I needed someone to sit with. To have fun with. I didn't know many of those other girls and certainly didn't know the boys. I was in a panic. So I whispered to Kathy,

"Just wash it off. You don't need it. Let's just go. We're gonna be late!"

No makeup in the world was important enough to make us miss that bus to fun. Kathy never even answered me and continued her argument with her mother.

"I'm just not going without my mascara! I'll look stupid."

Poor Mrs Butte was about to give up but then in one last ditch effort she even tried throwing me in as a good example.

"Look at her. She doesn't need all that paint to have a good time." This argument carried no weight at all with Kathy. She stood her ground.

I wasn't allowed to wear ANY makeup, but, truth is, if my mom had let me I'd have looked exactly as Kathy did in a heartbeat.

After about 15 minutes of Mrs Butte haranguing Kathy, of Kathy shouting, screaming and simply pitching a fit, and of me panicking because I wasn't going on a picnic after all, Mrs Butte gave in and Kathy left for the Calvary Baptist Church picnic looking like a 13 year old hooker.