Those 70ish Girls

This is a reminiscing rerun. They’re different from the other kind.

All those years ago when the south of 16 kids and I fashioned that first crown out of tinfoil, we had no idea what it would lead to. A crown by definition should be made out of precious metals and adorned with jewels. I doubt many would consider tinfoil a precious metal..not even the heavy-duty kind. We didn’t think about gluing jewels onto the adornment.

Crowns symbolize victory, immortality, or the highest part of something. That’s pretty heavy stuff for a 7 yr old, even if she does have a red Kitty Reynold’s gown. It’s hard to believe there was a 10 yr crown drought between the queen of the neighborhood queen, and the Murdo homecoming parade queen…And..let’s see 64 minus 17 is…47. Yikes! I waited 47 years to wear another tinfoil crown minus jewels.

 My mother was Miss Highway 16 almost 78 years ago. She wasn’t Queen of the whole highway, just the Murdo part. She wasn’t a self-proclaimed Queen like I am. She was chosen to reign. She got to go to the Corn Palace in Mitchell even though she didn’t have a crown. She wore a felt hat. She was 18 and beautiful. I think she would be proud of me for trying to keep the dream alive.

I am humbled by the fact that I chose to speak for crown wearers everywhere. Oh I know there is a certain amount of crown envy out there, but you won’t hear me complaining. It was kind of fun signing that autograph when I was in Murdo last summer.

So what does this mean? Give me a minute. I’m getting there.

I can’t think of a thing.

Cousin Val, (sometimes she’s Val and sometimes she’s Lav), represented Queen Elizabeth in the All School Reunion parade last summer. If you saw her, you must have been hard pressed to connect Val with Queen E. I thought she would wear a grey wig…or a powdered one like George Washington, but she just put blonde highlights in her hair.

She was supposed to look sort of matronly like Queen Elizabeth. Here is a side by side comparison.

Not exactly twinsies, but you can’t blame Lav for not wanting to look 90. All she aspired to anyway was to ride in a red convertible.

It’s not really about us. It’s about the future. Who’s going to fill our shoes, or our crowns?

Are there other 7 yr olds out there who are sitting on a folding chair in a horse-drawn red wagon? If some little girl is trying to emulate Murdo Girl, she needs to know it doesn’t happen overnight. Look at me? I only just now figured out it took me 47 years.

Are there other Lavs out there? I guess you could say Lav zumbad her way to crowning glory. She’s gone through some hard times too. Her $62.00 crown broke. It takes guts to continue to wear a broken crown.

That isn’t what I meant by the highest part of something Lav.

 I think Lav’s ladder is leaning against the wrong wall anyway. When she gets to the top, she will realize she’s on a ladder to nowhere. (I just love metaphors don’t you?) If Lav thinks the real Queen E is going anywhere soon, it’s just wistful thinking.

Someone please tell Queen E the Coyote colors are no longer orange and black! She thinks she’s in the band.

Far be it from me to be a wet blanket on a little girl’s fantasy. I just offer these few words of advice.

1.Never ever be embarrassed to wear your crown in public.

2.Only remove your crown if the tinfoil needs replaced or in Lav’s case, you need to hot glue a broken piece.

3.Lav doesn’t do this, but it could be the reason her crown broke. I always take my crown off at night.

3. Do not go out in public without makeup on unless you have a crown like this!

4. Listen closely to this one. YOUR PETS DO NOT HAVE TO WEAR A CROWN! Just because you are royalty doesn’t mean your fur babies want to be.

On the other hand, some animals love to wear a tiara.

Yes, even you might be a Queen or a King someday…Dream on honey 🙂

That’s it for now. I am procrastinating. I have to pack for Galveston and prepare for my birthday rap debut. If I don’t get it right and record it, I’ll never hear the end of it!