October 31, 2011

Rockin' the Peggy

When I was a gawky 13, Peggy Lipton was my idol. You remember Peggy, right? From Mod Squad, circa 1968? Yeah, her. Of course, her role as the perpetually stoic Julie Barnes taught me how to be completely aloof in the presence of boys and, yeah, girls too, and adults and, okay, everybody. Man, she was cool.

And back in 1968, I dreamed of coveting a suede fringe vest. If I could rock Peggy in suede fringe, I could be my own Mod Squad. Add some go-go boots and a little black light action, and I'm pretty sure Peggy would have been all verklempt with pride for her would-be stalker protégé.

You will therefore, my peeps, be quite distressed to learn that I never got my suede fringe vest. Or the go-go boots. And while I had a black light, what good is it if you can't rock the Peggy? Obviously, my childhood was fraught with deprivation. When a budding teen lacks her generation's grooviest pop culture paraphernalia, you just know mental scarring is inevitable. It's why I resorted to the ganja, Mom. You denied me my true Peggy.

To be entirely honest, remembering the Sixties is sort of complicated—and not because I don't actually remember them. Well, that's not entirely honest. Some of the Sixties, I did space for reasons of ganja. And other stuff. But today, recalling the Sixties is like having an acid flashback. I get a little paranoid while laughing and crying at the strange granny in a rocking chair floating above me, and I mumble, "Did I say that out loud?" Followed by, "Whoa, did I say THAT out loud?" It's all so trippy.

And let me just add that all the fried Spam, salmon patties, and macaroni and Velveeta my mother fed me played no small part in my photosensitivity to the Sixties. Not to mention my father's experimentation with "drunk bananas." Bananas drenched in rum and then set on fire and offered up to your unsuspecting, entranced children who idolize you, well, that's just a cruel parental prank. Is it any wonder I spent hours at a time in Tiger Beat?

(Did you see how I laid the entire gut-wrenching grip of my teen angst on my parents? Heh. I am the master. Dude, pass the bud. Whoa, did I just say that out loud? Oh man, did I just say THAT out loud?)

The ganja groove came and went with the Sixties, but the dream lived on. So this year, I am rockin' the Peggy. Black light, suede fringe, boots, and even a far-out headband. Oh yeah, baby, yeah! Hippie Chick rules!



Outasight, man.


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29 comments:

Sueann said...

Oh man! You are definitely rocking girl!! Peggy has nothing over you!
Loving the vest!
Hugs
SueAnn

daisyfae said...

Peggy called! She said "Groovy!" and then "Whoa... did i say that out loud?"

Hilary said...

You are for real rocking it. Love the outfit.

Anonymous said...

Looks good to me.

Everyday Goddess said...

peggy would be envious!

happy halloween!

Hilary said...

Too cool, you are. I loved the Mod Squad and for a brief time wanted to change my name to Peggy. Thanks for the fun memories.

Kristina P. said...

You are a better Peggy than Peggy was!

CiCi said...

You are so cool. You rock.

injaynesworld said...

Rockin' look, girlfriend. I totally remember Peggy Lipton and never missed the "Mod Squad." Sweet memories of smokin' the wonder weed and devouring Sara Lee chocolate cake. Good times!

Captain Dumbass said...

Better late than never. Lookin' good.

Linda Medrano said...

You out-Peggy Peggy! Dang! Looking Sweeeeeet!

watercolordaisy said...

The vest is super cute! You need to keep that with a denim skirt/jeans and boots and a white t.

You look awesome!!

I was born in 68 so I need to netflix this Mod Squad thing.....

secret agent woman said...

I remember mod squad - I was young (5-6?) but we lived in San Francisco so we were groovy.

a runner said...

You look just like her! I remember the Mod Squad. I also coveted Peggy's look.

Gaelyn said...

It's never too late to make a dream come true. You rock Peggy girl!

So what are you smoking these days. Whoa, did I say THAT out loud?

Bretthead said...

You don't look old enough to remember the 60s!

Mildred Ratched said...

You did Peggy proud!

Brian Miller said...

whoa...nice outfit....groovy...the flaming bananas have me entranced right now....

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I wanted to be Peggy, too. She did know how to be cool. Hope you had a grand time.

Julie D said...

Hot mama. You rocked it!

meleah rebeccah said...

You look TOTALLY SUPER AWESOME rocking your Inner Peggy!!

tokenblogger said...

Hip. Gurl, you haz it!

drollgirl said...

i am still laughing at the mod squad reference. mostly because i kind of remember that show! :)

Vegas Linda Lou said...

Holy crap, girlfriend--you look AMAZING!

I, too, thought Peggy Lipton was the coolest chick ever. And I still love the fashions of the 70s. MUCH better than the God-awful crap of the 80s.

Bejewell said...

GOD YOU'RE HOT.

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

I can dig it.

Roshni said...

Wow!! Visiting you after a long time and you look COOL!! :D

Jo ~ said...

Okay I'm gonna say this outloud...

You look groovy, sista chicka!

Murr Brewster said...

Solid.