A Lying Fool

I don't lie unless the need arises. Otherwise, I have no problem telling the truth. When I was a little girl the need arose all the time. I was a lying fool and there was no doubt that I was going to H-E- double L. I didn't like the idea of spending eternity in a fiery black hole with slimy earth worms crawling all over my body--that's how my Sunday school teacher described the place--but I felt I had no choice, because everything fun in life was against my religion.  We were not allowed to go to the movies or dance or wear makeup or adorn ourselves with jewelry and fancy clothes. Even bowling was off limits. Our clothing had to cover our knees and elbows, and, of course, showing cleavage would send you straight to the fiery hole down below. I lived in a black and white world and I desperately wanted a taste of color.

So what's a child who wants to fit in her friends' world to do? This child chose to spend a lot of time at the library, or at least that's where Mother thought I was. Instead I was sitting in the front row at the Irvington Theatre enjoying Elvis move his pelvis in Jail House Rock, bowling a perfect 50 at the local bowling alley, and doing The Stroll every Friday night at a competitive church's sock hop.

Then one day the "No Bowling Rule" was lifted, so I moved from the library to the bowling alley, or at least that's where my mother thought I was. Instead I was sitting in the front row at the Irvington Theatre swooning over Elvis in King Creole, dancing the Willy and the Hand Jive at the Friday night sock hop, and spinning the bottle with neighbor kids in our breezeway after Mother went to bed.

Sometime around 1959 God revisited the rulebook and made a few changes:

Makeup - Okay in moderation

Jewelry - Okay, but not too gaudy

Fancy clothes - Okay as long as no cleavage shows

Dancing- Okay as long as you don't move hips

Knees & Elbows can be shown now

Movies - Uh...No! Still not okay

About the same time as the rulebook revisions, our minister broke one of the non-revisable rules--one of the big ten you might say--and my mother, my older sister and I did The Stroll on over to another church.  

Around the same time that we changed churches, my mother met and fell in love with one of the most wonderful men I have ever known and my world began to show some color...finally.