8-22-08...HOME PERMS
My Mama put home perms in everyone's hair when I was growing up. Everyone found out she could do it and came for her to work her magic on them. The three I remember are Lilt , Prom, and Toni. Or was it Bobbi? Oh well whatever. I had natural kinky hair and didn't need them. Brenda got one ever few months and I was always so envious of her. I wanted a perm and Mama just wouldn't give me one. I was miffed over that big time. Well Brenda didn't want to get them, she hated it. Aint that the way it always is? We want what we can't have? Auntie bought Brenda a perm and sent it down to Mama one day. Mama was supposed to put it in Brenda's hair in a day ot two. Brenda didn't want that thing and I did so guess what we decided? Yep we sure did! I said Brenda lets take that perm out to the pasture where that big tank is full of water and we will put it on my hair. OK she said then I wont have to get it. Mama had a box that she kept the rollers we got that and we had the pretty pink box with the perm and we were set. Mama we are gonna play in the pasture. Ok but don't go where I can't see you or holler at you. OK we wont. I told Brenda-- Now Brenda you will have to roll it and put the things on it. I don't know how Clydene. Sure you do you've got enough of them that you should know how. I'll tell you what to do. I was just sure I could tell her how. Hadn't I watched my Mama do it hundreds of times? Sure I had. YIPEE I'm gonna get me one of them perms just like Brenda does. We couldn't get to the towels without Mama seeing us and asking questions, but there were things hanging on the clothes line so we got some things there. We knew I had to cover my face during the process don't ya know. We knew what we were doing! Yep we sure knew all right. Then you had to mix some white powder in water (neutalizer? I think) and we didn't have a container. It'll be Ok Brenda, I'll just get my hair wet and you put the stuff in. Well Brenda rolled my hair up on the rollers (permanent wands?) and not very good either, but that would do. I splashed water out of the tank on my hair and got it wet. Brenda took the little bottle of stuff and was going to squirt it on the way we saw Mama do. That was our first problem. The top had to be snipped to make a little hole. We had nothing to do that so I said, Heck fire Brenda, just take off the lid and pour it on, Which She did! I held my rag up there ( which happened to be one of my Daddies shirts) and shut my eyes tight and she poured. OH MY GOSH BRENDA You poured that all over me. It was even in my ears. Well come here and put your head down on this tank and I'll splosh water on it and rinse it out. Which I did, and She did. She got me another rag(this one was Mama's dress) and I wiped and swiped around and spluttered. She gave me another rag(My dress) and I wrapped it around my head. I had heard Mama say, Now we wait (I didn't know how long and we couldn't read well enough to read the paper in the box). We waited a few minutes (coulda been seconds, don't know) then I stuck my head back over the tank and Brenda sploshed some more. Now we didn't know really what came next but we still had that white powder so that must be it. Yep that's it I said. Brenda took the powder like we had decided and sprinkled it all over my head. She handed me another rag. ( don't know what that was but I think it was a dish rag). Now we wait again she said then we take the rollers out. Yep we were doin' good right? WRONG!! After she sloshed my head around in the water a while I said hand me another rag. There aint no more she said. Take your dress off then. No I ainta'gonna do it! Oh well it was wet anyhow and mine was too. The sun will dry it. Mama hollered and said for us to come to the house and eat. Just a minute Mama. No minutes, come right now. Well Mama had seen us sloshing around in the water. We did that a lot in the hot summer, that was OK. Lets go Brenda, How does my hair look. Brenda's eyes just about popped out of her head, before she said, looks good, I'm goin' home. I knew then that something was wrong. Brenda you better tell me! You girls better get up here before I have to come get you. I'm a'goin' home. NO YOU ARE NOT!! I grabbed her and drug her along with me. When we got there my Mama's eyes about bugged out of her head just the way Brenda's had and I knew something was wrong, BAD WRONG!! What in the world have you girls done!!! Nothin' we both parroted. Nuthin my foot Mama said. Clydene why is your hair green and yellow, what did you do? HUH OH! I didn't know what to say so I just stubbed up and stood there. She put a perm in her hair, I told her not to. LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE I said! Both of you shut up Mama said. Well we knew now that she was really Mad at us so we instantly SHUT UP. Yep we shut up fast. Mama finally got it all out of us and she started crying. Well we couldn't stand that and we started bellering. Auntie came running down there. Mama told her what we had done and I thought she was gonna' cry too. Money was hard to come by then and there was none to buy another perm for Brenda and besides that my hair was ruined. I had long hair and Thank the Lord after Mama cut it real short it was OK but we got in lots of trouble that day and learned anoher lesson or two. We felt bad about the ruined perm but somehow they got another one and it all turned out good. Well good except fot that durn peach tree. One of these days Brenda we'd outta cut that durn thing down!! Another story. We got what we deserved everytime we got that tannin' and we knew it. We always hated when we made our parents sad too. Would you call that stubborn Or what? I call it Great Parents. YEP!!
