1-22-09...SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE SHOW
SATURDAY NIGHT SHOOT EM UPS
On Saturday nights we all piled in Daddies car and went to Ozark to see a cowboy show. My goodness was that a big event. I remember Gene Autry and Roy and Dale on that screen as big as life. WOW! Before the show started we would walk up the sidewalk past the Oklahoma Tire and Supply on past Coleys store and Davis Barber shop. There we crossed the street and went in a fantasy land. Ben Franklin's five and ten cent store. Whooppee! What a wonderful place that was. Bright lights shining down on all those things. We thought we has walked into a wonderland. We walked the whole store ooing and awing and touching. There was always a clerk right behind us. "Can I help You?". To which we would reply," No just lookin'." That was a constant thing every few minutes. We didn't pay any attention to her, we had known the old lady all our lives. A spinster lady. Daddy said she just had to do her job. Now days you can never find anyone to help you in a store.
We already knew what we would buy anyway just loved to look. We usually had a dime to spend and that bought a lot. We would buy Evening in Paris perfume in a beautiful little blue bottle usually. If we didn't splash it all on us in the coming week then we'd buy something else. One week we bought a small bottle of nail polish then we were not allowed to use it except on Saturday.
One Saturday Mama and Daddy decided to go early and visit a friend before the show. We would rather have been walking around in the 5&10 but of course had to go with them. We took our nail polish from the week before but Mama didn't know we had it.
Now I can't remember this ladies name but I can remember what she looked like. Sweet little older lady. And I remember her couch. It was green plastic which was the rage then. She said she had just gotten it at Vardarman's Furniture Store and she was so proud of it. Brenda and I sat on it and the boys were in the floor. Mama and Daddy were on the other side of the room talking to the lady. We got our nail polish out. Brenda laid her hand on a magazine to paint hers but I laid my hand on the arm of that pretty green couch. Brenda got some on the magazine and she quickly closed her bottle. I sat my bottle on the arm of the couch. GOOFY! I knocked it over and spilled some on the couch. I closed the bottle and got a pretty pillow from behind me and started wiping up the nail polish. DOUBLE GOOFY!! Brenda was nudging me to tell me what I had done. (as if I didn't know what I'd done) I elbowed her back and hissed, "Shut up" to which she elbowed me and got the boys attention. I just laid my head over on the pillow that was covering up the nail polish and looked as angelic as I could. I knew if the boys saw it the jig was up.
I was so relieved when Mama said for us to come on they were going. We got in the car and Brenda whispered (a loud whisper I might add) "Clydene you got polish all over that ladies couch and her pillow." Brenda shut up I whispered even louder. TOO LOUD cause Mama heard us. I guess Daddy heard us too cause he pulled into a side road and turned around. "What cha' doin' Daddy" Norman asked. "These girls are going back an tell Miss ??? what they did", Daddy said. Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh!!! I started bellering and Mama turned around and gave me THE LOOK! No one said another word and I dried up.
They took us to the door and made me knock. The lady came to the door and the look on her face told us she had already discovered our deed. She had a bottle of something in her hand and a rag that was red with the nail polish. I was the worst one so I blubbered out that I was sorry. Brenda was next and told her about the magazine. Come on in she said. Mama and Daddy were telling her how sorry they were. The lady showed us that she had already cleaned the polish off the couch. She said the magazine didn't matter. Daddy kept saying what can we do and she kept saying nothing so I figgered' that was that. ONLY, That sure wasn't that. NOPE. We went on to the show that night. Daddy said it wouldn't be fair for the rest not to get to go, but I didn't get to go the next week either. Had to stay at Aunties while Mama and Daddy took the rest. Brenda decided to stay home with me. She really didn't do as much as I did and didn't deserve the same punishment. We both had got our tanning already and had to put our nail polish up till we knew how to use it. At least that's what Mama said. We figgered we knew how to use it already. I also had to give up my dime and the trip to the 5&10. That was bad. I loved those trips to wonderland.
As I look back on this I know how my Parents felt having to go back and face that Lady. I know they were feeling helpless knowing there was no way they could replace the ladies couch. I'm so ashamed of myself now. We can't go back and correct our mistakes though. NOPE! Just gotta learn from them. Heck I learned from a lotta them. YEP!!
