Saturday, September 24, 2011

CAN YOU DIG IT?!

alternate title: "The Orphans are a heavy outfit."

when i was in jr. high the movie "the warriors" came out on laser disc and probably played endlessly on cable tv. my brother & his wife had a laser disc player so i logged a LOT of hours watching "the warriors" and "the blues brothers."
this letter is from a girl i knew in jr high: corrine. we first connected over our shared love of cheap trick. in the two years we went to school together (1979 - 1981) she turned me onto the talking heads, the pretenders and b-52s. (that first pretenders album kicked so much ass. man.) you can tell by her choice of stationery, corinne had punk leanings at a tender age. :) i read a bunch of letters tonight from girls in knew when i was young. among the adolescent-dazed, confused, mad-crush letters this one was a bright bit of comedy.

notes for context:
- foo is my family nickname. for a while i tried to shake it. (it did not work. my family calls me foo to this day.)
-nylon shorts were VERY big in california in the summer of 1981
-i didn't want to attend the high school in my district and was campaigning with my mom to attend Lincoln High
-i was visiting my sister in Nebraska when corrine sent me this letter
-i had a boyfriend in 8th grade whose last name was Hoffman

here is her letter:
**********************

punk power!!
7/25/81

dear foo (just kidding),
Hi! How's life in Nebraska? I played Alien Invaders at Macy's. Space Invaders is way better. Well, life the slums is very boring. i got my shorts yesterday night: blue stripies, red & white 50/50's and the white nylon ones ( I found a large) I sure hope you're with your "new summer clothes," i'm not. (just kidding) Me & my mommy went to Beverly Fabrics. Guess who i saw there? No, not Sal, Michelle M!! YUKK!! It was a disgusting and riscue [?] sight. You know something? she looks like a bubba! i mean it!!!
Did you see any babes on the plane? You betta. I heard Dirty Deeds last night...done dirt cheap!!-->

RIFFS, YEAH RIGHT!!! Warriors, come out to play, Warriors, come out to play, WARRIORS COME OUT TO PLAY!! WARRIORS...
C'mon...C'mon...HAHAHAHAHAHA the baseball scene...the bathroom scene...Cyris...the baseball furies, Rogues, Riffs, the farmboys & the WARRIORS!!!!!! Why? Becuz you SSUCK!!!!
Well, any ways, guess what's happening (QUE PASA) next month? Their [sic] gonna have a Showtime Preview!! Guess what's playing?:
1. Brubaker
2. Cookie Goes To the Hospital
3. I'll Cry Tomorrow
4. No Deposit No Return
5. Laff-a-thon #3
6. Friday the 13th
7. Sensuous Nurse
8. Up the Academy
9. Running
10. Rascal Dazzle
11. The Forbidden Planet
12. Players
13. The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters #3
14. Blue Fire Lady
15. All That Jazz
16. Best of Bizarre
17. THE SHINING!
18. Mulefeathers
and that's all...
Maybe you could spend the night at my house that day and come with me to guard the next morning [she was going to be in Color Guard the next fall at Lincoln High]...that is, if you want to if not, it's cool. so tell me how Nebraska is treating you... I hope you can go to Lincoln even though your friendly friend Elizabeth is going, you just betta come to Lincoln. Have your mom call sometime in August. I'm sorry if this page is so sloppy but nobody's perfect. right? right?? Well, Guess who's on Kids Are People Too? BROOKE SHIELDS... "@%&#!!!!" Well... -->
I think that this is gonna be my sign-off page. so i will talk to you a little bit more...did you get any more clothes up in Nebraska? i got a pair on lay-a-way at the Pruneyard. They are really cute. they're gray corduroy straight let pleats. i like em!! I'm gonna buy some gray moccasins for school. i don't give a shit of what anybody thinks of them. Well, you know that really cute tube top you bought? i tried one on but it didin't look right on me. Well, i'd better be jamming now. try to get a flight home on August 9th ok? alright. well, i'd better sign off now...BYE!!

love, corrine flores

later mrs. hoffman..."baahaa"

ps. please write back!!!

pss Sorry about the sloppiness...


**********
that list of movies, etc. playing on the cable preview kills me. "sensuous nurse!" ha!
also, her last name wasn't Flores. clearly she had a thing for a guy with the last name Flores, but i can't remember who he was.

snacks of note: bottle of red wine (Rook from jill's fab wine shop on melrose...), boursin & pita chips (dinner of champions!)

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