"Your Mom Let You Perm Your Hair?"

I work with a lot of "youngsters". They all seem to be 22-26. No one is between 26 and 30. Therefore, I fall into the older category.

Just a few minutes ago I heard "I think we're alone now" by Tiffany and I jumped up to explain that is the first concert I ever went to. And then I had to explain how I wore the coolest clothes I owned at the time - zipper leg jeans, "Surf Fetish" shirt (which I don't think was cool outside of La Mesa, CA), and a puffy paint sweatshirt. And somehow I also threw in that I was sporting a perm. Then my co-worker walks up behind and, with genuine jealousy in her voice, says "Your mom let you have a perm?"

Of course I had a perm. How could I not have a perm growing up in the late 80's? I used a hairdryer with a diffuser and "scrunched" my curls. I also had a curling iron covered in crap from hairspraying my bangs BEFORE and DURING curling the,. I tried to make tiny braids in my whole head to make it look like I had "crimped" my hair. I tried in vain to get a banana clip to stay in my super fine hair. The perm, dear coworker, was just the beginning!