September 13, 2008

I Felt So Out of Place
FOUND by Robert Keim in Red Creek, New York
I don't know who wouldn't feel out of place with that outfit. I found this in a pad of paper in some old school newspaper files. It was the only page written on, and the cryptic nature is pleasantly perplexing.
Effie in Oxfordshire
This person married a man after two dates simply to feel some sense of belonging at the country and western dances. The parachute is a metaphorical one, to be able to escape the marriage when hip hop dancing comes back into fashion and she can rip of her wild pants, put her bling back on and just be herself again.
+ September 13, 2008 12:20 AM +
Flargy in New Haven, CT
There's no better place to feel out of place than at a country-western dance hall.
+ September 13, 2008 12:41 AM +
Monkey in cowboy parachute wild pants floral shirt & pumps
wow, this is sooo embarrassing, that's the same outfit I'm wearing.


...well ONE of us had better go change...
+ September 13, 2008 01:10 AM +
baby basil in the herb garden
"Parachute pants"? I must have missed that trend. Do they baloon out if you trip and fall? The old "elephant ear" flares of the 70s certainly did, but they led to falling, not floating (ask me how I know this). I see flares are coming back in, btw. Strewth.

No wonder she felt out of place if she wore parachute pants, a floral shirt, and pumps to a cowboy dance hall. The pumps were a dead giveaway, ma'am. I get the feeling that these notes were written by the journalism teacher to show her students how to do "jotting" for an article--background, impressions, atmosphere etc. Who else would refer to her "now" husband?

This reminds me of the time in HS journalism when I was sent off to research/write about our small rural town's new "disco." Which, not surprisingly, did not last. It looked like what it was, a tatty, cheaply-got-up cross between a winebar and someone's basement, with the miniscule dancefloor thrown in as an afterthought. The owner's big plans for afternoon "coffeehouse" type stuff went nowhere. I believe they closed before I graduated, less than 2 years later.
+ September 13, 2008 01:11 AM +
Monkey in denial
@baby basil;
http://www.parachute-pants.com/store/index.php

they were a bad 80s style.
and disturbingly... that's a whole website still dedicated to selling nothing but them
+ September 13, 2008 01:19 AM +
Christina in Illinois
I think maybe they were asked to describe a specific moment in time. She chose the 2nd date with her (now) husband. Apparently in was in the late 80s or early 90s based on her attire. I think it's cute that she remembers so much detail, including exactly how she felt.

I was trying to remember my 2nd date in great detail, but alas, we did not have a normal dating progression. The second time I saw my boyfriend (we met online) was when he came to help pack me up so I could move in with him! And no, I was not wearing parachute pants.
+ September 13, 2008 01:25 AM +
???
Thanks for the link monkey, I totally want the orange jumpsuit

28*15? I had to find my calculator...it's 420!
+ September 13, 2008 02:51 AM +
Carla Sue in blue parachute pants
This is exactly why I don't go to country and western dance halls. They always make you feel out of place when you wear your favorite pants. (whisssh, whisssh, whissh) <walking away>
+ September 13, 2008 03:32 AM +
lars in all my forms in the nwc?
1983, definitely.
+ September 13, 2008 05:14 AM +
Vill in .
Some memories are better left buried.
+ September 13, 2008 07:56 AM +
Lucky in Kentucky
I want some Cowboy Wild Parachute Pants. You know, the kind that make Cowboys wild? They must have worked, because she ended up with a Cowboy.
+ September 13, 2008 10:25 AM +
Night in gale
Hey, Robert Keim had a Find posted last Saturday! Lucky duck.

In and of itself, the pumps are what's out of place. You can't "scoot a boot" in heels. Before the 3rd date, she bought herself a pair of Rockies, and Ropers. No doubt her hair was already as big as she dared. And then she lassoed that cowboy's heart.
+ September 13, 2008 11:39 AM +
Leigh in Chicago
My guess is it's the fragmented scribblings of trying to remember a dream. Looks like the nonsense that makes perfect sense at the time, then you wake up to discover it has been posted online.
+ September 13, 2008 12:42 PM +
mlm in texas
I believe the current-day incarnation of parachute pants is the wild-printed baggy pants that weight-lifters wear. You know, because their freakishly-large muscles don't scream, "LOOK AT ME!" loudly enough.
+ September 13, 2008 01:09 PM +
rebecca in limbo
Since it was found in school newspaper files I think these are notes a student took during an interview. . . maybe a "human interest story" about one of the teachers? The "I felt so out of place" could be a quote for the student to use in the story.

I don't know what teacher in her right mind would give up those details, though!
+ September 13, 2008 01:22 PM +
swimming in nostalgia
This also reminds me of a school project.

We were asked to interview a parent or grandparent to find out about how they met their significant other.

Maybe this is Mom?
+ September 13, 2008 04:06 PM +
darkshines in The cupboard under the stairs
Parachute pants are what MC Hammer wears....
http://a1.vox.com/6a00c2251c1ba8f21900d4141bb3
+ September 13, 2008 08:55 PM +
Holly the Homemaker in Toronto

UGH....!!!! Hated those balloon pants!

But, who's to say that doesn't mean...it's now her EX-husband??
+ September 14, 2008 04:50 AM +
Just me in my house
She must have been making notes about her second date with her now husband for something she had to write. Odd she should pick the second date and not the first. Wonder how many people remember second dates.
+ September 14, 2008 06:55 PM +
just checking in ...
Nightingale, "scoot a boot" is such a great phrase... it invokes a very vivid mental image. (and some mixed emotion memories from Podunkville, for sure!!)
+ September 14, 2008 08:39 PM +
Lance Pants in a trance
We all feel out of place. That's what the booze is for.
+ September 15, 2008 04:35 PM +

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