Oh, Monday...

Thanks to a friend's tip about a free Redbox rental code for one night only in Charlotte, I picked up The Runaways, the epic tale about Joan Jett. (That's all I know, so I'm sure there's more to it.) A slightly different tale from It's Complicated, an annoying coming-of-old-age tale about divorce and adultery and bodies going south. A light and breezy comedy, indeed. My parents would love it, if they haven't already seen it.

I was a huge Joan Jett fan when I was 7 years old. I had her album, I Love Rock and Roll, and spent many hours sitting in front of my little black and white record player, daydreaming. I don't remember exactly what I thought about. 7 was a weird age. I wanted to be Joan Jett or Belinda Carlisle or Blondie, but I was still very much into Strawberry Shortcake and unicorns.

I studied the album cover, wanting to copy her look. I got my hair cut at Fantastic Sam's--I'm not sure if those exist anymore, but imagine Great Clips, only worse. Her sleek black hair was spiky, punk-like, and edgy. Mine was mullet-like and I could never get the spikes to stand up, so it just fell in what my brother lovingly called "a butt cut," fashion.

I also managed to pick out a smart little pant suit, complete with a tie. While visiting my Grandma (Granny) in Winston-Salem, I talked her into going to TJ Maxx, and then proceeded to talk her into buying this little purple and pink one-piece number. The sleeves were puffy and three-quartered, and the top and bottom are combined with a snug piece of elastic. Too snug, really. But I wanted it, so I didn't complain. It was severely uncomfortable everytime I wore it, and as much as I wanted to pretend it didn't exist in my closet, my mom was not one to waste an outfit. It made it into rotation frequently.

I'm pretty sure I wore jelly shoes with it, and I am also pretty sure I have a school picture with a cloudy sky backdrop. Somewhere at my parent's house is a copy of the photo, and the outfit, album, and record player. Maybe Stella will be a fan and I can unearth them from their attic. Unfortunately, I don't think the jelly shoes survived.