Let’s eavesdrop on the students at the Barbizon School for Women, starting far left:
Starlet #1: “I know that we’re supposed to be doing modeling exercises, but I had far too many Harvey Wallbangers last night, as well as a few Harveys, and I really need to just lean against this wall and wait for things to stop being so…unsteady. I am never drinking vodka again. Well, not today, anyway. Or at least this afternoon. Maybe later. They had really good shrimp puffs at that bar. And a few shrimps. Why do short men always think they can hit on me? Is it a Mommy issue? Oh my God, am I Mrs. Robinson? Norma Bates? My life is a cesspool of depravity!”
Suddenly, she lets out a resounding belch that would normally clear a building but doesn’t even register with the other self-involved occupants of the room. (If it doesn’t directly affect them, they don’t care.) “Well, now. I feel much better. I’m not depraved, I was just gassy. And at least I still look cute in my outfit, unlike Deer in the Headlights next to me who looks like she just walked in on the Pope blessing a Cardinal in a carnal manner. I can get through this mess. Bring it.”
Starlet #2: “I’m still stunned that I wasn’t able to simply walk into Hollywood and become an instant star. I can’t imagine why that didn’t happen. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn this bra made out of potholders. But hey, a girl has to do what a girl has to do. If you can’t afford it, improvise. After all, I haven’t had to pay rent for three months because my landlord appreciates my dexterity. I’m so glad I took gymnastics lessons in high school. It’s the dismount that discounts. Mmm hmm.”
Startlet #3: “I think I might be in the wrong place. No one is introducing themselves and saying they are alcoholics. But at least I have this nice scarf in my hair, and Momma always said that hair accessories will save the day. Of course, Momma also talked to rutabagas and had tea parties for the barnyard cats, so she might have been off the mark a little bit.
“Still, I love her dearly, and if I can get cast in an actual movie I might make enough money to spring her out of the Beaver Valley Sanitorium for Directionless Farmwives. Sure, I’m the one who signed the paperwork to get her committed in the first place, when she wouldn’t let me date Buckboard Haberdash because his family had fewer cows than we did, but I regret that now. Especially since Buckboard later proved that he was only interested in other Bucks. Who knew? I’m doing this for you, Momma!”
Starlet #4: “If that acrobatic floozy over there expects me to help her out if she falls and busts her ass, she better go to Plan B. Seriously, some people will do anything for attention. Then again, I’m not wearing any panties, either, so we probably joined the same sorority in college. When you’re a sister trained to do everything that the older sisters tell you to do, it’s hard to wash those instincts out of your hair.
“Wait a minute, I think I do know her. I remember competing against her for Homecoming Queen at White Privilege University. Luckily, I had a special move that ensured my eventual triumph and she was left in the dust. But still, she’s a year younger than me and in this town youth is everything. I must vanquish her once again. Fall on your ass, girl. Do it!”
Starlet #5: “I’m only contorting myself like this because I couldn’t afford fancy shoes like everybody else and I had to do something to distract people from my lack of adequate footwear. On second thought, though, perhaps I shouldn’t have thrown my legs over my head like that Tri-Delta slut over there did during Homecoming. She might have won that race, but then she had to disappear for nine months, especially when the quarterback transferred to White Male Privilege University and stopped answering her emails. I don’t need that kind of mess. I’ll just do a demure, non-rent-avoiding dismount and go stand in a corner of the room with the least amount of desperate shame.”
Starlet #6: “Holy cow! That waitress wasn’t kidding when she said the jalapenos on the taco salad might repeat later. If anybody lights a cigarette in a three-block radius, I’ll be the first woman on the moon. Even more perplexing? Why am I playing ping-pong at a Modeling Academy? I clearly missed a memo, somewhere. Then again, isn’t everything we do just one more absurdity in the Game of Life?”
Previously published, modified somewhat. Trivia: One of these women is actually Rita Hayworth, though at first glance she looks like (at least to me) Lucille Ball with a hairdo that barely managed to survive a three-hour road trip in a convertible on the Pacific Coast Highway….
Categories: Past Imperfect
Bonnywood Manor 
What a fascinating photo and you sure knew what to do with it!
LikeLiked by 3 people
The photo IS fun, so of course I had to cobble together some type of story. As for knowing what to do with it, well, there are some folks who wish I would just leave these things alone and move on with my life… 😉
LikeLike
Number five is sorta sporting high heels? Number six is poorly served by her ping pong footwear, Number two looks like she’s practicing how to answer the phone. A Method actress perhaps?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bingo on the “high heels” remark. As for the rest of them, I think #1 is the only gal sporting sensible and appropriate footwear. And yes, perhaps Methodina is just perfecting her craft. But I’m afraid she has a long road to travel, and HER shoes won’t even get her down the block…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, she’ll be tripping down the block…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I used to be able to do a handstand. Unlikely these days. Trust me, I won’t try.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I was quite the gymnast at one point. Now? I wouldn’t dare try anything I did back then. Life is dangerous enough just going to the mailbox…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ahhhh a handstand I too remember doing that, sigh🤸♀️☺️sending joy hedy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Hedy! Yep, I remember doing lots of things. How I survived my formative years, I really don’t know… 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
😂well I also wonder about some things I did😳🥺😅🤸♀️
LikeLiked by 2 people
I thought Lucy as well. Something in the gene pool maybe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They say we all have a doppelganger somewhere. And I feel sorry for mine. I wouldn’t wish this mess on anyone… 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
I barely made it past Harvey Wallbangers today, but thankfully I did and bravo, Brian, for another stellar post.
I clearly remember (or at least I think it’s clearly) my years with late night Harvey Wallbangers – and the girls at the bar, too.
Wow. Now I think I’ve really accomplished something if I have a shot of tequila before an early supper. Cheers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, the things we used to do to our bodies. Stay out all night, and still make it to work the next morning, fresh and perky. But yes, that was so long ago that I can only vaguely recall somebody hollering out “Last call!” just before they played the final Patsy Cline song for the evening…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh girl, I was living in Seattle in my much younger, wild days – last call was Roberta Flack and Killing Me Softly. I had Harveys until the money ran out.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Here’s a third lured in by the fake Lucille. But the hair didn’t really ‘fit’ (I know Lucille wasn’t a real redhead, she was brunette) what I knew of her early work.
Um. This Lucy siting frenzy might have something to do with the Prime (Amazon Video) series “We’re the Ricardos”. I suppose someone had to try to mimic what was great and glorious fifty or sixty years ago, but I won’t watch it. The real thing is always better.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I must admit that I’m a bit intrigued by the “Ricardos” movie. I happened to stumble across a preview the other night, and Nicole Kidman actually looks strikingly similar to La Roja. But you’re probably right. Some things are better left unexcavated. Like most of my past… 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Harvey Wallbangers, indeed. And nothing but trouble. One evening and 30 years later, I still can’t look a Galliano bottle square in the face.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I know that feeling. To this day, I can’t even stand the SMELL of Southern Comfort, the result of a long ago wild night at a deer lease outside of Abilene, Texas. (Long story, with little merit. But I’ll eventually share it, I’m sure.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right? I definitely don’t want to smell
LikeLiked by 1 person
… the Galliano. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ping-pong in heels and a short clingy dress is definitely not a wise career move. No wonder Mr. Welles chose a different model from this floor show. J.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Then again, when have ANY starlets in Hollywood chosen comfort and function over cryptic uselessness when it comes to fashion?
As for Mr. Welles, well, he usually chose a different model no matter what he was doing… 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
such an interesting post…. love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
I keep coming back to this because it is so…there are so many ways to describe this I can’t settle on one word..you do manage to find the best.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm. I’m not sure if this means you enjoyed it or you’re not really all that fond of it. I will admit it’s not one of my better efforts, though I think I’ve managed to improve it just a tad over the years. Way back in the day, the Past Imperfects were just one or two lines. Then I started doing versions where I envisioned the inner thoughts of the folks depicted in the photo. (This entry came from that period.) And finally I went to full-on stories, which is my favorite form these days. Not that you needed all this background, but I was in a sharing mood… 😉
LikeLike
Actually I did enjoy it. It was just that my own imagination was going off on tangents over the different individuals and their various poses and activities. Especially the one who appeared so bored with life in general.
And I’m very glad you were in a sharing mood. I enjoy reading the backstories and the cause and effects of said stories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
a room of nostalgic figures is instantly lightened up by your wonderful way of interpreting… love it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely thing to say! I appreciate the comments you’ve been making lately, as they are very much welcome…
LikeLike
Great picture… and I love everyone’s comments ….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes the comments are much more entertaining than my little stories… 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
So modest
LikeLiked by 1 person