A VERY SOPHISICATED BEAUTY CONTESTANT

Hey, anyone who reads my post, scroll down to my Part II, St. Augustine post and my prom post to see added pictures of my Aunt Esabella, Aunt Em, and Unk (with a drink in his hand.) I even found one more prom picture and pictures of the four sisters at the old Fort in St. Augustine.

As mentioned below, I could not find any more of my senior prom pictures. I did find a picture of me in my prom dress. During this two year time period in my life I do remember an unplanned shenanigan, if you want to call it that, which occurred my senior year. Back in those days we did not think twice about wearing the same evening dress twice. (Speaking of evening dresses, I bought both my dresses with the tips I made in my parent’s small restaurant open for guest of our motel only.) This particular year I had let my hair grow longer. Much to my disgust, Mom decided that I should be in the Summerton High Beauty Contest.

On the night in question the contestants all lined up for our entry onto the stage. Our instructions were clear, if our numbers were not called as a finalist we were to quietly join the audience and see the rest of the contest. I was number “10” of lord knows how many girls. I do not think there were over twenty girls in the contest. I think they eliminated all but eight and from those eight they selected the queen and two finalists. You need to understand, I knew I wasn’t ugly but I definitely wasn’t any beauty nor was I the most graceful soul on that stage. I think Mom felt it was a good way to build self-esteem; poise and whatever else a pageant was suppose to do for young ladies. I entered the stage that first introductory part of the beauty contest strutting my stuff. Upon calling out the eight finalists and not hearing my number I headed for the audience. The curtain opens for the 2nd half of the pageant and they started calling out the finalist, suddenly I heard number 10 called, they called it again and I could not understand where and who the contestant was, suddenly I heard myself say out loud, Oh, my gosh, that’s me. Reacting in my normal unsophisticated manner, I jumped up, crawled over four or five people to get to the aisle. My dress up in the air and swinging back and forth, I ran down the aisle to the back of the gym and down this outside area to get to the back of the stage where I entered the stage after a long delay with a red face; huffing and puffing loudly trying to get my breath. I do know I plastered a smile on my face trying not to laugh at myself and strolled with as much dignity that I could muster. As you might have come to realize the audience was extremely entertained. I learned later that Mom’s face of delight at I being one of the finalist soon changed to mouth open shock, whereby she started sliding down in her seat as Dad took her elbow and pushed upward. From what I was told she was speechless, but to this day I do not remember what was said to me after that contest was over. It’s like I took this part of my memory and locked it out. Maybe Peggy remembers the rest of this story.

My sister, Peggy, has a better memory than I do. I have decided that I will invite her as a guest to write on my blog. It would be fun for her to share some of her memories, or to do an addendum to what I have written.

As an afterthought, in my thirties I was a Valentine Queen for Beta Sigma Phi twice, a women’s sorority in Beaufort. The sorority use to put on the Talent Contest for the Water Festival. It is a national sorority and each chapter took on a community function and sponsored a meal for a family in need at Christmas. We also did a chartable money raiser. I guess in a round about way, you could say that Mom got her wish fifteen years too late even if it was for only two night.

PROM SHENANIGANS

As mentioned in my first post, this lady (SUE) stayed in trouble when she was younger. This continued through motherhood and trouble still materializes to a lesser degree now. It was not always planned, but more spontaneous. It was no use to lie or try to get away with anything for I always got caught. I had and still have a habit of speaking out or taking action without thinking it through. My Dad always said, my mouth took action before my brain, therefore; it was the reason for my speaking, spelling, and quick reaction mistakes. I was/am too impatient. I wanted to get it said or done with at that moment in time which invariably led/leads to trouble. He could be right about this. I do know he accepted me for the way I was which included my antics (for lack of a better word). My poor Mom was the culprit of the majority of these shenanigans much to her embarrassment. Unfortunately I could never figure out why I embarrassed her so much for I was rarely embarrassed. I guess I was not seeing the situations I got myself into in the same light that she would see them. I can’t tell you how many times my Mother was apologizing for something I said or did. After I got married I can remember her apologizing to her best friends, Mac and Booger, before I did anything wrong.

Well anyway after reading Lacy’s Blog, Lacy Lately, I looked everywhere for prom pictures and found only one. I do remembered going to both proms. (The pictures must be in my storage unit) I cannot remember my proms clearly. To be honest I do not remember having a particularly good time. We did not do “the going out to eat” and then going to the prom like they do in present time. We did not take pictures at the prom or if we did I do not remember it. The food was buffet catered. All I can remember about the music was that it was Rock’n-Roll.

I do remember two events that stood out in my memory simultaneously in slow motion. The night of my Junior Prom, I remember my poor Mom nearly keeled over in shock and my Dad shaking with laughter hoping Mom would not see him. This was not a planned shenanigan, but it was a last minute shenanigan that I am sure Mom never forgot. I had this real short haircut that I wore in a “Pixie”. Mom decided for a formal prom I needed to get it doodle-up and she got Helen, her beautician, to give me a curl/wave. When I got home I was upset for I thought it looked awful and so not “me.” Mom was not exactly happy with my attitude and lack of appreciation. I can't blame her for back then money was scarce. When my date arrived I was beside myself and did not want to go. First, I did not exactly like my date. Secondly, I was embarrassed with my tight-wavy look. I rushed into the bathroom in my blue evening dress, kneeled down by the bath tub, turned on the warm water and proceeded to wash my hair. Peggy is having a multi-reaction fit…..dying of shock and whispering that I was going to be in big trouble. At the same time she was laughing and shaking her head; “I cannot believe you are doing this”. Carefully I lift my head, I managed to get a towel and I rubbed my hair as dry as time allowed. I “pixied” my hair in this exaggerated spike fashion, touched up my lipstick, put on my fashionable long gloves and walked out into the living room. Two reactions registered at the same time: My Dad eyes got big and round, he rolled his eyes while he shook his head in one of those NOT AGAIN, SUE gestures and he headed for the kitchen. (He was laughing and trying to get out of harm’s way.) My Mom’s face, had a look of impatience because I was rude and she was left entertaining my date, changed into red dismay. Her mouth was hanging open, followed by a gasp and a slow-measured movement towards a chair. She was speechless. With stiff, straight, wet hair I moved quickly towards the front door smiling at my date and trying not to look at anyone. At the moment it was important I vacate my house fast. My dad yells WAIT. As I turned slowly, my Dad with this hidden mischievous half-smile pointed to the Chinese Chest and he quickly took a few pictures. My Mother has yet to utter a word and I dare not look at her. I do not remember what happened after that except I was surprised that no one said anything to me then or on my return, if they did it does not stick in my mind.

Lastly, I do remember that after my senior prom, a group of us went swimming in our clothes at the Windsor Motel pool. We evidently made too much noise. We were sneaking around at two o’clock AM. The manager was so upset that he called the police. We all got the no trespassing and disturbing the peace lecture and were told literally to disappear or our moms and dads would be called. I had on a new Madras outfit that faded out even more after my chlorinated dip in the pool. My Dad owned the King Cotton Motel competition to the Windsor Motel so I certainly did not need to get in trouble. I was out of there as quickly as time allowed, but it did not matter. Unknown to me, the manager recognized me and called my Dad. Upon sneaking into the house I saw my Dad sitting in his favorite chair half-asleep, twiddling his fingers on his chest, and nodding his head back and forth. Sue, I sure hope you enjoyed yourself tonight and that you are home to stay for I really need to get some sleep. I do not want anymore strange phone calls, nor do I want your Mom waking up. After all, it was four o’clock in the morning.

PART II: ST. AUGUSTINE TRIP

I did not want to leave my post on St. Augustine without sharing a few pictures of the area. I had a short visit therefore; I did not get to see the old Burroughs homestead I visited when I was a kid.

I did get to see the old homestead of my Aunt Em and Aunt Esabella. Both lived together in Mandarin, Florida. When Aunt Em came to visit us she would search literally hours looking for the secret drawer that was supposedly hidden in the Chinese chest that my dad’s dad brought back to the US when he was in the Merchant Marines. (Pictures: Aunt Em's house and my sister, Strawn in front of Chinese chest & Chest itself .) She also introduced me to Canasta, Bridge and my love for board games.

Unk and Gertrude, another aunt and uncle, lived there as well. When I was a kid we use to get bushel baskets of home grown oranges, tangerines, grapefruit and kumquats from Unk’s home by the St. John’s River. Our family was never without fresh fruit from Mandarin. I would sneak into the living room behind Unk’s chair to listen to adult conversation and eat the yummy fruit from the Old Fashion drinks he made and secretly passed to me while I hid. I would give almost anything to have the recipe for those Old Fashions. I still believe he loaded those drinks with extra fruit so I could share the fruit while he enjoyed his drink. I still have the old shaker he used to make those drinks.

In those days visiting the Alligator Farm, the old fort (The Castillo de San Marcos took twenty-three years to build and was never conquered), the oldest wooden school house and the oldest jailhouse were among a few big things to do. I did not get to revisit these old memories, but I did get to see the newly renovated lighthouse. It was so cool to see the difference of St. Augustine lighthouse versus the Tybee Island and Hunting Island lighthouses. After living on Hunting Island State Park and helping with the research information on this lighthouse, I have visited quite a few lighthouses. Ray, who was the manager of Hunting Island State Park at one time, was devoted to preserving the historical aspect of the lighthouse and the park. He has done an unbelievably fantastic job. At night you can see a light rotating at the top of the lighthouse. (It is not the true Fresnel light used back in 1875, nor is it an active light today) it does reflect the era when the lighthouse served as a guide to those out at sea. He was also responsible in forming “The Friends of Hunting Island” an organization that helped him in this endeavor. Those of you who like camping, especially on the beach, need to make sure you add this park to your list of camping must, along with Edisto State Park.

Hunting Island Lighthouse St. Augustine Lighthouse Tybee Island Lighthouse

St. Augustine at Easter is a great place to visit. They had an Easter Parade befitting the historical aspect of the area with people dressed in historical attire marching or riding buggies representing its history between 1513 and 1900. They had many different shops in the old Historical area of the city along with an unreal selection of restaurants. You are able to enjoy the historical architecture, dinning, and shopping all in one walking area. It was a very unique experience. My favorite purchase was Minorcan Datil Peppers. My dad when I was growing up use to keep a supply of these hot peppers in his cupboard at all times. The secret ingredient of many of his recipes was Datil Pepper. Between his St. Augustine and Mandarin relatives, he kept his supply up to date. These peppers are only grown in St. Augustine. Back then these peppers were hotter than they are now. I think the uniqueness of the pepper is the unexplainable/memorable flavor along with the heat of the pepper. Although the peppers you buy today are really good, for some reason they do not seem quite the same. Dad said that many areas of Florida and the US have tried growing these peppers but they never tasted as good or as hot as those grown in St. Augustine. (In my cupboard I have Datil relish, sauce, mustard, peppers and pepper vinegar...time never changes only the variety of the product.)

My sister, Strawn, and I decided to take the long way home to South Carolina. We left Crescent Beach, Florida and took highway A1A to Jacksonville Beach. This was the only way to go in the old days. I can remember when my Husband and I took this road on several occasions on the way to/from Daytona Beach. It is sometimes called the ocean highway for it follows the Atlantic Ocean. If you are not in a hurry it is fun to stop at some of the beach accesses. Each area seems to be a little different and have its own unique beauty or ambience. The highway scenery is definitely a photographer’s paradise and I wish we could have had more time, but we both were tired and rain was beginning to take over our weekend of sunshine. I must go back in the next few years and have a photographing holiday and capture more memories.