Thinking about something else.
Aging, for example. I was curious about an Italian actress I recently saw in a real stinker of a TV show. In interviews she was treated with great respect, however, and in real life she wore outrageous colored hair. So I Googled images and read the pages that came up with them.
It’s worth reading this page on how she fit into the international scene in the 1950s. Such glamour!
But inevitably, the sad thought came about what becomes of all of us. Lucia Bosè started her adult career like this.
Somewhat recently she looked like this:
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She looked somewhat older in the TV show.
I think she’s pretty great at both ends of her career, frankly, but it must be admitted, without surgery, Botox and airbrushing, old is old. If that became of Miss Italia 1947, what is the point of pretending it isn”t happening to us? It is. I’m ahead of a lot of you, but aging is happening. You can either embrace it and say phooey at those who want you to wear a black, shin length dress and kerchief, or you can inject, cut and refuse to go out in daylight.
My walking partner friend recently enthusiastically asked if I thought I would ever color my hair again, and I replied, “I used to think not, but last week I saw Lucia Bosè…” She almost fell to the ground, and she really did gasp and plead, “No! No! No!”
Madame Bosè appears to be having some fun with life. And what is wrong with that?
I think you should play when you can. No one knows what tomorrow brings. Enjoy yourself! (I saw a short snippet of Red/Green last night. They were talking about aging too, and said: “Here is the good news – right now, you look better than you will in 15 years, unless you start eating right and exercising.” True for most I am sure!
For myself – I stopped pretending that I had no grey. I let my hair turn back to its natural color, which actually turns out to be a pretty ash blonde/grey/brown streaky color. With any luck it will turn white like my paternal grandmother. And I’m growing it long again, so I can enjoy the feeling of it on my shoulders. I think it looks nice, and thankfully I care much less about what other people think than I used to! I also started wearing comfortable clothes and shoes, instead of pretending to like and wear fashion.
I may not be as good looking as I was at 18. But I am a hell of a lot happier.
Thanks, Amy. I developed a white streak over my right eye at 23, so pretense has never been possible for me. I once dyed over it and hated myself in the mirror, so any fancy coloring was done around it, not over it.
The jury is definitely out as to whether I can have blue hair, though. My daughter suggested moss green for camouflage.