THE OUTSIDER- Guest Blogger Taylor " 'lectric Friday" Rhodes

     As I have already stated, I went through my school life as an outsider.  I would even go so far as to say for some time I was a loner.And I was invited to be friends with people.  Now to be clear, I do not say this from some pedestal thinking I was "all that", in fact quite the opposite.  And I found these interactions kind of surprising and quite odd.

     The fact that I didn't belong to any one clique, I believe, allowed me a unique perspective.  I found that in every clique there were cool people who didn't care what you dressed like, how you wore your hair or what music you listened to.  And getting to know these people usually happened purely by chance and circumstances and usually involved alcohol (God forbid) or other mind altering substances.  But all it took was one to cross the line, then others from other cliques would follow.  Especially if the first one to cross was well respected and liked by all.

     I should remind you that my friend and I took the New Wave look (a la Duran Duran) very seriously.  Head to toe, hair style to shoes.  As we attended Cow Pie High, well you can imagine how that went over.  Fags, Queers, Gays, and Homos were only a few of the taunts thrown at us.  But we soldiered on.  You know why?  I liked the look and didn't care.  Oh yeah, and the chicks dug it.  Now I did not benefit from this because as I stated I was painfully shy.  The fact that any female would be interested in me was beyond my comprehension.  Unfortunately, save one shocking event at a prom (which I will get into in a later post) I did not find out that anyone was interested in me until well after high school was finished.  Oh well.

     Ironically, I believed we opened the door the very people hurling the taunts to wear pink dress shirts to school with jeans, hair parted down the middle and their barely there peach fuzz moustaches.  Now I ask you.......in whose mind was that look EVER cool??????
     Not to mention these people also listened to Queen, totally oblivious.  Enough said.  Well maybe not.  We will see.
     As well, I cannot forget to include the Canadian band Platinum Blonde as strong fashion influences as well.

TAYLOR " 'LECTRIC FRIDAY" RHODES- GUEST BLOGGER

     I would like to start by introducing myself as a self proclaimed child of the Eighties.  The MTV and later Muchmusic generation.Your favorite artists were beamed into your living room 24/7 if you were lucky.  If not, hopefully you had a friend that was blessed with parents who did not demonize this new media.  It was no surprise that your favorite artists would have a huge and immediate impact on fashion.
     The fashion aspect was a given for girls, but for guys to wear clothes in the style that the quintessential Eighties band, Duran Duran (someone told me the Beatles of our generation....and i agree) sported was to be branded a fag. Period.  But more about that later.
     All through my scholastic career, I kept to myself.  Partly out of shyness, but also out of a desire to not be one of many.  I wanted some degree of individuality.  Initially, I had no choice as my parent were not of the affluent part of the area.  So the clothing I wore was not "in" or up to snuff and actually looked down upon.  I did not care.  It allowed me to be the person I became.  I did not have Levi jeans, I had Brand X with iron on patches on the knees.  I did not have Harvard Club rugby pants, I had cheap imitations, and so on.  I grew a thick skin and did not care.  I did not like the attitude of many of the "Silver Spoon Club".  These were kids from wealthy families who had no respect for what a dollar meant.  Not all were like this but there were enough.  More on that later.
     Anyhow, I was an outsider, partially by choice and partially by circumstance.  I remained this way even as things began to change.  People gravitated to me and was "invited" into their circles.   Whatever that meant.
     It is because of this I find that I have somewhat of a unique perspective of the Eighties, the cliques, the social order and I hope to make that evident in future entries.
     I am a HUGE John Hughes fan and at one time could recite the dialogue from Weird Science word for word.  I know....Geek, right?
     The name will hopefully make more sense as I write more.  
     I am glad to have the privilege of being part of this amazing blog.  Huge thanks to Parker (who I have known since grade 1 and I briefly "went out with her" in grade 4, I believe)  and Libby (who was the new girl on the block in grade 8.)  More, much more about Libby later.  I hope I can contribute something of worth!

  

OH TAYLOR RHODES *HEARTS*

To Mr. Taylor 'lectric Friday Rhodes (our guest blogger).
We welcome you as  "The New Kid On The Blog" ;)
I can hear him cringe through my computer HAHA!
-Libby XO

JUNO THIS SCENE WAS INSPIRED BY SIXTEEN CANDLES?

This father/daughter scene in the movie "Juno" was inspired by the middle of the night - cant sleep father/daughter scene in Sixteen Candles.

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT

In the EARLY 80's and I must stress EARLY 80's, I had a very short asymmetrical hairstyle. I had a small rat tail but not for long.........
Proud of my new funky hairstyle, I came waltzing out of the house to show my best friend Parker Young.
My best friend Parker was so horrified that she tackled me in the driveway and cut my rat tail off.
We laughed so hard our stomachs hurt.
The year was 1984, we were Minor 9ers.
I still have that rat tail tucked away in a music box somewhere.
Ironically, Parker went on to date Duckie.
Duckie had a long rat tail and yet Miss Parker was smitten.

MORE COFFEE TALK

I drink Maxwell House coffee.
Always have and always will.
I come from a long line of Maxwell House coffee drinkers both Instant and Brewed.
*ENTER KRAFT BIG WIGS TO GIVE US A MAXWELL HOUSE COMMERCIAL.*
Remember this Maxwell House AD?
80's band "Madness" and their song "Our House" reached number 5 in the UK music charts and number 7 in the US charts.
I had this album because my mom bought it for me.
One day in the early 80's, my mom came home with a bag full of newly released albums for me.
In the bag were albums by Madness, The Eurythmics and General Public.
I asked my mom how she knew the names of these NEW groups because the songs were so new, even I didn't know who sang them.
Here's what my mom said (and this is SO excellent):
"I went to the record store and sang the songs to the sales guy."
My mom has never been able to carry a note, not even a hint of one but after the success of this experience she believed she was Barbara Streisand.
I am the physical clone of my mother so I steered clear of that record store for the rest of my teenage existence.
I love my mom :)

GOING TO THE DANCE

FIRST, I'd like to acknowledge Parker's children.
I am sending a BIG hug to her daughter who was recently "Mean Girled" and a HUGE high 5 to her son who put a stop to it. The world needs more of people like the two of you!!!!
Actually, like far too many of us, I have been "Mean Girled" my entire life.
The harsh fact of the matter is; kids, BOTH girls and boys can be mean.
Adults can be just as cruel.
When I first viewed the following Maxwell House commercial, it provoked so many deep emotions in me...you guessed it, I am Artsy.
The 9 year old boy in this commercial is magnificent, he is beautiful, his passion for dance is moving and warms your very soul.
What it also provoked in me was an empathy for this boy, as I know he will face much ridicule at the hands of his peers. His crime; this boy loves to dance.
I knew a boy in grade school who loved to dance.
He is now a top dancer with the Royal Ballet.
My husband Wyatt taught dance.
My nephew danced his way to compete at "World's" with blades on his feet.
All these boys loved to dance, all these boys were exceptional dancers and all faced relentless harassment and taunting of peers.
I still wonder how this works but in some people's opinions, to be a boy and to love to dance means you are homosexual.
None of the boys I have listed were or are homosexuals.
For the record, I have many homosexual friends who can't dance if their lives depended on it.
Fred Astaire was straight, as are many other famous male dancers...........
There was a particular male dancer who danced right in to the forefront of my mind when I first saw Shale Wagman.
IMO Shale Wagman and his brilliant interpretation of dance reminds me of a younger version of this man - PATRICK SWAYZE :)
Patrick Swayze was straight and one hell of a dancer.
To all boys who love to dance, please never stop.
To all "Mean Girls" no matter who you are or what age - PLEASE stop now!