11.20.09
Do you remember Umbro shorts? Were any of you part of those 90s? I was. I had a few pairs of Umbros, but my favorites were the black ones with the white stripes. Not-so-much the Adidas stripe, but the classic Umbro stripe: not too short, maybe 1 or 2 inches above the knee, and we wore them with whatever cool t-shirts and tennis shoes we had. But it was the Umbro shorts that made the statement; I’m not quite sure what statement exactly, but we were saying something, damn it! We did, however choose to put the Umbros away when the weather grew chilly so we could sport some other fashion feast, and I’m not seeing those same trends here in Athens, Georgia as our fall slowly creeps toward “winter.”
Oh, but it’s not the classic Umbros I bring to your attention today, friends. I mean, please. During this modern era and in this hip college town, the fashionistas are sporting a new exercise short as the iconic college campus supplement to one’s wardrobe. I’m generalizing here, but I believe the new hipster short belongs to Nike, the “Nike Tempo Track Women’s Running Short.” If you have not seen them, they are….well….Umbros. Just shorter. Now don’t get me wrong—I have a pair of these shorts which I bought (on sale) about 3 years ago at the largest (and only) outdoor sports store in town, and they are extremely comfortable. When I’m exercising. They breathe well, they are light, they come in a plethora of colors, and I have seen almost every color available on our campus since school began back in August.
The Nike short, shorts have been complementing t-shirts, tank-tops, tube-tops, sweatshirts, long sleeve tees; and more recently, as the weather has become a bit nippier, the shorts were sported with a really nice Cashmere sweater and (get ready) pearls. I know writers are supposed to exaggerate sometimes to make the story more intriguing, but I bring no fabrication with these words, people. I have seen all types of bodies advertising for Nike too, so these shorts do not discriminate, that’s for sure! I’m not sure how this fad began and who thought it might look good…maybe the same girl who started wearing rubber rain boots with the Nike short, shorts when the clouds came rollin’ in during the months of September and October. She was probably the one who decided Uggs were out and galoshes were in. So yes, the fashionistas went from the simple Nike short, shorts and decorated tops with appropriate jewels, to the Nike short, shorts with various and sundry galoshes.
Striped galoshes, plaid galoshes, polka dotted galoshes, green, pink, red, blue, yellow, purple, orange, they’re all represented. If you can imagine it, they are wearing them. But only when it’s cloudy or raining. Or maybe if there is a chance of rain—then they’ll have to wear them, right? You’re damned skippy that those galoshes match those Nike short, shorts. Perfectly. And those tanned and toned little legs (or not-so-tanned and toned) are covered with chill bumps, goose pimples, whatever you’d like to call it when it’s 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit and little girls are running around in paper-thin short, shorts and J-Crew or Gap (not Shoe Barn or Shoe Circus, mind you, because they have rather large signs in their windows reading, “WE DO NOT HAVE RAIN BOOTS HERE”). At least winter is around the corner. The Uggs are indeed coming back out now and I’m starting to think they look pretty good with the Nike short, shorts.
Yes, yes, they are wearing other things; it’s not all Nike and galoshes—that’s just during the school week for class! This season’s football divas retired the “that’s so last year” polka dotted and 80s dresses with plastic belts and instead spent papa’s money on these just-barely pieces of material that were supposed to represent dresses—some with really thick eighties-esque leather belts instead of plastic—and others that were just….well, pieces of material covering about 4 feet of those bodies running around town with those adorable cowboy boots. We did go to one football game this year, so I got to see a lot of those cowboy boots and just-barely-dresses holding each other up and rubbing each other’s hair professing their undying love for and friendship to each other as their dates proudly poured them one more bourbon and coke. (Diet). Oh, the golden days…
Me? I lost my cowboy boots about 10 years ago. And unfortunately my dresses are all at the cleaners, so I had to make sure my fiancé was OK with me wearing jeans and a fleece. Fiancé, yes, for those of you who haven’t heard, I got engaged! It’s a very exciting time for Thomas and me, as we will be uniting our love symbolically in front of a few family and friends next October in Panama City (I know I sound facetious—and if you picked up on that, you were spot-on, but I really am thrilled and can’t even begin to describe how perfect my partner is for me!) Phoebe Day will be my maid of honor and the ring bearer as well, and Thommy will be training her for the next few months so she can behave appropriately at the church. OK, not really. But I am getting married, so that’s pretty cool. Who woulda thunk it?
As for PhDness. What can I say? In these past 3 and ½ years, I have completed my course work, written and defended my comprehensive exams, written and defended my prospectus (research proposal), taught a few classes, supervised some future middle school teachers, had a real anxiety attack, been so dramatic one might think I was going for an Oscar, cried so much my tear ducts ran dry, laughed so hard my cheeks got stuck, and wanted to quit this freaking PhDness to bartend more than not. And now I am about to begin collecting data for my dissertation study during the spring semester. I can’t believe it. I thought bartending was SUCH a better option so many times, and now I’m beginning to think I can actually do this. (And if you ever want to jump into PhDness, I recommend getting yourself a Thommy—I now know what people mean when they say “he’s my rock.” I always thought they were referencing hard-headed/stubborn partners…..those damned idioms we use in the English language….)
My dissertation topic is the phenomenon of bodily enoughness. (That’s what I’ve named it). So I’ll be working with 7 seventh grade girls with whom I did a young writers workshop this fall because I missed teaching writing, and I’ll be following them around, kind of stalking them, asking them to write, talk, take photos of, moments when they feel like they “are enough” in, with, and through their bodies and other moments when they feel like they are “not enough” in, with, and through their bodies. And the spaces in between. Kinda interesting, huh?
It’s pretty amazing that I thought I was finished with all of the “body work” I started doing as a teacher in Colorado with the 7th and 8th grade girls, but it keeps coming up with middle school girls—and other women I hang around, and me---so it turns out to be a great topic to research. My study is going to focus more specifically on girls of color (African American and Latina) because they are not represented in educational literature in a very positive light. My hopes are to look at the intersections of how some girls (but not all girls) talk about bodies through race/ethnicity, social class, gender, religion, ability/disability, popular culture, peers, family, etc. as I gather my data during the next semester and stalk them for 5 months. Then I’ll write some cool book and use them as the fictional characters or something fun like that!
Sorry it’s been so long. I’ve had some of this essay in my head since September when the shorts and galoshes came out, but I’m just finding a few minutes today to sit down and write. Alas, I have to go get my theater seats for New Moon. I would have seen it last night at midnight, but damn that’s late!
I hope all of you are well and would love to hear from any of you who are up for writing!
HEH
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