Wednesday, February 06, 2008


There are moments when I realise that I am evil.


This is one of them.  in 1976 PBS did a version of the F Scott Fitzgerald short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair that I was particularly taken with, never having read the story.  (SPOILERS)  The story involves the hapless Bernice, on vacation and socially inept, put in the shade by her popular cousin Marjorie.  Said cousin deigns to help and makes Bernice the new big thing, having her tell everyone that she will bob her hair, a racy thing for the time (late teens or early twenties).  Suffice it to say, cousin quickly tires of Bernice's popularity and forces her hand, or more to the point forces her into the local barbershop, where Bernice is mowed into an unfortunate bob and social limbo.  Bernice decides to do a midnight runner back to Eau Clair, but not before taking some shears to the braids of her two faced cousin.

How, you might ask, does this make me evil?  I distinctly remember thinking at the time of the broadcast how cool it was that Bernice cut off only ONE of those braids, making cousin cut off the other one herself.  32 years later I discover that my teen self had an imagination more evil than F. Scott.  I am the bad seed....

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