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Raised Eyebrows

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A request and a couple of curiosities today:

First, I’m planning to take a week off June 4th through the 9th, so a selection of guests posts would be much appreciated to keep Trail Baboon fresh each day. Many thanks to Clyde, Steve, Jim, and Barbara in Robbinsdale, who have offered spontaneous guest blogs over the past few weeks and months. If you have an idea for the week of June 4th, please send me a note at connelly.dale@gmail.com.

Clyde sent this eclipse photo, relayed by his son in San Francisco.

It makes me think of raised eyebrows, a facial reaction it must be a tough to elicit in the world wise and libertine city by the bay.

But raised eyebrows is just one person’s reaction. Maybe this spray of crescent shapes makes you think of Paul Bunyan’s fingernail clippings, or eye-less smiley faces.

Perhaps they’re smiling about this: A man got picked up for drunk driving after leaving an Iowa bar when they refused to serve him alongside his two companions – a zebra and a parrot. The man, Jerald Reiter, thought he could bring his pals into the establishment because he recalled seeing animals in there before. The bar is called “The Dog House.”

Reiter told the Des Moines Register he’d had three mixed drinks at home with his dinner. He wanted to get away from his farm because he hadn’t left for several months. “I’ve been planting corn and everything else,’” he said. “So I opened the door, the zebra jumps in, the macaw loves to go for a ride, so we went for a ride.”

What could be more normal? In rural Iowa, I believe getting tipsy and piling into the car with your zebra and your parrot is known as putting on your “Poor Man’s Zubaz“.

What do you like to wear for a night on the town?

75 thoughts on “Raised Eyebrows”

  1. Good morning. I don’t have a zubaz or a zebra and a macaw to dress up my visits to town. In fact, I am not much for dressing up. Maybe a colorful shirt and if a went really wild I could wear that beret that I bought years ago and have never gotten up the nerve to wear. A wild night here in Clarks Grove would be drinking it up at our only bar, The Pour House, and participating in a game of bean bags.

    That’s a great picture of images of the eclipse from Clyde’s son.

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    1. i think its time to break out the beret jim
      that is an excellent picture of the toenail clipping cresents form clydes son.
      i heard the story about the zebra and the parrot must have been as i was dozing off last night, goes to show you what kind of world we live in… oh the guy has a arrot and a zebra, thats a little different.
      when i go out stylin on the town i accessorize and have my hat match or compliment my jacket. i make the brown shoe/black shoe choice and get the hat and jacket to fall into line. the shirt is the spice either in flash or laying back and out the door i go. in july its the hawaian
      shirt and the shorts with the birkies. life an be simple. if its a formal do i throw on the jacket and panama hat.
      i do enjoy nice clothes and have discovered the goodwill on the corner of 394 494. all the rich guys put their nice stuff up and the tuesday special gives you the green ticket/blue ticket / yellow ticket 1.49 sprcial of the day all the items in the sotre with that color tag are on specail for 1.49. shirts pants coats jackets shoes name it its 1.49 i used to go garage sailing and if the shirt was a buck it was cheaper than having it pressed ( i used to have my shirts all done for me in a prior life. i ended up with way too many shirts. since discovering the goodwill phenomenon i am in danger of going off the deep end again. hawaiian shirts for 1.49, too good to pass.

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      1. tim, your comment reminds me of a guy here in Clarks Grove who told me his son once had a plan to avoid washing clothes. He just went out and bought more clothes at yard sales whenever his got dirty. He waited until late in the day when they would reduce the prices of clothes to almost nothing at yard sales. This guy also told me his son had been a prospector who dove into creeks to search their bottoms for gold nuggets.

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    2. Maybe you should adopt the beret to correspond with your move to the Twin Cities. A new, updated Jim. Here, you’ll have always worn the beret and you won’t have to explain to anyone, “What’s with the beret?” as you might in Clark’s Grove.

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  2. I’m not into getting all dolled up either, Jim. For me it’s all about comfort. If it’s hot out, I prefer to wear linen, which has the added benefit of not needing ironing. A loose fitting linen pant suit, my favorite amber necklace, a pair of dangly earrings, and a pair of comfortable sandals and I’m good to go.

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    1. Since when does linen not need to be ironed? It wrinkles if you look in its direction. Or perhaps you’ve decided that, that being the case, what’s the point. It is very comfortable in the heat of summer, I will agree.

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      1. Lisa, I agree, linen wrinkles horribly. The sales woman who sold me my first Flax pantsuit many years ago, stated most emphatically, you do not iron linen, when I told her I didn’t like the wrinkled look. She told me to call her if I ever got the urge to iron it, and she would talk me out of it. I wore that thing for years until it literally disintegrated on my body, and I never ironed it. Got used to the wrinkled look, actually grew to like it.

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  3. We don’t have a lot of places to go to here that require a person to get dressed up. I probably dress up the most when I have to go to court as an expert witness. I have even started to wear jeans to church (gasp!) I figure I can get by with wearing most anything as long as I wear my pearl necklace.

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    1. Wonderful shot nevertheless. You never know how those are going to turn out and it’s often hit or miss whether a photo can capture the atmosphere. This one did.

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  5. Given the right excuse, I will break out one of my black cocktail dresses that currently fits…mostly as an excuse to break out the “gaudy rocks” (either the amber-colored rhinestone necklace that was a graduation present to my Grandmother back in the 20s or the blue one I picked up cheap at an antique mall or maybe even the iridescent one…). Once a year or so I try to find some excuse to break out the gaudy rocks…but once is enough. In a perfect world, I can even manage to find an event that allows for black dress, gaudy rocks and bare feet…

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  6. 8 comments in and I already feel like I’m repeating. Not too many “dress-up” occasions for me either (Renee, you’re not alone in wearing jeans to church). Just my black white-dog-hair-magnet linen pants and a nice shirt. I own no sequins.

    Dangly earrings however are my norm. If they don’t dangle, what’s the point?

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  7. I keep it simple. A strapless evening gown, in black velvet, very form-fitting, and black heels high enough to make my legs look pretty. It is easy to over-do the jewelry, but I insist on wearing one stunning piece just so people know I could hang more bling on me if the mood hits. And makeup is important. Don’t get sloppy with makeup, which should be a wee bit more dramatic than one would wear routinely, so I typically go a few shades brighter with the lipstick than usual. There’s nothing terribly original about this, but you wouldn’t believe the stares I get!

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        2. no, he only said he knew how is pictures would turn out. I suspect he knew something would go awry with that one 😉

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    2. Okay, Steve, I was going to say that most of us here on the Trail are not big on dressing up as VS noted. I guess you are an exception. What do you do to fit your beard in with that set of clothes?

      I think there are some others that might also like to dress up. Maybe Crow Girl is one of those.

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    3. Oh man, I keep meaning to put on some make-up for special occasions, but usually run out of time. When I do remember, it makes me feel like I’m in costume.

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  8. My thing is shoes. There’s hardly any place for a night on the town that requires dressing up, but if I don’t have to walk more than a block, I will bring out my little heels – one black pair and one off-white – that I keep for things like weddings. I do have a few skirts and dresses that make me feel really dressed up, and wish I had more places to wear them. I know, I know, I could just start wearing skirts now that it’s warm, but convenience usually reigns.

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  10. I’ve always liked very basic things. A dark-color imported rayon top or a white peasant blouse and a faded pair of blue jeans with Birks or flip-flops. I’ve got a few imported rayon dresses and batik rayon dresses that I like a lot but I need to lose a few pounds before I can wear them. I’ve never been one to wear a lot of make-up. I used to be able to get away with not wearing any at all, but I find it helps a little these days. I still don’t own a pair of heels. I have a couple of more formal dresses for weddings or funerals, but it’s been a long time since I last squeezed into them.

    I used to like to wear a pair of worn out jeans and a t-shirt with a man’s vest (from a recycled three piece suit) over it. They used to get boxes of those vests in at Ragstock in Northfield. I worked part-time there for about about a year in 1990. That was pretty much my standard outfit through the 80s and 90s. I haven’t done that in awhile. Maybe I should revisit the look.

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    1. Trust me, that train has come and gone. Better resort to Steve’s suggestion–fish net stockings to draw the attention elsewhere.

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      1. Even if he wore the fishnet stockings over his head, I’m afraid it wouldn’t improve the situation any. I’m afraid that even Carson Kressley’s skills would be sorely tested if he took on the good Mr. Reiter. But, I’m sure he’s beautiful on the inside, he’s good to animals.

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  13. Since I’m in my cottage 90% of each week, going out dancing on the week ends is the only time I get to dress age-inappropriately. Typically, I’ll wear tight-fitting pleather pants (leather plus plastic made to look like real leather), knee-high heeled boots, and either a halter top or some wildly-sequined sleeveless top. I have enough “dancing outfits” that I could wear a different one every week end for several years. I’m only glad that, by the time my daughter goes through my closets, I won’t be here to be embarrassed by my stash!

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  15. Pardon me for something wildly OT, but I’ve worked pretty hard to answer Dale’s question. I’ve fallen in love with a jazz group that is based in Minneapolis: Davina and the Vagabonds. This woman is the most accomplished and sophisticated vocalist ever to call the Twin Cities home.

    I expect most Baboons to hate her, as we are a folksy and traditional bunch when it comes to music, but I gotta try to share:

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    2. I do believe you are underestimating Baboons, Steve! We (well, a lot of Baboons) didn’t listen to an Eclectic Mix of Music for twenty-odd years to be unappreciative of Daviana and the Vagabonds! Man, she looks like she’s having fun!

      Speaking of eclectic mix, (also OT) off to practice this evening for Carmina Burana… 🙂

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        1. If you were an alto, I’ll bet there’s still time… he’s short on them.

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  16. As you know, I wear lime green polyester for gardening. it’s hard to get fancier than that for going on the town.
    I do like to get dressed up on occasion and find it sad that the whole world is so casual most of the time. Look at those duds on the Downton folks! Not comfortable in the least but gorgeous.

    On the other end of the spectrum, I have never worried too much about appearance but aging has made me even more inattentive. Exercise at Zumba or Curves, take my sweaty self in my exercise clothes to the grocery store. Work in the garden in 20 year old sweats or jeans, take my grubby self to the hardware store or Post Office.
    Makeup, fuggetaboutit. I think I’ve reached the when-i-wear-purple stage of life.

    My mother used to worry about my lack of concern about my skin, makeup, etc. Once she decided to accompany me in her van (she had MS and had a wheelchair accessible van) as someone else drove me to the airport. NO ONE could see her in the back of the van but i almost missed my plane because she had to do the complete hair/makeup thing before we left the house.

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  18. Greetings! I’m just waiting for an occasion to wear a feather boa, tiara and elbow length gloves with a sexy black cocktail dress. Then Steve and i can hit the town together, dressed to kill!

    Which reminds me, Jacque — have we had our Carol Burnett Show marathon yet?

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  22. A week ago my wife and I went out on the town, but we went in separate vehicles. She was wearing a nightgown no less and I was wearing jeans. We did not get home until nearly 4 a.m. Since I was the designated driver (we did ride home together), I stopped and got her two nightcaps at 3:30.

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