Monday, January 05, 2009

A rude shock

As mentioned previously on The Fascinating Life of Meno, friend Kim, The Mister and i went to see a live taping of Says You on New Year's Eve.

The pertinent facts for those of you who have lives, is that this is a public radio quiz type show involving word play.

It was great, lots of silliness and fun with vocabulary. I enjoyed it a lot, as i did the dinner immediately preceding the show. (There was champagne, so yeah, good stuff.)

But the audience was a bunch of pudgy middle-aged white people with stringy grey hair, wearing micro fleece, gortex, natural fibers and Birkenstocks, and sporting unfortunate jewelery choices. In other words, the quintessential public radio audience.

Yes, he has another one just like it, on the other side. We checked.

The worst part? WE FIT RIGHT IN.

I hadn't seen a whole herd of us together like that before. It's a sad sight. I kept thinking, "For god's sake at least get a decent haircut!"

I came home and made an appointment to have my hair highlighted. I look fabulous by the way.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure I dated him.

(He must have gotten those snazzy earrings from the girlfriend after me..)

Vanessa said...

So any pictures of this fantastic hair?

fiwa said...

As a transplanted southerner, I think the time it hit me the most was the first easter I lived up here. I went to church in a pastel dress and panty hose... I felt like a sore thumb! Now when I go home to visit I feel like a sparrow because all my clothes are black or gray or some other muted color. :)

Let's see that hair missy - make me jealous.

The Real Mother Hen said...

And almost all of them practice yoga, eat tofu, and are lifelong democrats :) well, the scary part is I may fit right in too, except maybe my pineapple head and my yellow cabbage smell may give me away!

Princess in Galoshes said...

We're definitely going to need a picture of this fabulous hair of yours.

jaded said...

He resembles my college art professor. I need confirmation, so was he stoned? If he was then he was totally my college art professor.

meno said...

daisy, at least you had the good taste not to get him those earrings.

vanessa, no, no pictures. I'm shy like that.

fiwa, i've seen your hair. No reason for you to be jealous of mine.

mother hen, it was an Obama rally, or it could have been.

princess, no pictures, it;s only fabulous for me, not in the cosmic scheme.

patches, he had to have been stoned to wear those.

flutter said...

I am howling over here.

SUEB0B said...

LOL! That guy is like Spielberg's trippy brother.

To me "Says You" is one of the more annoying public radio shows. Probably because I can never figure out the answers on my own.

Mrs. Chili said...

It is an unfortunate truth that Public Radio fans are generally as you describe, and yet, I'm an NPR addict. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

I probably look ten years older (based on bad hair, wrinkles and lack of fashion sense) than most of those people in the audience, but I'm trying, I'm trying. It's just very hard for me to find and keep a decent hairdresser. My absolutely beautiful teenaged niece got her hair done right before Christmas; I'd like to ask her for a recommendation, but I'm sure to be told that beauticians can't perform miracles!

peevish said...

It is horrifying, isn't it? And your post helps me to make my annual decision about whether or not to continue coloring my hair. I terrified of how much grey is under there. Yes, I'm 44, but I don't want to look it. I'll settle for 36-ish.

And now it's time for me to download my "Wait, Wait.." podcast.

Marshamlow said...

One interesting fact about The South is that presentation matters here. The way one presents oneself, or your home, or cookies brought to the school, etc. I am trying to adjust but having been born in Seattle I find it does not come naturally to me. It is easier I suppose to be a dorky person when you are the only dork in the room, then you are unique and quirky. Or at least that is what I keep telling myself.

Cheesy said...

Looks like he would fit right in down here in Eugene! lol... everyday sighting at DMV?

Tink said...

Is that a sun-catcher hanging off his ear? ;)

furiousBall said...

well of course that guy had another eye just like it on the other side... oh wait, you were probably talking about the earring. yeah, that's weirder

Anonymous said...

I listen to public radio and have the grey hair and like to wear fleece. I know where I belong now:)

meno said...

flutter, you mock my pain? :)

suebob, the thing that annoys me about Says You is the sucky time they put it on the air here. 6pm on Sat. Ugh!

mrs. chili, guess what i am listening to right now? Yes, i have a problem.

de, yeah, i probably look older than i could, but i'm generally too lazy to give a flying coitus.

peevish, you know, i love grey hair, i think it's pretty. But a good haircut goes a long way. I have Wait Wait in my auto downloads, and i went to a taping here. I see your geekiness and raise you one. :)

marsha, i would never get along there, i'm too lazy. I think your uniqueness and quirkiness are perfect!

cheesy, oh yeah, he would be perfect. I was dying to ask him in there was ANYTHING he considered bad taste.

tink, either that or a wind chime!

furious, now you are going to rush out and get some just like it aren't you?

deb, that describes me too. But like you (i've seen your pictures,) i have a decent haircut. So that means we're cool. Right?

Gina said...

I had a similar experience at a Steely Dan concert: Damn, these people are all old...oh...wait a minute...

Elliot said...

That's a great description of the public radio audience. And, a good hint at what I need to buy at my next trip to Value Village, since, apparently, I'm out of uniform!

Elliot said...

... and, hello again, by the way!

Robin said...

couldn't you take a pic and just like blur your face or something so we can see the hair?

i too want to look fabulous. i too want highlights.

seeing yours might inspire me.

don't make me beg.

meno said...

gina, Steely Dan? Oh man, i went to see them once YEARS ago. they opened for Bread, How funny is that?

jeremiah??? jeremiah is that you? I thought we lost you forever.

robin, maybe. I dunno. It's not that my hair is so fabulous in the cosmic scheme, it's just fabulous for ME. I highly recommend it though. I know i looks younger and thinner. :)

egan said...

That guy should be featured in the Pemco ads.

QT said...

Umm, don't forget I just saw you a few weeks ago and a)you are not pudgy and b) I told you your hair looked fab WEEKS before you got it done...you must have stuck out in this crowd like a sore thumb.

QT said...

Also, is the dude in the picture wearing a hemp bracelet? Or is that the strap to his hemp bag around his wrist?

Unknown said...

Maybe it's because liberals are comfortable with who they are, whereas conservatives have to primp and diet and dye and nip and tuck and shoot moose to cover up their dark, evil inner workings.

Just a thought. >:-D

Unknown said...

I'm gonna go eat a cookie now.

Scott from Oregon said...

Proof that soy milk causes abnormalities...

crazymumma said...

I love an artsy crowd. (I really do, I fit in perfectly!)

peevish said...

Wait, Steely Dan opened for Bread? Wow.

Cheesy said...

Watch it Scott!

sari said...

This makes me laugh. I woke up irate at 5:30 this morning about a little league letter I got yesterday (another story) and ended up having a semi-panic attack because I'll be 50 (In EIGHT YEARS, I KNOW, BUT STILL).

I don't feel like I should be 50 in eight years. It was depressing. I had to force myself to go back to sleep and luckily, when I woke up at 7, I felt fine again. Where do these things come from?

Dianne said...

I went to a Simon & Garfunkel reunion concert - hell I wasn't even that old then

and I kept looking around thinking - oh crap! we're all so freakin' old and fat and boring and pasty ;)

a guy behind us said he hoped there wasn't a stampede for the rest rooms ;)

luckyzmom said...

Before I scrolled the whole picture onto the screen, I recognized the print in his shirt and paniced. With the gray hair and ear fob, I was sure I would recognize him if he were facing the camera. Scary. I too was inspired to seek a haircut. My husband went to the barber yesterday and the place was packed.

lu said...

Snicker, snicker. Oh, I see this audience often at bookstore events. Why are the educated often so poorly coifed and accessorized?

Brad said...

I'd say they were a quintessential SEATTLE audience.

Sans the stringy hair you just described me!

meno said...

egan, i guess i should watch more tv, i don't know that ad.

qt, that you, you are kind. I think that's his sweater.

nancy, cookie? did you say cookie? Now i'm all distracted.

scott, i'm throwing away my soy milk now.

peevish, I know! How silly is that?

cheesy, yeah, watch it scott, or we'll hold you down and force you to drink soy milk!

sari, you old bat! The middle of the night is a hard time. All kinds of fears are much bigger then.

dianne, that's funny!

luckyzmom, see, we started a haircut stampede.

lu, i don't know, but it's time to buck the trend.

brad, tell you would NOT wear that earring.

Mrs4444 said...

Loved how you wrote this; you caught me off guard. Too funny.