Saturday, November 17, 2007

An Iridescent Life


My entire bedroom was decked out in rainbows when I was in high school. My mom had bought a rainbow comforter and matching rainbow sheets. Two pillowcases shared the duplicated arc of the rainbow, blending in perfectly with the comforter. My mom even bought an extra set of sheets and made matching curtains out of them.

. . . I really should be a nicer son to her.

I had a little rainbow bathmat at my bedroom door. I had a ceramic rainbow on my dresser, something I had hand painted while helping out at Vacation Bible School ('God promised with a rainbow,' I had painted underneath the arc, in purple).
On the wall, above my bed, was a paper rainbow, an actual photograph of refracted light. I had attached clouds at either end of my paper rainbow. On the right cloud sat Kermit the Frog, strumming a banjo.

How my parents never suspected . . .

I even had rainbow suspenders from my junior high school years, just like Robin Williams wore on "Mork & Mindy."

This was all before I even knew about the gay pride flag, or pride colors, I swear to Buddha!

First Girlfriend Erin and I made rainbows 'our thing,' during the eighth grade, and it grew from there. Erin also had rainbow suspenders, but thinner than mine, dainty and petite. Her mother had hand-stitched a rainbow-on-clouds, on a tee shirt for each of us, complete with our names. We wore our matching tee shirts and suspenders on a date to Disneyland. We wore them in her church talent show, singing "The Rainbow Connection," while my younger brother hid behind a rainbow striped facade, animating a Kermit puppet with a paper banjo taped to it.

When I retire, I will spend part of each year in Hawaii, the Land of the Rainbows!

10 comments:

golfwidow said...

I loved rainbows, unicorns, Pegasus, and anything with stars and planets on it when I was thirteen.

Brenda said...

I love how sincere you are Peter to what you enjoy. Your memories of it are very inspiring:)

mr jp said...

I agree with Brenda.

I too, am very nostalgic and would like to write like this one day. Maybe I would ...

Kinda think of it, I haven't seen a rainbow in a while ...

quin browne said...

they never suspected.


you should be nicer to your mom.. for the curtains, for the suspenders, for giving you the wonderful soul you have.


i never liked any of those things.


*sigh*

quin browne said...

pssssttt... let's go on the amazing race together, shall we?

Peter Varvel said...

G, you and I would've been good girlfriends in junior high. I would've doodled you my made-up characters, including "Starburst, the Wizard!"

B & JP, we can ride and slide down rainbows to visit each other in our faraway lands.

Q, excellent idea! Especially since DP thinks it would end our relationship if he and I ever competed together.
Can you believe that shite?

quin browne said...

yes, i can.

which is why you and i are going to do this.


www.cbs.com

Brenda said...

Oh yeah, Peter on the Amazing Race...DO IT DO IT DO IT:)

Brett & Shelly Faucett said...

Peter! I had those Mork n Mindy suspenders too! Unfortunately, I had them the year after they were "in."
Acacia is REALLY into rainbows right now. Send me your old curtains
Love you.
Shelly

Erin said...

Peter I think I have photos of us in those tshirts and suspenders!!! I will try to find them! Love you!!!!!
Erin