Now, as a rule, I only luxuriate the Weekend Crush love on a lady once (and once with me is all she needs – rimshot!) And this lovely lady has, indeed, already felt the Crush. But this, this is an extra special case. You see, this bodacious blonde babe is apparently Rachel Maddow. Rachel Maddow circa her school days at Castro Valley High. Rachel Maddow with bleached-blonde hair. Rachel Maddow with a pearl necklace. Rachel Maddow with pearl earrings. Rachel Maddow in what looks to be an off-the-shoulder dress. My head? Have you seen it? I think it exploded!
It does not appear to be a hoax (though, there is always that possibility). But if you look at verified pictures of a teenage Rachel (yes, there was a bleached-blonde phase) as well as compare the neck freckle (seen here and here and even Simpsonized), it’s hard to deny that this femmey fantasy is our very own Dr. Maddow. I am going to give you a couple seconds to realign your universe. Planets will need to be juggled. Gravity will need to be reassessed. Also, can someone help me put back the pieces of my head?
Now, I point out now just to gawk (though, seriously, how long have you just been staring open-mouthed at the screen?), but to make a point. And that is that we, as humans, are constantly changing. Who we are today may not be who we were yesterday or who we become tomorrow. And this is a good thing. If you are unhappy, uncomfortable with the hole the world wants to pigeon you into, you can change. You can’t just look at a person – at age 18, at age 40, at age 4 – and say, “Oh, this is who this person is.” Like books, we can’t be judged by our covers. But, also like books, hopefully our covers accurately reflect our insides. And if they don’t, may we will have the freedom to fix that as best we see fit.
Of course, who knows, maybe Rachel loved her high school look. I pegged my pants for a couple years in the 80s and thought I looked was awesome. So rock on with long, blonde self, high school Rachel. I wonder if she and Susan ever pull out this picture and laugh and laugh and laugh. And later play dress up. Happy weekend, all.
Aw, bless her heart. Gotta say, though, the cute blonde teenager doesn't hold a candle to embedded reporter Maddow in a flak jacket, live from Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I care for blond conuntry club rachel...the whole thing - pearls, girly dress....it sorta freaks me out.
ReplyDelete.....see, I'm so freaked out I've lost my ability to spell. Sorry - that should be Country Club.
ReplyDeleteIn defense of the very nice femme look, she may have been a very hot bleached blonde, jeans wearin', T-shirt lovin' gal and got handed the earrings, necklace, and off the shoulder top to wear by the photographer's assistant. My mother has the same getup on in her HS senior pic. (Incidentally, she was mortified when she found out that my HS senior pic would not be done in the exact same fashion... thank all that is Holy LOL)
ReplyDeleteOk, not so much in defense of... but rather... oh forget it... I need more coffee... sigh...
ReplyDeleteOk, not so much in defense of... rather... oh nevermind... I need more coffee this morning... sigh...
ReplyDeleteDoh... or a lobotomy apparently... I'm gonna shut up now... LOL
ReplyDeleteI'll help you reassemble your head just as soon as I get mine back together. That photo really is the epitome of unexpected and in so many ways: the blonde, the pearls, the stole(?) or whatever. Gah! At least she looks cute and need not be embarrassed/horrified by her HS photo like so many are, it's just that she seems to have stepped out of some alternate universe. Is it significant that this came out while she was in Afghanistan, so that who ever did this has a running head start?
ReplyDeleteI literally cannot look at that picture. Not that it's not hot, it's just so WRONG. Arg, my brain, it cannot take the whiplash!
ReplyDeleteIt looks Photoshopped to me, but I still love imagining the look on all those femmes with mad crushes faces.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably the only dyke who likes this look better.
ReplyDeleteYou're not the only one, Syd... pearls and girly stuff on the side, I'm astonished at her ability to feel confortable on her own skin, no matter if she's on the "femme" or the "butch mode".
ReplyDeleteThe "dress" is a drape that the photographer gives all the girls for their Sr. Pics. We got to choose blue or black. The pearls are typical, too. We all went through phases...hell, I graduated with fake, red nails! And I'm not femme in any way! Anyway, I think she's cuter now...beyond the High School drama & in her own element.
ReplyDeleteOMG...my long distance potential gf is gonna have HER head explode too when she sees Rachel in femme drag!
ReplyDeleteYep, I have a similar senior picture. We were instructed to wear tube tops and they put the drape thing-y over us. Guys had the faux tux wrapped around them so we all looked uniform. If only my end result was as good...I just looked geeky and awkward.
ReplyDeleteThey used to do the whole girly drape thing at my high school. Fortunately, they moved on to cap and gown photos my senior year. Yay!
ReplyDeleteI think she is hot either way...besties of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteWow! Who would have thunk it? i'll bet she had that same razor sharp wit and snarkastic ability to put obnoxious drooling oafs in their place way back the too. i'll bet she had plenty of opportunities. She looked quite the femme with nice lipstick as well.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ms. Snarker, for serving this up to your readers. A friend sent me a link to this (but from elsewhere), so my head already exploded and then re-imploded back again. Thus, I am able to write. Poor Anonymous up there took a blow. Hope you're okay now, hon!
ReplyDeleteI got that drape from the photographer, too, about ten years earlier at the self-same high school as Ms. Maddow. Also, I must admit, whilst I am a debonair foppish/mannish butch daddy today, I... er... I... *cough* kinda had long shiny hair and plucked eyebrows and light eye make-up back then, too. No pearls, though. And not blonde. Though as one who lived through youth in that town, I can see where that would come from. A survival instinct thing.
As you all know, when she came out in college a year or two later across the bay, she cut her hair into a crewcut and made a huge coming out statement and taped it to all the bathrooms on her dorm floor (maybe the building? maybe the college? okay perhaps that's apocryphal). When she does anything she clearly does it with commitment.
o...
ReplyDeletenow I must say,
your photoshop is amazing.
totally amazing.
Amazing! Though I have to say, I'm three years older than Maddow and that look wasn't too far off the norm for late 80s, early 90s. I had pearls in my senior photo and a big ol' poodle-perm in college just like her :D
ReplyDeleteSeeing this photo doesn't bother me because my senior photo looks just as different... Was inspired by seeing this and even posted my senior photo and current photo on my blog yesterday. Split screen!
ReplyDeleteHey leave the pearls alone, I dawned pearls too. Its not like I used pearls every day when I went to school. I bet she didn't look like how she looks like in that picture everyday when she went to high school. Its just a snap shot.
ReplyDeleteLast night, during the toss from Olberman the photo wasmentioned, making me believe it is a true pic of the adorkable one.
ReplyDeletelooks like a woman
ReplyDeletelike it
her actual look is too butch for me
what's the reason of change??