1959 … Not our finest hour
As I recall Peg and I mentioned that we'd never been to a burlesque or stripper show and that's all it took to get us going. After all, we were in the Big Apple (sin city)! Dick, my husband suggested Greenwich Village and we headed out. Sure enough … there it was, a big sign flashing off and on and promising “Girls, Girls, Girls”. It looked a little seedy but this was the Village and the “no cover charge” clinched the deal. The fact that the place was almost empty should have warned us but we just figured it was too early for the hard-core New Yorkers.
Our table was front and center and shortly after we'd ordered a round of drinks the show began. Lights were lowered, canned music blared out of the speakers and our “girl” came on stage. She was holding an array of fans and as she danced she would coyly shed a piece of clothing and then one of her fans. She had a pretty fair body and her dancing was OK but we (probably out of nervousness) started to laugh and the more we tried to hold it in the worse it got. Then it was time for her finale …
With a flourish she dropped everything, including the fan covering her face. She looked like she'd been tripping the light fantastic for at least 40 years and, to our shame, we completely lost it. We got out of there as quick as possible with the waiter running after us demanding that we leave a tip. My husband said something to the effect that the show was too lousy to warrant a tip … but, looking back at it I can't help but feel bad at the way we acted. It's a perfect example of the arrogance of youth and was, indeed, not our finest hour !
posted by Ginnie at 5:00 PM
9 Comments:
But I suspect you were right - she didn't merit a tip. Fun story. I have never been to a strip show, but I sneaked into a carnival "girlie" show once when I was a teenager. It was no better than yours.
Such a hard way to make a living!
Maybe you convinced that girl it was time for a career change. It is so hard when you start to laugh at an inappropriate time. It won't go away, only grows. I stay away from funerals for that reason:)
I have missed out ... or not.
Yes aging strippers have feelings too and some youths can be so callous. I recall what Gypsy Rose Lee said, "I've got everything I had 30 years ago, its just six inches lower....so true.
Wow, what a story.
Funny how "age" or time changes the way we see things. And the older we get, the more it changes our viewpoint.
Back in my 20s I would have laughed, too. But having slipped over the 70 mark, I felt deep sorrow for the poor old girl that I could not have understood 40 years ago.
Thanks for sharing.
It was a different world back then. If you wanted to see pole dancing you had to go to Warsaw.
It obviously wasn't Gypsy Rose Lee....:)
What was going to be an adventure turned out very differently and the ending wasn't a good one. I felt rather sorry for the performed as it wasn't the easiest way to make a living.
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