the bobby soxer and i...

(portrait by joseph martin: martin studio)

when i was in high school,

i spent a lot of time with

(mary ann (mcclure) blackwell),

"mim".

on various occasions 

she commented i reminded

her so much of shirley temple...

to which i always

tucked my chin,

tilted my head,

flashed a big smile,

and

poked my cheek

twisting my pointer

into my sole dimple.

(i was quite familiar

with shirley temple...

growing up,

she was my favorite!!!

i had seen "all" of her movies-

dozens of times.

so, when mim 

said i looked like her,

i thought she meant

my curly hair,

my big eyes,

and my chubby, little-girl face.)

hence, her comparison

always made me

giggle.

~@~

it wasn't until

my sophomore year in college

that i realized she meant

i REALLY looked like 

shirley temple.

i was in my dorm studying

one night

with the television 

turned to 

the american movie classics channel.

i wasn't really paying attention

to our t.v. 

until i heard an advertisement 

for the movie, 

the bachelor and the bobby soxer,

which was to air next

co-staring...

 shirley temple.

i remember thinking to myself,

"the bachelor and the bobby soxer"...

i've never heard of that one.

i continued studying.

a little later,

my roommate, susan bennett,

came in from night class.

she put down her things,

grabbed her toiletries,

and 

told me she was off to take a shower.

while she was gone,

the movie started.

i looked up

to see a grown-up

(well, my aged)

shirley temple.

i was shocked!

i did look like her...

like uncannily so!

when mimi said i reminded her

of shirley, she wasn't kidding.

~@~

i couldn't wait for susan

to return from her shower

so she could validate what i was seeing.

finally, she returned, but

the movie had gone to commercial.

she proceeded to tell me about

her day and night class

with her crush, 

vish.

when she paused,

i turned her attention to the t.v.

me: does she remind you of anyone?

susan: who?

me: the girl in the movie.

(i pointed at shirley.)

susan: YOU!  she looks

just like you!  who is that?

me:  shirley temple.

susan: really?

me: yeah.

susan: wow,

she even dresses

like you 

and has the same do!

it was true;

i always preferred 

the classic look over 

the-look-of-the-day.

from her hair to her bobby socks,

we even shared style.

-looking back,

i was probably the biggest

nerd on campus, ha!-

~@~

when i awoke this morning 

and rejoined social media

i read

of shirley's death 

and was immediately, immensely 

saddened.

my doppelganger 

had died at the age of 85.

my cousin, theresa,

had posted a status update 

to facebook,

"rip, shirley temple,

hope you land on the sunny beaches 

of 

peppermint bay!"

i couldn't have put it better

myself.

shirley temple black,

may you spend eternity

enjoying: 

Lemonade stands,
Everywhere
Crackerjack bands,
Fill the air,
And there you are,
Happy landings on a chocolate bar.
See the sugar bowl
Do a tootsie roll
In a big bad devils food cake

and never, ever

have to experience another 

tummy ache.

love and God's blessings, 

dani xxx