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You know, Soft Spike curlers look weird. They just do. They make the best curls, but they tend to get funny looks. Before I got a wig, I wore Soft Spikes for years and I had some multicolored, porcupinish adventures. I've been to some crazy places, and I've gotten the most interesting (or interested) looks from a whole variety of people. Here's a list of places that I've been to while wearing the curlers:

Airports--eighteen times total, six different airports
Church--six times
Jack in the Box and various fast food places
Shopping malls--lost count!
Fancy restaurant for Father's Day
School--never, but I keep swearing I'll do it for Halloween!
Hotel restaurants--many, many times. That doesn't even count as weird any more.
Various and sundry rental car places
Physical therapy appointment. Now that was fun.

Fun Stories

If you wear spike curlers in public on a regular basis (or maybe that's just me), then you know that there's a basic formula to curler conversations. A stranger approaches and says, "Excuse me, but what ARE those?" You smile and reply, "They're curlers." Stranger: "Oh, I thought they were the latest fashion! (hahaha) What are they for?" You: "An Irish dancing competition." Stranger: "Oh, well, good luck, etc. etc." It's easy enough to follow the formula, but it gets a little tiresome after a while.

At the Jack in the Box, employees were scurrying around back behind the counter to get other people to look at this THING (yes, that would be me!) When they got the manager, I couldn't hear him say anything, because the place was loud and he was pretty far away, but I'm a halfway decent lip reader. What I saw him say was, "Oh, my GOD!" It was soooo funny! My mom and I just about died laughing!

Later on that same trip, we pulled up next to another car that had a young girl in it. She pointed at me and said something to her mom, who was driving. The mom looked over at me…double take…scowl…inner thought, "These kids today have the craziest fashions!" I'm sure she thought I was some kind of punk.

On the flight to Seattle, I sat down, all ready for a nice trip. Then something pulled on my curlers! The man behind me was playing with my spikes! I turned around, and I guess he was just trying to get my attention because he immediately asked what they were. I explained what they were, and why I had them (I've explained this SO many times!) and he seemed satisfied. No more curler tweaking.

I got the punk-kid reaction again at church once. I was attending the 5:00 service on Saturday, since I knew I wouldn't be around for Mass the next day. At my church, this service is very popular among the, um, how shall I say…chronologically gifted? The more elderly people seemed convinced that I was there just to mock the service, and gave me mean looks.

And my all-time favorite story…

On the airplane to Phoenix in December 1999, I walked onto the plane, cool as the proverbial cucumber. A few minutes after I sat down, a steward came from the back of the plane and asked, "Excuse me, but what are those things?" (See Curler Conversation.) After I had explained my less-than-conventional hairstyle, he proceeded to the front of the plane and announced on the microphone, "For those who are interested, they're curlers." It was so funny! The whole plane burst out laughing! Then, the same steward was demonstrating safety procedures. When he came to the little yellow oxygen mask, he looked at me and cracked up, saying, "I don't think these will fit over your head!" I don't know, maybe you had to be there to appreciate it, but I WAS there, and I tell you it was darn funny.