Shannon Philpott-Sanders

I Want My Mullet Back

As a 10-year old in the heart of the 80s, proudly sporting the fashionable mullet, life was pretty simple. From what I remember, the only thing that plagued my high-top wearing and neon-clad self was homework and friend woes.

 However, memories have a way of getting cloudy as we get older and the good times override the bad times in our minds. We induct ourselves into sainthood and wipe away any recollections of mischief.

Just recently, my mom mentioned how much my daughter acts like I did when I was younger. Specifically, she detailed how she aggravates her brother to the point of tears. I was shocked and horrified – I don’t remember acting that way at all. In my memories, I was tortured by my sisters – not the other way around.

 The same applies to my mullet. Although it is not a “popular” hairstyle in this day and age, it was “the” look back then. If you had a mullet, you proudly proclaimed the logic of conducting business in the front and a party in the back. You didn’t have to be a fan of Billy Ray Cyrus to pull it off. The pictures don’t lie, though, and 20 years later, most of us have hidden the evidence.

 But, the mullet symbolizes simpler times for me.

 Back in my mullet days, I remember family vacations to the lake, midnight bike rides through downtown St. Louis, skating parties with my friends and Friday nights at our local youth center. I remember sleeping in, watching cable TV for the first time and screeching at the top of my lungs when I got Boy George concert tickets for my birthday.

 I remember it as a time when my parents were still together, when money didn’t appear to be ‘tight’ and a time when my sisters and I had so much time for each other.

 It is inevitable that we have to grow up sometime, take on grown-up responsibilities and trim our hair. Once in awhile, though, I think that it might be nice to have my mullet back … symbolically, of course.

– Shannon Philpott
Blog Entry: March 7, 2010

 © Shannon Philpott, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Shannon Philpott and shannonphilpott.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

March 7, 2010 - Posted by sphilpott | Blog, Reflecting | 1980s mullet, billy ray cyrus, childhood memories, i want my mullet back, parenting, retro