My (Retro) Weekend Crush

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.