Under the hairdryer in the 50's

she reminded me of my mother's friends who I imagined
used to spend Wednesday afternoons at the hair dresser
all lined up one next to the other reading Womens' Day
or Good Housekeeping.
Relaxing under the hairdryer after an afternoon drink,
children took care of themselves and each other, playing
in mud puddles on barely paved streets, fathers were off
working and out of the way and the women could just
let their hair down and gossip, swap recipes and lament
how their husbands did not make enough money for a new
hair color every 6 weeks.
When the stylist lifted the massive dome above their newly
coiffed cuts and colors, the women all stretched like purring
cats, gathered their purses, replacing the magazines onto the
chrome racks, before counting out the dollars and cents to
their respite from the relentless boredom of the
average housewife in the 50's.
kids and husband be damned, at least
her hair looks good.