This is a special memory from my own childhood.
This story isn’t exactly about me it is about my sister, Judy. But I was there to watch it all.
I think she was in kindergarten so I would have been in 1st grade. It was probably springtime as I remember we were upstairs in our room, the windows were open, and the curtains were blowing. It is bizarre the things that I remember. Judy had brought two friends home from school with her. One was her best friend from down the street, the one from the peanut butter fudge episode. The other was a boy! My sister really liked this boy, too. You remember how crushes were when you were 5 or 6 and you just wanted to chase boys.
And kiss them.
Well at some point Judy snuck downstairs and got my mom’s red lipstick out of the bathroom and brought it back upstairs. She and her friend applied a heavy coat of it and proceeded to shower the boy in question with kisses all over his face and head. He had the typical buzz cut boys had in the 50s so those red lipstick marks showed up really well! I have no idea where my mother was while all this was going on but when the giggling and squealing got loud enough she came charging upstairs to see what was going on.
There he sat covered in kisses and there they stood giggling over what they had done. I was quietly trying to retreat to a corner where I wouldn’t somehow be blamed for all this. She was very angry with them because now she was going to have to call his mother. It was about then that she grabbed the tube of lipstick from my sister and really began to fume. It wasn’t just lipstick; it was her new red indelible (and very expensive) lipstick. Those kisses were not going to be coming off anytime soon! My mom was really going to have some explaining to do.
The boy did not come to school the next day!
That is so funny. Poor little boy, who probably loved every second of it! I wonder what became of him?
Apparently he is still in Jonesville as I saw his name on Facebook the other day and that is what prompted the memory. And I do think he was loving it until my mom came up those stairs!
Oh dear! It was funny until you mentioned the indelible part! I can’t imagine trauma of cleaning that all off him!
When I recall crazy things from the past, they are always accompanied by some insignificant memory – like your blowing curtain – that helps set the stage for when it happened. My most vivid memories were outside, during the summer!
You need to start writing those memories down for your grandchildren! Bet there are stories even your girls haven’t heard!
Oh my goodness, that is hilarious! Reminds me of an incident with my elder brother and sister. One Friday evening he had her apply eyeliner to give him a mustache. Indelible cosmetics must have been a thing because, like your mother’s lipstick, it would not come off. I’m pretty sure my parents made him go to school anyway. LOL.
That is too funny! He must have been old enough to be really embarrassed.
That’s hysterical! Nowadays she’d take a picture and put it on FB for all her friends and the boys mom too!
Trust me — if I had a picture from back then I would put it on FB today!
Poor little guy – I can imagine how much fun the girls had and how much soap was used on him. Today he’d be shamed on every social media site because there would have been numerous photos and videos, your sister and friend would be labeled as bullies, they’d lock down the school in case of retaliation, and all students would be required to attend counseling sessions. LOL
Yep!
KC, I always marvel at your amazing memory. You have the best eye for details….I love the curtains blowing in the wind, and the lipstick showing up on the little boy’s buzz cut. I have always had a pretty poor memory, so I always admire a great memory like yours. My heart goes out to the first-grader Kc who was always in trouble, and was sure she would be blamed for this incident…
I want to know what happened to those “indelible” cosmetics. They probably had harmful chemicals in them or something.
Even the “long wear” makeup today wears off quickly on me. 
Thanks Joy. It is funny the details I remember and then the parts of my childhood that are complete blanks. It sure wasn’t a dull childhood.
Undoubtedly those cosmetics caused cancer and couldn’t possibly be sold today.
So funny! I’d love to hear the boy’s side of it — now, from the man he’d become. It’d be interesting to hear how those kiss-crazy girls affected him and how the memory tinged future relationships. Hysterical story!
I really wonder if he remembers it? I bet his mom does!
I love your stories. I can only imagine his mother’s face when he got home! Oh the memories of childhood.
I am pretty sure my Dad worked with his Dad and so mom knew the family. Which of course made her even more embarrassed by what they had done!
Oh my goodness Kc… I wonder how many times that boy told the story… I bet it’s a great memory of his. Too funny xox
I really wish that I still knew him and could ask him if he remembers it!
What a funny story!! I wish there were pictures to go with it! I can imagine the 4 of you little ones up in your bedroom, the girls putting on the lipstick like only a 5 year old can do it; and I wonder what was going through the little boy’s head as he sat there watching them! I can hear the giggling that went on.
It makes me sad that you were so afraid that you’d be blamed. It’s too bad that your mom couldn’t see the funny side of it instead of getting upset about it.
My mother never saw the funny side in anything and it really was unfair that just because I was 1 year and 2 weeks older than her I always got blamed, but I did.
Awww, what a sweet story. My husband talks about his first kiss being when he was five. I didn’t even like boys back then. My first kiss wasn’t until 15…not even an innocent boy-kiss when I was a kid!
Amara had her first kiss on her first birthday and we have the pictures to prove it! But I was like you, I wasn’t into boys until the summer after 8th grade.
He enjoyed it just as much as the girls did otherwise he would be yelling and screaming and running as fast as he can out the door. Couldn’t come to school the next day because he had lipstick stain all over his face. As always such great memory you have and a gift for story telling.
Thank You! I love getting a male opinion on the whole thing and I think you are right. He really seemed to be enjoying himself — until my mother came upstairs!
Makes me more thankful for eye make-up remover. Gee, I led a boring childhood. Glad you managed to keep your head down throughout. It would have made a great commercial for the that lipstick- Don’t try this at home, ha.