You know why it rains in August? That’s so when students go back to school with their new clothes and carefully arranged coiffures, Ma Nature just dumps on them and ruins the back-to-school look. The universe has it in for teenagers, especially for kids just starting high school. There you are, heading for the big leagues, trying to make an impression and not look like a dweeb, and poof, one quick squall waiting for the school bus and so long super glamorous gel-spiked ’do.
That’s why the Betster appreciated going to high school in the hippie-dippie days of the 1970s, when you could get away with flannel shirts, jeans and minimal hair styling. Huh. Looking at a lot of teenagers these days, you still can.
There’s a lesson in all this somewhere, probably something about how you can’t fight nature and might as well roll with her. Fashion, schmasion. Alaskans have already been told by big national magazines that we have no fashion sense. We have great fashion sense. We just have a fashion sense that to New Yorkers is as alien as a grizzly bear on Broadway.
Where else can you see striped leggings, mini-skirts and XtraTufs? Who else wears pink hair with an Alaskaloha moose antler design hoody? When old timers talk about formal wear, they mean an Alaska tuxedo, a Filson jacket and wool pants and a bolo tie. We know how to dress up. Like everything else, though, we don’t give a dang how they do it Outside and make up our own rules.
So kids, you look marvelous. If a little rain messes up that chic new haircut, fluff it up and make your own style. XtraTufs are the universal shoe and go with anything. Heck, the Betster once saw a guy wearing XtraTufs with a kilt. There you go. Flow with the weather and you’ll be all right, dressed to take on anything, including these fun Best Bets:
BEST THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE BET: Now that the feds have admitted Area 51 actually exists, alien conspiracy theorists are waiting for more information to come out about the secret government facility. So does “Fall Back in Love With Your UFOs” have anything to do with that? Uh, no. The Betster checked — UFO in this sense means “unfinished objects,” and is a class from 6-7:30 p.m. today to learn about problem knitting projects at the Knitty Stash. The class also is held 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
BEST KEEP RUNNING BET: If you didn’t stretch your legs last week with the Breast Cancer Run, heck, you have two more runs this weekend. At 4 p.m. Friday at Homer High School it’s the K-Bay 5K for Leo, a run to raise money for neurofibromatosis research. At 11 a.m. Saturday starting at Hospice of Homer, check out another 5K event, the Soles for Hospice Family Fun Run. The run ends at Bear Creek Winery. Both events are for good causes.
BEST BIG BOOK BET: Eowyn Ivey’s “The Snow Child” has been racking up reviews worldwide since coming out last year. The Alaska writer visits the Kenai Peninsula with two events on Saturday. At noon, Ivey reads and signs books at the Homer Public Library. At 3 p.m. she heads up the road to Ninilchik for a reading and discussion at the Ninilchik Community Library.
BEST KICKIN’ GOOD TIME BET: Celebrate soccer with a fun-filled day of games, prizes and food from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at West Homer Elementary School.
BEST OTHER WORLD BET: Take a look at life a world away with “Be Ke Quoc Song Cua Toi,” or “My Gay Life,” a 30-minite film made by a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual community in Vietnam. The subtitled film shows at 7 p.m. today at the Homer Council on the Arts and is followed by a discussion by community-based media teachers Wendy Erd and Peter Kaufmann.
