January 13, 2011

Jeffrey

Jeffrey, age 7
"C'mon, Get Happy!"
Mt. Holly, NJ (1977)

This photo was taken when I had just turned 7 years old, at the beginning of 2nd grade.

My memory of the photo is the shirt collar that I chewed on. Plus hideous plaid pants that were hand-me-downs from cousins, who were 8-years older than I was, at the time.

Hence the circa 1970's look!

When we received the developed photos in the mail, I recall being scolded by my father, for the way I was holding my arms, and for my giggly face.

At the time, I couldn't understand why. LOL!

I knew I was different by age 4, when I asked for a Barbie for Christmas.
My parents got me "The Sunshine Family" - which consisted of a hippie Father, Mother & Baby. They even indulged me with a Barbie Van in a wonderful lavender color!

Oh, did I mention I was obsessed with Judy Garland and The Wizard of Oz
when I was 7?! God help us.....

This particular photo makes me cringe. Not because of how I'm posing, but because of the awful clothes.

I had many male crushes then, but the first one I could remember is Ken Berry from an episode of The Brady Bunch. I believe it was meant to be a spin-off episode from the series. He and his wife (Brooke Bundy) were trying adopt 3 boys, all of different races and colors. I'm still puzzled by what made him so appealing to me at a young age.

One other thing I'd like to add is about the movie "Making Love" with Michael Ontkean and Harry Hamlin. Having cable TV in my teens was a godsend! That movie was definitely a defining moment in my gay adolescence.

So, there you have it.

Jeffrey's first, famous-person same sex crush:
Ken Berry (on "The Brady Bunch")
_____________________________________________
ONCE UPON A MATTRESS CAROL BURNETT KEN BERRY 11X14 COLOR PHOTO Making Love The 1970s (Fashion Sourcebooks) Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland

7 comments:

Brighid's House O' Masks said...

This is my fav overall picture. The pose, the cute smile, it says it all. You rock!

Anonymous said...

What Brighid said!

Vanessa

thatwastheact said...

Hope you father got "it" in time.
Glad you did!

Bonnie said...

Jeffrey, you were adorable!! Oh, and as for hating the hand-me-down clothes... I was wearing a near replica of that shirt but in bright mustard yellow polyester with a big 70s tuxedo ruffle all the way down the front... in 1983! (*feeling your pain*)

Jim said...

OMG! I had the same crush on Ken Berry! Even made my mom take me to see him when he was in town. He has such kind eyes

Unknown said...

I live in Portland, OR. This is a very sought after look here. I regularly serve drinks to young men ( and women) resembling this picture quite a bit.

Jeffrey Wright - said...

Come to think of it, it might have been Ken Berry's meaty dancers thighs that did it for me.