Bloody Mary!

"If you look in a mirror and say "Bloody Mary" three times, she'll appear behind you and attack you!"
"You have to stand in front of the bathroom mirror, right, and say "Mary Worth" 13 times, all the while turning in a slow circle. Then look quickly in the mirror and you'll see her behind you."
"I believe in Mary Worth!"

Everyone knows one of these stories, remembers it from their childhood, right? I know I do. I know I believed it at the time, and that I used to feel sick with terror and excitement whenever I was near a mirror because of it. That compulsion to say her name, to test the credibility of the story and finally gain some acceptance in the eyes of the people at school - it was always there. But so was the terror that if I did allow myself to say it, I would see someone else in the mirror.
Part of my essay for Narratives this year is going to be looking at the tale of Bloody Mary/Mary Worth/Mary Worthington, and so I have been looking through a mega long essay (well, 14 pages, but that's long enough) by Alan Dundes about the significance of the myth and what it symbolises. While reading this thing, I came across this rather magnificent piece of information:

"In a fascinating discussion of the folklore of menstruation, it has been suggested that 'in folklore, the conclusion is that menstruation causes a woman to act like a witch'".

You hear that, ladies? Once a month we turn into evil, cackling monsters. Hmmmm...sounds like a story idea...

Casual dress?

"Crisp, Kim?" She waved the packet of crisps in my face. I smiled, shook my head.
"No ta. My hands are kind of occupied with holding my skirt down."
Laughter from my best friend as she took the crisps back. Lovely. As if the odd looks I was getting from passers by wasn't enough!

You see, today, for the first time since I was about 8, I wore a dress - willingly and of my own choice - outside. As casual wear. Usually, if I am to wear a dress, it is due to some sort of party or do where dressing up is required, like birthdays or parties or such. I never wear dresses as casual wear.
Except I did.
It was a 2-in-1 affair, a long jumper with a skirt peeking out of the bottom. It's very nice - not too long (so I don't look like my mother) and not too short, although it does fall above the knees.

When I put the dress on and started on my way to my friend's house, it was a glorious day.
By the time I got there, there was quite a wind.

As you can imagine, I was having a lot of fun trying to prevent a Marilyn moment - while I'm sure my lovely friend would have killed herself laughing, I didn't fancy my dress lifting and showing off my underwear for all passerby...s (passers-by? passerbys? passerbies? Hmmmm - none of those sound/look right...) to see!

Moral of the story: dresses for casual wear = BAD.

The Usefulness of Children

A conversation I overheard between two kids as I walked past the school gates near to my Uni:

Boy 1: Awwwwwww, a dog! Whose is it?
Boy 2: Thingy's.

Well, that cleared everything up. Thanks, kiddo!