Stage fright and Why Join the Pin Up Culture? SCCG baby!

Pin Ups and Pin Curls......

 I went to a car show a month or so back dressed up in all my finest glitter and heels.  I was approached to join a Pin Up contest,  I was scared to death I have stage fright like nobody's business.  I reluctantly agreed.  As anticipated I got up on stage and absolutely froze.  It was a moment in time where you could probably hear a pin drop- aside from the nice older gentleman in the back yelling you're doing great honey!  The MC Pin Up-asked me on stage why I was attracted to the culture?  I muttered a myriad of unintelligible things and quickly stepped aside to wait for the other girls to finish and rushed off the stage as quickly as time would allow in high heels and sore feet.
  While I was unable to answer the question with authenticity at that time I have reflected on this question a great deal.  Why is this culture so important to me?  Yes, I like to dress up and play with my hair.  Yes, I like to have people ask to take photos with me and the occasional compliment. Yes, I love the curves, colors and distinctive beauty of the cars.  I love the classic beauty of the  Pin Ups of the 1940's and 1950's  and the ties of the military and American pride during World War II.   As time has evolved so has the culture, into variations of Pin Ups, Porn Ups, Rockabilly, Motorcycle clubs, Americana and Steam Punk persuasions. Yes, I love the culture.  There is a sense of community within this culture which I truly appreciate.  But, why did I join this culture?

  I am a proud member of SCCG or Sonoma County Calendar Girls, a non-profit, volunteer, community service organization. I heard about SCCG through a friend and was intrigued but was at the time dis-interested in creating one more thing for my busy calendar of kids appointments and lessons, work, husband,  and a new career, and volunteering my free time with Habitat for Humanity.  I heard about SCCG a second time from a Facebook post, highlighting the community service the girls had been doing.  At that moment, I knew that creating time for SCCG in addition to the other obligations was absolutely something I had to do. Yes, we are Pin Ups.  We play with our hair, and create some images that people may find appealing- or appalling depending on who you may be.  We have loads of fun primping and having girl time away from our family obligations. However, more than that, SCCG has created an amazing network of friends who help so many people in our community.  We attend events and are invited to volunteer our time to help others in the community thrive.  We sell calendars to donate to organizations and help people less fortunate, people who have served our country, and people who are afflicted with sickness and debilitating diseases.

  So, when I say I love the culture, I do, I love the culture that I have been introduced to with community service, pretty Pin Ups and classic beauty.  I joined the culture because of the SCCG passion for helping others, the other pieces of the culture were just icing on this beautiful cake. Life passes by too quickly as I was reminded this morning, by a photo from four years ago with my young children.  Being passionate, being open to different and sometimes unknown cultures are the spice of life- so get out there and get spicy.