Not Quite Fun in the Sun

We spent a LOT of time at the beach (mostly Horseneck Beach) our junior and senior years of high school.  That's funny, considering how self-conscious we were of how we looked - all the time - but especially in bathing suits.

I remember one day in particular during our junior year.  We were going to the beach with, among a bunch of our "regular" beach crew, two girls who were a year older than us.

They both were completely and totally gorg.  In every way.  They were popular.  Funny.  Nice.  Athletic.  Did I mention gorg?

Anyway, I can't imagine how long it took the rest of us to get ready that day.
I'm sure we put on every bathing suit 1,706 times until we found the one that we looked best in. 
I'm sure we EACH went through a can of aqua net to get our bangs just right.
I'm sure we tanned extra long (in the tanning beds - bad, bad, bad) that week before so that we'd be extra tanned.
I'm sure we didn't eat for days in preparation. 
Okay, maybe I was the only one who did all that but I digress.

We got to the beach, slowly took off our champion shorts and laid down our scrunchy ponytailed heads on our towels, just waiting for them to put us to shame.  We surely were feeling uncomfortable in front of the other beach goers (as we always did) but we were also feeling extra uncomfortable because we knew that, no matter how much time we had spent in preparation, next to these two, we'd fail miserably.

They took off their suits and I swear that the entire beach was suddenly in complete and total awe of the beauty that was before us.  It was as if everything started moving in slow motion, the beach got completely quiet and soft music started playing across the sand.   I'm pretty sure that they started riding along the beach on beautiful black stallions but I could have my memories confused.   Anyway, they were tanned to perfection, in white bikinis - who looks good in a white bathing suit??  THEY did!

It was ridiculous.  I'll never forget that moment of complete and total inferiority.   I'm sure we had a great time although I don't remember much more of that day.  I think I probably blocked it from my memory to avoid depression setting in.

Incidentally, a few years ago, I met up with one of the Gorg Girls for dinner.  And a few nights ago, I bumped in to the other Gorg Girl. Both still lovely.  Both still gorg. 


It made me think that, regardless of how much I loved high school (oh my GAWD did I love high school), I'd not want to go back to 1989 if you paid me. ... unless I could look like one of them in a white bikini.  If I could, well then, obviously game on.