I have a read-thru of my new play The Quarter Millennial Experience today. As is often the case before my writing gets a reading, my mind and heart are flashing with “the experiences in life” that helped me grow and — to the point of this blog post — inspired me to write my play.
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My parents had our house remodeled during the summer of 1976. That was the year of the Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In the days leading up to the remodeling, I remember my mother sitting at the kitchen table poring over a wallpaper sample book from Ethan Allen.
The book was enormous. I had never seen one so big. It was wider than it was tall and it smelled of different fabrics and paper and paste and staples.
She motioned me over and we looked through it together. I was fascinated. There was a whole section dedicated to the Bicentennial. It was filled with red, white and blue wallpaper embellished with patriotic touches glorifying the “Spirit of ’76” which confused me.
I had to ask her what the “Bicentennial” was. When she explained it to me, my six-year-old mind was blown. I had just finished First Grade at a Catholic school — I was shocked to learn that America was younger than Jesus. It was my first “WTF” moment.
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My parents did not choose any of the Bicentennial-themed wallpaper.
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My parents wallpapered their kitchen with scenes and icons from farm life. It was glorious.
It had a farmer and farmer’s wife. It had a dead hog. It had a basket that said “eggs” on it. It had a woman milking a cow and a farmer plowing a field. It had a rooster and a hen and horses and a bundle of wheat and a tomato. I. LOVED. IT.
I used to sketch scenes from it in my notebooks. I also made up stories about the wallpaper characters. I remember writing my parents a note and signing it “The Lady on the Wallpaper.”
The wallpaper is nearly 50 years old. It is still up in my mom’s kitchen. My mom and the wallpaper continue to inspire and amuse me to this day.
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A few days ago, I shared a picture of the kitchen wallpaper on Facebook. My brother texted me and said he liked the picture. I told him I thought it was the best wallpaper in the world and he wrote, “Naaahh, their old bathroom wallpaper was even better.”
I had forgotten about their old bathroom wallpaper. Couldn’t remember a single detail.
My brother texted, “Oh boy…it was something…included slightly ribald imagery suggesting male and female parts.”
I still couldn’t remember it, even if it was ribald.
He added, “Also great graphic design and colors.”
Nothing clicked in my brain. My mind was blank. A few minutes later he sent me pictures and said, “The internet comes thru.”
I immediately remembered it! I also immediately wondered how in the heck I could forget something so risque?
The year the wallpaper went up was also the year I was learning to read and write in cursive. As an emerging reader, I thought the towel that said “his” actually said “let’s” on it. It made sense in my brain: “let’s take a bath” or “let’s read in the tub.” I remember I was confused by the squiggly lines on the newspaper. I didn’t know they were just squiggly lines and admonished myself for not being able to read them.
The bathroom wallpaper is long gone. I’m glad the kitchen wallpaper remains.
The Quarter Millennial Experience takes place several months before the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s a romantic comedy about racism. Madeline and Bryce learn that both their grandmothers have the same kitchen wallpaper. At one point, Madeline fondly recollects her grandmother’s wallpaper and says, “When I own a home, I’m going to wallpaper the whole house.”
I’m 54 years old. I thought by now I would have wallpapered something but I still haven’t wallpapered a single room. Maybe this summer…
Thanks for reading. Yikes! It’s time for me to go to the read-thru! I have to go! -Connie
Constance Kuntz 