In my day, a fella wouldn't go wearin earrings in both ears!

[Raquel June]

Last week I was eating a late lunch in Long John Silver's. I had a kinda mixture of sloppy looks going on -- a long-sleeved green shirt that said "Guinness" on the front, under a big short-sleeved black Hawaiian-type shirt hanging open (it's mostly black and has a couple flowers on the bottom part of the back), some baggy Levi's, and my old running shoes. I've got 12-gauge captive ball earrings, but if there was anything feminine about me it was the shirt. I hadn't shaved in three days.

I get my food and go sit down in the front window and start poking around at my laptop. The only other people in there were three guys in a booth wearing Carhartt jackets and marginally tight jeans. I'm 32. These guys were probably late 30s. I had gotten up and walked past their table three times to get hot sauce and a couple refills.

So, these guys are talking about whatever, then the alpha mullet actually says, "In my day, a fella wouldn't go wearin' earrings in both ears," and the others concur. Actually, I forget if it was "guy" or "fella." They only had a little bit of a southern accent, and they weren't trash -- they were clean and looked like semi-respectable contractors. None of them looked at me, but I was the only other person in the place.

But anyway, what's that about? Who says "in my day" when they're under 70? And if you're 40 years old at the most, when exactly is your day? When you were elementary school people liked Boy George and Queen, and it was cool in some circles to have a rat tail and a gold stud in your left ear, but the 90s was more about short hair and no earrings. Am I to assume that by the time these guys were 22 years old, their "day" was already long gone? That's a sad place to be at!

[Sharon]

Well in my day, a lot of men did have earrings in both ears.

I think you just stumbled upon the last of a dying breed -- holdovers from a bygone era. The only problem is that those folk are an ornery bunch and refuse to just go away.

[Joanne f]

Pirate`s and old sailors use to have both ears with rings in because it was a safe place to keep their gold .




joanne

[Jess_cd32]

................But anyway, what's that about? Who says "in my day" when they're under 70? And if you're 40 years old at the most, when exactly is your day? When you were elementary school people liked Boy George and Queen, and it was cool in some circles to have a rat tail and a gold stud in your left ear, but the 90s was more about short hair and no earrings. Am I to assume that by the time these guys were 22 years old, their "day" was already long gone? That's a sad place to be at!

I've had long hair all my life so I've heard it all to, is that a guy or a girl,
a dirty look usually let them know they might get their a** kicked if they kept it up.
These types are trolls, they just can't stand anyone out of what they consider the norm by their standards. Yea, they truly are in a sad state, that's why they say these things, you are showing them your free and they are confined to what they should be according to society and obviously not happy w/ themselves.

Be thrilled your nothing like them, I know I am.

[glynnis]

I have both my ears pierced and wear largish hooped earings(about an 1 1/4 diameter) I had no remarks about them.I prefer long dangling earings but havnt the courage to wear those in public yet.

[FlygrlChristy]

Alpha Mullet, that was a good one, ROFLMAO,

Christy

[trisha59]

To paraphrase Forrest Gump Old is what Old does. I don't know if this is applicable here but I Just liked the sound of it.
Trisha

[Susan Watersfield]

Racquel,

It's lucky they wern't in certain parts of England. They'd have had trouble finding a guy who didn't have both ears pierced.

"In my day", growing up in the 1950's, most guys didn't have ears pierced at all.

Into the late 60's and into the 70's, it started to be "ok" to have one ear pierced. However, nowadays, well, see my first paragraph.

To be homest, they sounded like a bunch of idiots looking for someone to be nasty to. There's plenty of them around, sadly.

I perhaps better add that I don't have either of my ears pierced. But then that's a personal choice.

Luv

Susan

[Lia]

A part of the problem here in Ohio is you don't have to get very far from the city to time travel back 50 years. Here in Cleveland a large number of working guys have both pierced, but in my hometown you get those looks for having even one! Then again, you also get a look if you're not driving a dually...

[Ze xx]

David Beckham does!

[Bernadina]

I feel sorry for people who feel their day has already gone.

My day is today and lots of people of all six(?) sexes wear earrings in both ears and often multiple earrings in both ears.

[Raquel June]

Thanks for all the comments. I wasn't really worried about them -- I just thought it was funny how ridiculous they sounded.

I don't let people give me much crap, but at the same time I'm not one of those people who's looking to take things personally and get all pissed off.

As a matter of fact, what bothers me a lot more than right-wing intolerant types is the left-wing types who can't let any little thing slide. Somebody in a big ol' sh*t kicker truck can't even accelerate from a light at a reasonable speed without a whiny guy with a latté in his hand rolling his eyes and/or giving him the finger and/or screaming "asshole!" out the window.

Really, Dayton isn't so bad. I was terrified when I first moved here from Columbus. In Columbus half the cars you pull up behind have a rainbow bumper sticker. In Dayton half the cars you pull up behind have a NASCAR bumper sticker and/or a Jesus fish. But they're mostly decent people.

[Teri Jean]

I pierced my ears over a year ago and there was a couple comments but that has gone by the way side and I wear them nearly everyday. When one asked what was going on and he made a scene of it I turned the table and said it was to mess with his head and it works. Since then he is fine with it and we are still friends, possibly closer.

Keli-H

[trannie T]

It is a sad thing to be old at 35.
Im my day one did not get old until 40.

[CD Susan]

These types are trolls, they just can't stand anyone out of what they consider the norm by their standards. Yea, they truly are in a sad state, that's why they say these things, you are showing them your free and they are confined to what they should be according to society and obviously not happy w/ themselves.

Be thrilled your nothing like them, I know I am.

Well put Jess!! My sentiments exactly. Racquel, just to let you know I am 60 years old and six days ago I had both of my ears pierced. I have been wanting to do this for years and I finally thought to hell with what other people think and it is more important that I do what I feel is right for me.

[LilSissyStevie]

When I was a teenager, guys didn't wear earrings at all. People were still getting apoplectic over long hair on guys. When me and a friend pierced our ears (left side only) it nearly caused a riot at school between the "greasers" and the "freaks." Too much culture shock for the greaseballs. A couple of years later, they were all doing it.

[Inachis]

It sounds like you ran into Redneckus Dumbassus, they are a rare breed of Neanderthal man who enjoys poking fun at other expense. If in "their day" men didn't wear earrings, then what were they doing out of the old folks home!

[Tracii G]

racquel Dayton is a cool town lived there during the summers always had a great summer.
Lia last year my band played Parma(sp), Akron and Kent Ohio I did notice a big difference between City kids and rural kids and the rural kids had the nose rings and bones and shafts stuck in their ears and every where else the city kids were your normal head bangers you know black t shirts and tattoos.Cleveland rocks!

[dann]

yea....i think all you need to do is replace "in my day" with "in my opinion a guy shouldn't....." (fill in your own rule) and you'll get your answer as to what place this guy in particular was in.

It seems intollerant people will use phrases such as "in my day" or "where i'm from" to let you know that you don't fit their norm.

[Rachel Morley]

They're just a bunch of a$$holes goading you. I bet none of them would have said a thing if they weren't in a group. Just a bunch of guys being provocative and confrontational. Take the higher ground ... they just don't understand, it's not they're fault they're ignorant. Not everyone can be as tolerant as you. Be like Mother Teresa, she would have just smiled and moved on - right?

[Tracii G]

Its just sad there are so many narrow minded people out there.
If you don't fit what they consider "their norm" your a freak or something to ridicule.Go piss in their coffee if the go to the restroom.

[Jess_cd32]

............. I've got 12-gauge captive ball earrings, but if there was anything feminine about me it was the shirt..............

You should have started messing w/ them by talking to yourself and really freak them out saying stuff they could hear like:

"ahhhhhhh, the post office has allready been way overdone, and McDonalds, if I'm gonna do it I'm gonna pick someone that really deserves it since I'm ready right now and go for it in a blaze of glory, but whoooooooo?"

LMAO, they woulda yelled waitress put that on our tab running out the door

[Katheryn]

Pirate`s and old sailors use to have both ears with rings in because it was a safe place to keep their gold .
joanne

I heard that most of them had gold earrings to pay for a land burial, so they didn't get dumped in the ocean. Now I'm not sure how they guaranteed that some other pirate wouldn't just take their gold and dump them anyway, unless the pressure of the still living pirates, who also wanted to be buried on land, prevented such a miscarriage.

Kate

[carolinebrookes]

Ignorance is bliss isn't it? Some people can't help being ignorant and it sounds as if Alpha Mullet was the blind leading the blind.

I had both ears pierced in my mid teens and the only one who gave me grief to start with was my dad who called me a "poof". The girls at school were really cool about it and the fact that it made me different and a stand out helped on the romantic front.
Within weeks, several guys also had ears done both single and both ears for some.
Some more time passed and my dad relaxed a lot.

Sometimes it takes a black sheep breaking from the herd that makes the farmer take notice!

We are all different, thank goodness!

[Lisa Golightly]

In my day? Surely the only day is today... The past is all myth and legend as far as I'm concerned.