Having a big sister is wonderful.  I’ve had mine now for almost 50 years and I wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world.  Oh, we’ve had our ups and downs over the years but most of the rough stuff was over and done with by the time I was 10.  The only visible sign left from my younger years is a scar on my knee from a bicycle incident.  Becky and I are both getting older and I’m starting to notice some facial wrinkles but come to think of it, I really don’t have any incredibly deep furrows on my forehead and I think I may have just figured out why.

Every year we would get a nice assortment of gifts for Christmas.  Our parents didn’t spend hundreds of dollars on us but we always had presents under the tree and one year, my sister got a smoking hot steel rod complete with the optional “steam chamber.”  The box cleverly disguised this torture device by calling it a “curling iron.”  I wish I had read the entire pamphlet that came with it as I’m almost 100% sure it had to have said something about using your little sister as a guinea pig before making any attempt to use it on yourself.  Becky couldn’t wait to get that curling iron out of the box and I was asked to be her first victim…er, ah, I mean customer.   I found out that day trouble was headed my way each and every time my sister would say, “Oh come on.  This will be fun.”

It was almost as if she was preparing for surgery.  First she unscrewed the tiny little tube from the end of the iron, filled it with water and then screwed it back into place.  The cord on the opposite end was then inserted into the outlet.  As the rod began to heat, it would slowly warm the water inside that little tube.  When the hair was securely wrapped around the rod, the operator would then press the button on the steam tube.  When pressed, it would send steam out of the holes in the wand that would help to “lock in” that gorgeous new curl.  We both waited anxiously for the “hot” indicator to illuminate and when the “ready” light popped on it was time for me to take my seat on the toilet, close my eyes and wait patiently for the newest way to say hello to some quick and easy curls and goodbye to those nasty sponge rollers!

Slowly she parted off a section of my hair.  She ran the comb through it a couple of times while I prayed for the safety of my hair, my head and my sanity.  She wrapped her fingers around the handle of that smoking hot steel rod and the closer she got to my face, the more worried I got.  I wanted to trust her but this was the woman that would never let me tag along with her and her friends and the woman that would never allow me to sit on her bed and the woman that caused a head on collision between me and my bike and her and her bike on my very first ride without training wheels.  It was very obvious she wasn’t doing this because she liked me but that kind of logic developed a bit later than my appointment.  All I knew was she had a pretty good hold on my hair so there I sat.  I flinched and squirmed as she made an attempt to attach my bangs to that rod.  Eventually she got some hair in the clip and began to roll that torture device dangerously close to my forehead.  I already knew I didn’t like the heat radiating off that wand but we both knew I had to stick it out for at least 30 seconds if I wanted a curl.  I had sort of forgotten about the steam feature due to the fact that I was concentrating so hard on the smoking hot steel rod that was perched dangerously close to my eyes but she hadn’t and when she hit that tiny little button on the end of that rod, lightening bolts shot through my eye sockets and I’m still wondering why dad never had to patch the plaster above the toilet! There should have been a “head size” hole directly above that spot at the beauty shop!

I haven’t seen a curling iron with the little steam tube option for years.  I would be willing to bet they were discontinued after a short time on the market.  I would also be willing to bet that if you were to ask every 49 year old woman that has almost no forehead furrows if she had a big sister that owned a curling iron with the optional “steam chamber,” the answer would unanimously be “YES! How did you know?”