Reggie in the Kitchen 1973 |
Reggie a remembrance |
I have worked ten years to perfect this pose, Hookers Ball 1977 |
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Xmas 1977 (28k jpeg) |
Reggie and I were twin sisters. One time we saw an old photograph from the 1800s, of two little girls, and we figured that was us in a past life. After that we told people we were twin sisters, and people would joke about how they couldn't tell us apart.
We really were twin sisters in a lot of ways. In the 1970s, especially when we lived together on Market St. and Montcalm St., we used to get dressed up in matching drag, or at least following the same general theme. Maybe we'd both wear black slips and black lipstick, or maybe cut off blue jean shorts with dashikis and all of our wooden spool necklaces, or maybe leotards and rubber boots (our "sex kittens from outer space" motif) or we'd both wear 60s "fish dresses" with wigs and spike heels. Luckily, being twin sisters, we could wear the same size clothes. We would get dressed up for no reason, just because. Reggie definitely had a flair for innovative fashion. He was also my favorite model, and some of my best pictures are of him. Reggie was excellent at making wisecracks and at injecting humor into everyday situations, and had a very jolly, guffawing sort of laugh that made me laugh, too. Part of the general Mukluk way of doing things is to make as much as possible in life into a joke, and Reggie was a true Mukluk. I usually don't do formal photo shoots, I just take pictures as they come, and Reggie would make everyday events like doing laundry or grocery shopping into the best, most hilarious fashion shoots ever. Being twin sisters, Reggie and I had a lot of the same boyfriends, too, some of them at the same times. (We just both had good taste.) We weren't competing at all, and it was wonderful fun to giggle and swoon about a current heartthrob together. On days we didn't feel like doing much, we used to lounge around in our bathrobes on the couches in the living room and discuss and analyze our current flames in great detail, and we'd go on to discuss relationships, emotions, people, the world, and the universe in general. Reggie had a childlike sense of wonder that never left him. He related well with children and animals, I think in part because he still had a sense of innocence and could see things through their eyes, and in part because he was very accepting and treated everyone, including animals, like a deserving person. It was so funny to watch him talk to cats; they'd lean forward with a keen interest that they didn't seem to show other people. In the 1980s, after several good friends and boyfriends of ours died of AIDS, we both said how we hated how things turned out; so many hopes and dreams we had in the 1970s were dashed. But even after Reggie himself was diagnosed with AIDS, we both agreed that since we're here, we might as well have a good time. We both suffered from depression and could easily fall into the mire again, but Reggie said we might as well try to make the world a better place, and try to be happy. Over all, Reggie did manage to make the best of quite a few dismal situations. And now the world for the rest of us is much more sad and dreary, without Reggie's laughter and jokes. I still believe I should continue on in our Mukluk Twin Sister tradition of finding flamboyant fun where we can, although now it will be harder. June 2001 |
Reggie and Wendy, 1977 photograph © iver mukluk |
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one evening at Dennis and Buzzy's house, 1977 |
at Safeway, 1974 |
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in yellow Easter outfit, Montcalm St 1978 |
at a barbecue at Poppy & Timmy's in Mill Valley |
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In Vallejo (we were trying to visit Sara in Portland for Xmas but only made it as far as Vallejo, where the truck broke down, so we were hanging around at a gas station at 2am) |
in bathroom on Montcalm st, at my birthday party 1978 |
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w/fuchsias in backyard, Montcalm St |
Kite Hill, 1974 |
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dramatic sunlight shot 1978 |
just out of the shower, 1974 | ||
Here, let me show you some more pictures. I'll just dump out my photo album... to page 2, to page 3, to page 4, to page 5. and here's a slideshow of pictures of Reggie |
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6-2-01