The Blonde Bombshell
by Steven Gowin
In graduate school, I lived across the street, across North Governor, from a pretty art student whose dance name was Jan the Blonde Bombshell.
Saturdays we'd go see her strip at a joint six or eight blocks away near Paglia's Pizza. She was tall and lithe, used whipped cream in the act, and danced above the crowd on a sheet of inch plywood over a couple of bar booths.
A day or two later, we'd chat with her on the street or drink a cup of tea in her warm kitchen. She was a photographer and told me about Emmet Gowin, who she admired. She came from up North, Storm Lake or Mason City, somewhere like that.
My girlfriend and I tried to hire her as The Bombshell for my roomate's birthday. The Quinster would have loved it, but her parents were in town for the Iowa State game, and she couldn't even come as a guest. If not for the damned Cyclones, she'd have been there.
I heard that when she graduated, she ended the act. Jan was a good stripper and a nice Iowa girl.
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Author's Note
Inspired by Gary Powell's "Men in the Mirror."
Other stories by Steven Gowin
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Good strippers are hard to find...
(esp. in one's history)
;-)
Love this ... deadpan memorabilia. It's a downplayed soul siren. *
The last paragraph especially.
Very flattered to have inspired. Pretty sure I met the Bombshell once. She had stories about a neighbor and his girlfriend.*
*
Hard to believe an Iowa girl could become a stripper. *
Love the last line.
Great character. I feel a lot of affection for her. She did a good job :)
sorry I missed her*
This is a slick piece of work.
*