Farewell Raquel

The first time I saw her? My memory fails me. However, I do remember her name being spoken with hallowed reverence by all the boys in my Jr. high school.

She was in Roustabout with Elvis in 1964. Then she starred in One Million Years B.C. where she wore a fur bikini that probably covered more than any normal swimwear today.

But for the 1960s what she wore was considered racy, and guys in Jr. high were all about the racy. We were just becoming aware there were vast differences between boys and girls. So we were okay with a pretty girl wearing part of a dead coyote.

After my older brothers went away to college I managed to scrape together enough change to purchase a life size black and white poster of Miss Welch emerging from the ocean wearing the coyote. Well, part of it.

It was a big feat sneaking it into the house, not to mention trying to figure out what to do with it once it was safely in my room.

There was no way my conservative parents were going to allow me to hang that poster on my wall. If I had they would have probably nailed me up along side of it.

I was like the proverbial dog chasing a car. I had caught it, now what was I going to do with it.

Never underestimate the ingenuity of an infatuated teenager.

In one of my rare creative moments a bolt of genius-ness struck me between the eyes as I pulled the window shades down one evening.

The solution was staring me right in the face. That was the night Raquel Welch was stapled onto a window shade in my bedroom.

One pull of the shade and there she was, standing in my room. Another pull and she rolled up, disappearing into thin air.

Raquel remained my roommate until I graduated from high school and went away to college.

I cannot remember what became of her. I suppose it was the same as whatever happens to all childhood toys and souvenirs. They simply vanish. Gone like a wisp of smoke in a breeze. Now you see it, now you don’t.

Sadly Miss Welch has passed away at the ripe old age of 82. Now she belongs to the ages. Gone forever. Gone forever except in the memories of elderly Jr. high school boys everywhere.

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Rick Algood
February 16, 2023