Nancy Karlson-Bridge, A Local Woman With a Remarkable Past

Sam Olshefski
Student Contributor

I found in life that we truly don’t know the person walking past us, we don’t know the life they have lived or what they have gone through. For me that was the case with a woman I hold dear in my heart, Nancy Karlson-Bridge.

We first met in 2013 at Bubbles Hair Salon in Towson, she was working there as an artist of the eyebrows, facials, and more. She truly is a phenomenal artist, coming from a ginger with little to no eyebrows. And for a few years we shared remarkable stories and thoughts for the little time we had together in her chair almost every two weeks.

Those nights Nancy and my family grew closer. We all vented to each other and felt remarkable outside and inside when we were done. I realized when you spend that much time together you form a bond. She is a favorite of mine to talk to and never be judged. We truly see her as family. She would listen to my boy and girl drama, and she would give me calm advice to keep me balanced in life. I always knew I would have a better day when I saw Nancy.

So with our talks over time Nancy would speak of the book she was working on, Hit Back, Hit Hard, and Dream On. I myself clearly love to write and we shared our stories over time, and then I remembered one specific day, I was laying in her chair one late evening and we spoke about her son and some of the book in small details.

Then I found out she is a former Playboy Bunny and the longtime girlfriend of Aerosmith drummer, Joey Kramer. She moved from Baltimore to Boston, MA and was a Bunny from March 1975 to January 1977. She also owned her salon in Baltimore, Tucara Make-up Studio & Salon from 1991 to 2001. This is where she worked on some famous faces, which you can read more about in her book, Hit Back, Hit Hard, and Dream On.

I was in shock at first that my Nancy, my angel, is a sexy fantastic goddess of the rock and roll era. But of course I shook it off and fell even more in love with this amazing woman’s story. And after many months she finally released her masterpiece, in my opinion, and I immediately read it in two days.

It was amazing to read about everything she went through, all the hard work she put in, and the travels she had in life. I know others who read her book and loved it as well for the crazy rock star life, or the soul searching roads she was on. But I loved it because I got to know Nancy on a whole other level of love, and respect.

Nancy’s book shares her journey of living on the edge with a burning desire to contribute passion, excellence, and an unstoppable spirit. She states, “This book is for lovers, musicians, artists and poets; and for those bold enough to believe in the beauty of their own dreams. Big, bad and beautiful mistakes are part of the journey of life. You can let them squash your dreams or you can discover what it takes to hit back, hit hard and dream on – for a lifetime.”

After reading the book, at my next appointment, I hugged her as soon as I saw her and we laughed, cried, and talked about it for our whole session. We continued our talks until she moved to New Mexico. I miss my angel dearly but I am so happy for her and her new life there.

So, I always keep in mind, you don’t know the stories people live so take time to listen to them.

Articles reflect the views of the author and or those quoted and do not necessarily represent the views of CCBC or the CCBC Connection.