She Still Looks Good...For Her Age

Over the weekend, a commentator made a remark heard around the world from the London Olympic Games, perhaps you heard the soundBITE (hence the spelling and CAPS). If not, it was stated something about the competitor and being sexy. How bout that? You think a point could been given for such a talent at such a prestigious and well-respected sporting event? Being sexy? Hum. Or even worse, a deduction for the lack thereof? Preposterous. Here's the kicker, what if I would have heard that same remark watching an event such as the Olympic Games let's say, 15 years ago? Would I have even noticed...much less cared? Sadly, I doubt it.

It made me think of a part in the movie, Waiting to Exhale, you may remember it. The movie centered around four middle aged women and the man troubles they were having..and among other things mid-life females deal with. In one scene, a character, Whitney Houston, portrayed a woman named Savannah in the film. Anyway, she and the three girlfriends are sitting together, talking, drinking, laughing...and Savannah says,  "I'm 36 years old, and I STILL look good"...in an tipsy state, but it's very funny. She wants to convince herself and her peers...she's still, in fact, looks just as good as possibly the younger version of what she once was. I use that line...all the time, doing the same thing that Houston did in that scene. Convincing myself and those around me that my age doesn't effect my looks and it doesn't bother me...well, not that  much. It's humorous. I also, using that line, but omitting the age, tell my mid-age girlfriends and guy friends that as well...usually when they reach yet another birthday. BUT, I don't say it to the ones I don't think STILL look good...mean, I know. I'm like that. But, I still try to make 'em feel better (with something similar to that)...like a twisted term of endearment. They don't need my approval for their outward appearance, no harm no fowl and no one is the wiser. If they flat out ask me about themselves... if they need to lose weight or perhaps make other changes, I tell them that to. They asked, if they didn't want the truth...then they should not have asked me.

Final and last point of reference....how bout this line, "She still looks good for her age." What in the hell kinda line is that? To me, that's like saying an older car still runs like it did the day they drove it off the lot. Drives like a dream, interior still in pretty good shape, body of the exterior and the paint job still looking newly washed and waxed and engine starts right up every single time. Don't say it to me...I take offense to it, and you should too. Just say, she/he STILL looks good. Period. Appreciate that, leaving age aside.

There are tons and I mean tons of songs/videos portraying what is sexy. I'm not listing them here. You know what they are. I've never been in one of the videos, as a matter of fact, never seen any of you on the screen either. BUT, we STILL look good. :)

This is one of my all time favorite songs, the first time I heard it...I was in the car with my daddy years ago. It's one of his favorites to this day and mine as well. It's an on-going joke between us. We automatically (on cue) go into a verse when looks are put on the table. Not that he or I are vain...nope, not at all. Why  would you think that is what I was implying?

Now, go buy some face cream, diet foods and hit the gym on your way home today!

I said, No, No, No!

This week marks the one year anniversary of the sudden death of Amy Winehouse. She was a brilliant breath of fresh air in music with a noticeable jazz influence, which I loved. She was something new and interesting in a world of  full of copycats...again, which I loved. Immensely talented all on her own and performed with music greats such as Tony Bennett. But solo, she had a voice and immeasurable with immense talent which easily allowed her to stand all on her own. I had her Rehab ringtone on my cell for months....then after she passed, I made it my ringtone again. She had been troubled by both alcohol and drug usage. She died at 27 years of age from acute alcohol poisoning.

When someone famous dies it sends reverberations throughout our culture. Perhaps because it makes us reflect on our own mortality. I began thinking of other artists who have tried to fight the battle of addiction, some entering rehabs numerous times...others never seeking help. Some dying before they ever reached their 30th birthday.

Jimi Hendrix
Janis Joplin
Jim Morrison
Bradley Novell (Sublime)
Hillel Slovak (RHCP)
Shaonnon Hoon (Blind Melon)
Hank Williams
Bon Scott (AC/DC)
Mike Starr (Alice and Chains)
Keith Whitley
Whitney Houston
Michael Jackson
Sid Vicious (Sex Pistols)

You get the jist, the entire page of this blog would be full if I listed each death... using columns of three...possible four or five. Seriously though, tragic overdoses cut the  lives short of some great musical icons today and yesterday. Artists who inspire, continue to inspire and since I am a gambling woman...I'd put money on it that they will inspire future generations. Embracing greatness, individual artists who may have not been understood on a personal level in life or after death...but we understand each of them when we hear their music. Irregardless of the genre they represented...understanding is ever-present.

Thus, reminding us that they would never walk back into a recording studio, write a lyric, walk onto a stage in front of their fans or record another track (except maybe for Tupac)...he apparently had much more to say to all of us, so he had lots more recordings in stock and in store for us. Yes, I know he was shot...it was a minimal joke of tastelessness (my friends who read this will see the humor...they have twisted humor too, not a crime) but hope no offense is taken. I happened to like Tupac...hell, Biggie, too!

RIP to those who said good-bye too soon.

A Cold and Broken Hallelujah

For most of us we reach or look to a song or an anthem that fits just us, reach for something that may comfort us in our darkest of hours. It may be the lyrics, the composition or what not...that seeks to give us something to be inspired by. Looking onward, upward...forward and forgetting the present day and hurtful parts of ones past however painful, but tying to move on as time goes on, and hope for healing of our heartbreak. Ironically, many of us don't seek comfort when we are personally flourishing. Rarely, if at all many, (not all) but many of us don't reach out and say thank you Lord, for each blessing....great and small, those times are few and go unnoticed or unseen in our finest of hours. I'm guilty of that.

I have never considered myself to be religious, but consider myself a spirited believer of something...someone greater than myself, Jesus Christ our Lord. That's my belief. But seemingly, I have been angry with God for quite sometime...lost my faith, damaged my spirit, perhaps blaming God, because things had not been going just like I wanted them to. Selfish. Lost. Indecisive. Uncertainty within myself, of global proportions....in times that were anything BUT certain when looking at my life and my future.

Now, I'm not inferring that I've seen the light, what I am saying is that I am reaching with greater strength from the depths of a certain darkness. God...not to blame for my shortfalls. Family, not to blame. My marriage and the reassessment therein, not at fault. Economic downfall of our nation...not to blame. The blame lies with one, me...and only me. My faith may have faltered...but God never did. He was patiently waiting...blessed for that. Thankful.

I have never believed that FB is a platform for religious beliefs being pushed on others within this public forum. Same for political views...I'm left, maybe you're right. It doesn't matter how you stack it here on FB or otherwise... if you want me to change my viewpoints and my political beliefs, I will not. Nor do I feel its fair for me to push my religious/political beliefs, etc. onto any of you. I will not.

So, why did I instantly awaken at 2:30am this morning thinking about God and the church? Perhaps it is because within the coming hours my family of 4 and I will be preparing to attend the church of our choice. For whatever the reason, I am sitting in the office of my home and blogging at 4:30am. Maybe this blog is my letter to those who are still searching for the faith they need in their own lives...not getting their "happy back"...but wishing, hoping, praying to get their "spirit back". Even more so, maybe its my letter to God himself...letting him know that I realize his hand has been placed upon me this entire time, unbeknownst to me. Thanking him for his guidance... all the times I had not sought it.

This song came to mind, and I wanted to share it with each of you...religious or not. It's beautiful perfection, and many artists have performed it flawlessly. I hope you each have a song that is your beautiful perfection of faith and hope.

While in sorrow - Psalm 14                                                   
When you have sinned - Psalm 51                                             
When you are bitter or critical - Corinthians 13                        
When lonley or fearful - Psalm 23 

Could You Spare Some Change?

One of my favorite series, that I have been watching on Netflix, is called Nip/Tuck, perhaps some of you have seen it. At first assumption, the viewer believes the drama to be about the imperfections of the outer body and how plastic surgery can make one feel better, look better, etc and that that will make the difference that they have been longing for in their lives. Somehow, perfection on the outside will make whats inside better as a result of going under the knife. It doesn't. It's just a temporary band-aid for the change that they were initially searching for. If you followed the drama, you see inside the lives of the surgeons/friends/family and the changes that they go through in their own lives, the pain they endure, heartache, happiness, sorrows...it creates a perfect symmetry, ironically. Symmetry that is not in a breast augmentation, nose job, face lift, bot-ox injections or countless liposuction procedures. Symmetric in the sense that many of us strive for that perfect life, equilibrium that we dare anyone to fluctuate, good looks, great job, our life...everything we want and it has to be perfect. That's why it's a called a drama...irony again, perhaps. Real life plays out as a drama...but we have no script.It's unscripted with no do-overs...no "out-takes" or editing that shows all of us in our best light. No best light in real life...kind of a bitch, but that's what we get. For most, we make the best of what we are dealt..and play the hand to win. Imperfections is okay...as long as there are perfect moments along the way.

I have been going through many life changes, some good...some not-so-good, and I have not always dealt with change in the most dignified fashion. So what...neither have many of you. But I have come to realize that change is what we make of it. You want to lose weight? Exercise and eat right. You want to quit smoking? There are programs, meds, therapies that will help assist you in doing just that. You think you drink to much (not referring to coffee or sodas), then make those changes accordingly...cut back, quit or keep going at the rate you are currently...change is your choice.

My point being, change is you and you are the power of that change. Can you ever look 22 again if you're currently 42 years old? Doubt it. All the plastic surgery in the world can't make that a realistic happening. BUT you can change what you acknowledge, and that has nothing to do with outward appearances. For the longest time, as long as I can recall, I have refused to change things within my own life...but I couldn't change anything, because I never acknowledged it. Now, I welcome change...and whatever it implies.
Change can be very life enriching and even liberating.

There are some great songs that refer to change and the meaning for the artists who wrote/sang the lyrics.  When it comes to change in ones own life, songs can be a great remedy for the listener... anthems, if you will.

* Changes - Olivia-Newton John (family and divorce)
* Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson (in order to change anything else, change yourself first)
* A Change Will Do You Good - Sheryl Crow (change is JUST what you need)
* Leaving on a Jet Plane - John Denver (someone facing change, new commitments)
* Changes - David Bowie (lyrics are in reference to the artists own persona and individual change)

There's an old saying that states: nothing endures, but change.
You can't carry it with you...so change if you must. 

It Was 1990 Somethin'

For the last couple of weeks, I had been contemplating what my next blog would be. I kept coming back to the Class of 1992 and the upcoming 20 year reunion. For reasons I wish not to disclose, I will not be in attendance...God willing, maybe for the 25th reunion of the class, I will be present.

In regard to the passing of 20 years and where we all are now, where we wish we were, where we hope to be (at some point) in our own individual lives...those "real life" thoughts almost seem to be non-existent when one begins becoming reminiscent of the past and what we left there. What was it we left during those years? Hopefully, a mark. A mark only we know...one that only we recognize. Stories, lots of great stories. Memories, that only we share. It really goes without saying, those may not have been the "best" years of our lives...but there were some of the best times that in many instances may have been mistakes...but those mistakes made for a helluva story years later. I think the whole what happens here stays here must be an underlying understanding between most of us. Or maybe, don't ask, don't tell (but in a different context), you get what I'm expressing.

Think about how many "firsts" we shared. We got braces on our teeth, we didn't really like our parents much, detention, we fell in love for the first time, we all began driving around the same time, prom, skipping school, it's when we drank our first beer, it's where we made friendships that lasted up until the present day...if we are that lucky. The music we listened to may have not always been current, but we all had our favs...songs I hear (to this day) that take me to that place...that time.

But here is a long list of songs from a year that was our last together...all of us.
http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1992.htm

I wish to dedicate this blog to the Corbin High School, Class of 1992. In addition, it is my hope that each of you, who are attending this year's reunion, remember only the best about the classmates we unfortunately were forced to say good-bye to...too soon. Once a "Redhound"....always a "Redhound", and I am so fortunate to have made so many wonderful friendships countless memories that we made in that building we couldn't wait to leave on 1901 Snyder Street.

I thought about adding our class song, but it was too sad. I thought it appropriate to close with this one.