Summer Has Been-

Summer has been –
Cool breezes sitting by blue Lake Michigan. 
Long snoozes during the light of day and 
Lots of good cooking and healthy eating to boot. 

Summer has been –
A Zoom library conference and a visit to an exhibit, in person, 
Along with several written blog posts while immersed in quiet time, 
To think clearly and clean out that mental cache. 

Summer has been –
Reading books and peering into the lives of legends, 
Adding in research to further heighten the awareness. 
Yet taking time to chat with sainted friends and dear ones.

Summer has been –
Stress free. No airports nor jet lag to recoup from.
Just calm evenings listening to noisy cicadas doing their thing. 
A special staycation to regroup and refocus before the onslaught of the new! 

Lynn M. 
August 27, 2022 

Just Listen!

The other day I was talking with a friend about the Michigan library that was defunded over a controversial book. One conversation led to another, and we ricocheted over to a book called Push by Sapphire. A high school librarian shared with me that she had to keep it under lock and key, a few years back. Otherwise, the copies kept disappearing. That speaks volumes about what was on the minds and hearts of those young patrons. 

Push, from which the movie Precious was based, deals with a teen that is being abused by her mother’s mate. The mere fact that so many young women at the high school wanted to keep the book announces that they identified with its main character. They obviously were having similar experiences and often those traumatic emotions are dealt with in isolation along with self-recrimination. 

Too often, the victims are not believed, silenced or shunned by those who they should be able to trust. Some women or mothers do not know how to deal with their daughters’ developing sexuality and certainly cannot face the fact that their beloved mate has a roving eye. It is easier to tuck one’s head inside the turtle shell and act as if it is not going on or to blame the daughter as if she in some way invited the unwelcome attention. 

I recently finished the book Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. When Norma Jeane was about 15, her foster mother married her off to the first man that she could because she did not like the way her husband looked at Norma Jeane. When she became famous, Marilyn Monroe never answered the woman’s letters because she never forgave her for pushing her into marriage to simply get her ‘out of the way.’ Of course, the marriage did not go well. 

It makes me think of the countless stories where women or men have repressed the sordid occurrences and when they try to tell someone in the family, they are often cast off as if they have a plague. In the movie, Prince of Tides, the mother makes all her children keep the secret that they had been sexually assaulted by some escaped convicts. The don’t tell anyone syndrome is as old as the sun. They kept the secret, but it landed the sister under suicide watch in a hospital. 

I read that one star tried to tell her family about her father’s abuse and once again, she was not believed nor taken seriously. Those who refuse to be silent are too often labeled as mentally disturbed or someone who should not be heard. We are not armchair psychologists, but if someone opens up about such a sensitive topic, we can at least listen. It would never occur to me think that anyone would make up anything about abuse. 

That is truly a turtle approach because those who refuse to hear it,” Can’t handle the truth,” as Jack Nicholson shouted in A Few Good Men. Of course, there were no witnesses. Abusers don’t operate in the light of day with an audience. But I can say from working around both young girls and boys, if they are acting out or unusually angry, its often a symptom of something else. If someone took the time to get to the heart of the problem, there just maybe some inappropriate activity taking place somewhere. But most people do not have the time nor mind to delve deep enough to see what is really going on. 

We should listen to both our girls and boys because usually the perpetrator or the one causing the hidden stress is in the next room or somewhere very close by. I would say, “Parents, take off the blinders. Don’t be In Love and In Trouble like the title of one of Alice Walker’s books. Listen. Pay close attention to your child that may be harboring the unthinkable. Get rid of the creep and nurture your God-given gift (your children), so that they can rise to their true potential! 

Lynn M. 
August 20, 2022 

Restore!

If you once built part of your dream,    
And lost the artifacts? Don’t scream. 

There’s an everlasting fountain, 
To help you rebuild your mountain. 

That inner substance within you, 
Will aid in creating things new. 

You either have it, or do not, 
But you do! So, restore your lot! 

Lynn M.
August 19, 2022

Art Remains!

This summer, I have been reflecting on the biopics that are hot topics in 2022. Two legends come to mind which are Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. The new Elvis movie and the upcoming movie called Blonde is based on Joyce Carol Oates’ book Blonde. I recently read and reviewed the book. Both of their lives were tortuous in some ways, which happens too often with our great artists. 

Like the oyster creating that precious and sought-after pearl, the irritations, aggravations and agitations churn together to develop something extraordinary and timeless. The fascination with these two lives never dies and the beauty of technology allows us to revisit them over and over again. Our lives today are much richer because they lived and endured as long as they could withstand the onslaughts.

Nikki Giovanni wrote a Poem for Aretha many years ago. She penned, “We eat up our artists like there is going to be a famine in the end.” She added, “She (Aretha) has to pass out before anyone recognizes she needs a little rest.” Her words spoke volumes then and continue to ring true today as we watch our artists burn out and expire right before our eyes. The list is endless.

Our gifted ones are too often pushed beyond the brink and their bodies give out from exhaustion. Janis Joplin pleaded for some time off but they are seen as cash cows for the big marketeers. Few are protecting their physical and mental heath so that they can rest and rejuvenate like ordinary human beings.

Those in their close inner circles who are now known as their handlers, as if they are livestock, both revere and revile them. Some, harboring hidden envy of their magic, are complicit in their demises by working them like mules. Many may not know that they have private traveling doctors on hand to constantly inject them like inflatable balloons. Then they push them on stage whether they are clothed in their right minds or not. They drown them with pills, indulge them in alcohol, or surround them with their drug of choice, just to keep the dollars flowing. 

The Elvis movie exposed some of this but it did not tell all of the story. After researching, I discovered that while he was technically in Las Vegas, they were still having him perform nightly in cities around the country. Back then, travel alone was an exploitative piece of the puzzle. So, by the time he got to the next city, he may have been gorged out of his mind. And yes, he may have forgotten the lyrics to some of the 450 songs in his repertoire. But, thank goodness, he had Graceland to retreat to where it all ended.

Judy Garland, who started as a child actor has homeless at the end of her journey, according to the movie, Judy. And Marilyn was basically homeless being moved from house to house that the studio provided until she finally had her own house for a few months before she passed on. Both women made millions for the movie industry for which they could never be adequately compensated. In Marilyn’s last days, her make-up artist would paint her white for up to five hours like a porcelain doll to try to conceal the evidence of her ravaged body before she finally made it to rehearsal or onstage because ‘the show must go on!‘

The beauty of it all? The art remains and their work remains. Both obviously had the inner stuff and could put it together like no other. They are simply unmatchable. Young people are Googling them and eyes are still oggling them. This year, a young Hollywood star even wore Marilyn’s iconic dress. Elvis has sold over a billion records, more than anyone else in record industry history. I am certain they enjoyed wearing those high fashions and specially designed pieces on their good days . Elvis and Marilyn are now smiling down from heaven and sighing, “Oh well. It worked out!”

Lynn M.
August 13, 2022

Surely!

We all remember the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare which taught that slow and steady wins the race. It truly applies to the game of life. As people race to the proverbial top, they often trample over others like an unbridled herd of cattle. They are desperadoes who will lie, cheat, steal or slander the names of those who they perceive as in their way as they make a mad dash towards their temporary thrones. 

Shakespeare wrote tragedies like Macbeth and many others as he tried to warn the attentive ones that ‘easy come, easy go. But, as Sonny and Cher sang, “The Beat Goes On.” Folks continue to put their fragile egos ahead of sound thinking or making good choices.

The fruit of one’s labor may appear slowly and take time quite like any maturation process; but it is sure and everlasting. The Bible says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” {Matthew 7:16) Thus, wiser ones take cover and shield themselves when they hear the hoofs of the ensuing stampede. Or they may pull their turtle heads inside of their protective shells and wait for the storm to pass over. For yes, cooler heads do prevail, as they whisper, “Slow and steady win the race,” as their personal mantras.

When the fickle and feckless are no longer walking around in a puffed-up fashion and the coast is clear, those patient, silent ones can quietly emerge from their hidden spaces. They can let out a big sigh of relief and breathe and say, “Ah!! They have stayed the course and remained steadfast and unmovable. Then, they can surely amble their way over to their predestined spots, sit and just be! 

Lynn M.  
August 6, 2022