Write with TLC

As my husband drove our gold Ford F150 Lariat out of Lexington, Kentucky turning off Man O' War Boulevard on to Winchester Road, the landscape changed from stores and businesses to horse farms with black fences and pristine green pastures fronting beautiful homes - the kind of homes reminiscent of the glory days of Kentucky horse farms, large and stately. Horses grazed lazily in the fields swatting flies from their backs with their tails. Humidity laced the air causing our air condition to work harder. I opened my window just a little expecting the scent of overheated horse and manure to waft toward my nostrils. For just a moment, my mind tricked me into believing those odors were there. Those were the smells I remembered from this area. Instead the smell of exhaust mingled with hay and trees. I could no longer taste the freshness of newly cut clover on the air. Traffic whooshed by us interrupting the stillness of the farm community reminding me that progress exists everywhere. In ...

Every time I start to write this I get start hearing George Michael's voice singing "Charity is a coat you wear twice a year" from Praying for Time yet what I want to write about is being thankful... Sometimes I think thankfulness is something we put on like a scarf to go with that charity coat twice a year. I wonder... I wonder... Oh, God, I wonder why is that thankfulness only seems to matter in November? Why is it that charity only seems to matter in December? Why is it that we want peace on Earth and love for all mankind from Thanksgiving to Christmas? Then the rest of the year, we support war and violence and greed while we blame our fellow man for circumstances beyond their control. Why, oh, why? It seems like it's so hard for us to see the world around us through clear eyes. And then I wonder... I wonder... Oh, God, I wonder would we even bother to be thankful that one month a year if we didn't feel obligated   inspired by the approach of Thanksgiv...

Is it ageism? Is it sexism? Is it both? Who gets to decide? With the release of Madonna's latest album, Madame X , there have been a lot of people writing about her in ageist, sexist ways while claiming it's neither ageist nor sexist. If "She's too old to be making pop music. Grandma needs to shut up." isn't sexist and ageist, then what is? She really is a person people love to hate... What exactly is the problem? Is it what she said when she said " I think the most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around."? I've been thinking about this because like Madonna I'm getting older; we all are. I've blogged about Madonna and her music enough for it to be fairly obvious I'm a long time fan.. I've often thought her best work was the work she didn't release as singles. It's those more thoughtful, reflective songs buried under the flash. I've often lamented some of her choices for singles because I thoug...

Waiting for Madonna!! Saturday night, October 17, 2015, I got to do something I'd wanted to do since I was a teenager. I attended a Madonna concert. I'd tried before, but timing, money, life had interfered. This time I was on it. As soon as I found out her Rebel Heart Tour was coming to Portland, I set out to the buy the tickets. I also checked on when she'd be in Kentucky, just in case Portland didn't work out. I figured I could work a family visit around attending the concert.This time I was determined to make it happen. Portland happened! Yeah! (Sorry, Kentucky family and friends.) My husband was a bit concerned that my expectations were too high, and I'd be disappointed. Nope, not even a little bit. I loved every single moment of it. (except the long wait before it started, but I'll let that slide.) I love the  Rebel Heart  album, the explicit version, mind you. No cleaning it up for this girl... Madonna was raw and funny and real. She was pro...