Marrying George Clooney

I know you’ve heard it from me before, “A goddess lives in my community.” I happen to adore my women friends. First, I don’t think there is anything quite as gorgeous or stunning as women supporting & rooting each other on. I grew up in a family where this was not encouraged, inspired, or nurtured. Competition (in it’s most unattractive attire) was the norm.

I never bought into that. Not my style. I decided at a very young age that I would use all my pain and sorrow along with each and every joy and accomplishment to inspire and encourage another person to awaken to their greatness. Whatever I went through, good, bad, happy, joyous, I knew with every fiber in my being, it was so I could help another person get through theirs, or get to theirs. Simple. I kept my word. 30 plus years later. I kept me word. Not a day goes by.

We seem to be living in a time, along with our communities, where intolerance and disrespect and bullying (HATE) —  for the most part, right now – is the norm.  You know, dog eat dog.

Well, there’s a new (okay, not so new) girl goddess in town and her name is Rebecca Lindsay and boy oh frickin’ boy does she stand tall and say it like it is, and more than that – more than that – she is what all girls hope to be: she is calm, assured, peaceful, sexy, quiet with just enough edge. Wisdom with just enough wit. She’s smart and sassy and can whip you mentally in a flash. Intelligence — it seems — had a make-over.  In other words, she’s a FEMINIST’S feminist. True Blue, straight forward. Recently we were chatting about the first amendment – freedom of speech. I of course know enough about the law and the legal system to fill a thimble, or to be more honest, half a thimble. She knows plenty. On a corner, not far from where we live in town, a poster is prominently displaced – PRESIDENT OBAMA, a noose tied around his neck along with some horrific nonsense scribbled pretending to be words of any significance at the bottom of the poster. Basically, the point is: let’s hang the motherfucker. Rebecca, in her very passionate sexy quiet way explains why this is the basis for a hate crime, but what I hear, what gets me is when she says:

THIS IS OUR PRESIDENT. It’s just unacceptable.

Unacceptable – with a hint of southern charm, for whatever reason, gives it a bit more of a kick. the kind of kick you pay attention to. It has weight to it.

This is when I knew she was a goddess.

For months, along with some other amazing women slash goddesses, she had been living with the possibility of hope that the promise of great books would line walls and computers would find their way on to new desks, and opportunities would pop up left and yes right to open minds, was not too far off the horizon. They were calling it a library. And for a brief moment it seemed all so possible.

But then that dream died somewhere on the vine and unfortunately, like some grapes that remain, a few went sour.

I don’t know her well. I know she’s smart & sexy & brilliant & funny & my husband likes her plenty. I know that she has a heart and soul and fights to keep both intact. I know she is patient and persistent. I know she loves her husband, her daughter and cherishes the importance of community. Hers is a community filled with diversity, unique voices, choices, healthy disagreements and growth as the desired outcome.

She fought for the town I live in – to be better educated, more informed, well served, healthier, and much more open minded.

It was a hard fight.

She fought hard.

Goddesses fight hard. They’ll say they don’t, they’ll shake their head and shake it off, but trust me, they fight harder than most and feel the disappointment on a visceral level.

Never mind that she was tested.

The point is, a good woman will always rise.

They will stand tall, speak their mind, step out of the way, re-assess, re-think and more often than not, they never ever go back to the first line, craning their neck to see what’s happening up front.

They start a new line.

Going back to the end of the line is a waste of time.

One must start a new line.

And if you’re a true blue Goddess… there are bound to be others, plenty, who are just waiting, waiting to join and stand along with you.

There is a Goddess in my community, and I adore her for making us all feel a bit taller, a bit smarter, a bit more passionate and truth be told, a bit more trusting in the irrefutable power of women.