On International Women’s Day yesterday, my Instagram and Twitter feeds were filled with inspirational memes, profiles of women leaders, and lots of sales aimed at women in honor of their special day (discounted makeup, anyone?). I guess we’ve come a long way…and yet. Our right to an abortion is being taken away by one legislature after another, and outlawing birth control is becoming part of the political conversation. Which begs the question, can you be both handmaid and trailblazer? My state ranks in the top ten for domestic violence and has zero (ZERO) women on its Supreme Court, while nationwide, pay for women has risen only to 82% of that of men, up a whopping 2% from 2002. All of this reminded me of a poignant quote from Sylvia Plath’s journal in 1951: “I want to be able to sleep in an open field, to travel west, to walk freely at night.” It sounds drearily familiar today. The sameness of the talks I had to give both my daughters and the new ones pertinent to my granddaughters is disheartening to say the least. Be careful walking to your car at night; Watch your drink in a bar; Carry mace or a whistle; Stay on your phone in a ride share so someone will know your route; Lock your doors, your car, your windows. And now, try to avoid moving to a red state if you’re childbearing age. Instead of a catchy quote, I’d like a corporation to stand up for me and mine (looking at you, Walgreens). Instead of a “You go, girl,” I’d like a “Go to hell, GOP.” And instead of a rousing t-shirt, I’d like a revolution, please. |
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I love discovering new-to-me authors, and I’ll be looking for anything by Jordan Harper after reading Everybody Knows and his previous novel, She Rides Shotgun (my favorite). They’re both unpredictable mysteries with unique voices, which are hard to find. Also, be on the lookout for In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan, described as highly original, a mystery in which a human detective teams up with an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) to solve a crime. Ordinarily, I avoid speculative, futuristic novels, because they’re often bleak and barren, but the connection between these two detectives sounds so…human. I had to order it from Blackwell’s in the UK because it seems still unavailable here, but I just couldn't wait. |
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I hate the gym, but before I stopped going during the pandemic, I found that the rowing machines were not completely horrible. Knowing I need more than walking and that I’m an exerciser loner, I ordered a rowing machine that looks more like a toy than training equipment. The pro is that it’s small enough for my house, and the con is that it doesn’t fold up out of the way. But it’s only around $100 on Amazon, so I’m willing to take a chance. |
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I discovered the music of Jaimee Harris through the newsletter I subscribe to from Kentucky author Silas House. Recently, he featured the mournful “How Could You Be Gone,” from her album Boomerang in one of his Lenten meditations, and it was like going to the best kind of church. The kind I’ve never found, but the one I imagine. Where there’s no predictable liturgy or dogged dogma, just “sweet airs” and poems and songs about love, loss, and loneliness, about being lost and being found, about falling and failing and the possibility of a bit of redemption now and then…I'd call it The Church of Sweet Old World. |
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