This Is A Man’s World
March 31, 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCIyzNISw1Q
posted by Sara Hickman at 06:52 am
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Living in Love
Reverend John Powell
Loyola University
TUESDAY
Met with my dear friend, Margaret, and we had lunch at Cafe Josie, one of my favorite Austin spots. Margaret has been traveling and teaching for many years now, and has decided to end her overseas jaunts and be a force here at home for awhile. It is always exciting to hear about London or India or wherever she has been. Margaret has a very cute nose and sparkling eyes. And interesting jewelry! And whenever I get to sit with Margaret for awhile, I feel at peace because I’m with another woman who is sharing her passion and so we can laugh and cry and rib each other while supporting one another’s visions and hopes. They say it is lonely at the top, but I think that is only true if you have been forgetting the joy of friendship/family on the way “up”. Now that I think about it, instead of trying to get to “the top of the heap”, I guess I’ve always thought of success as spreading OUT and ALONGSIDE … Maybe there needs to be a new phrase. I don’t have a quick idea of what that new phrase could be. I’ll have to put some thought into it. Hmm.
Tuesday night, there was a meeting here at my house with a host of incredible folks. We are in the process of creating a children’s television show, and this, too, has grown out and alongside with a team that has been built through time and patience.
WEDNESDAY
Got up early to catch a flight to Houston, where I was picked up by the effervescent Kelly. She drove me about thirty minutes out to Chapelwood, a school for children that had more play areas than I have ever seen one school have…all nestled within a giant Methodist church. I sang for 350 children, age 3 months to 6 years. We had a ball! And, afterwards, Kelly was thoughtful to have put together a luncheon, so I hung out with the teachers and staff, all women!, and we had a lovely time chatting and laughing. Dancer for the day: Tamara, who hopped right up on the stage and looked like an angel, boogieing all in white pants and top and even white flip flops with giant white cloth flowers between the toes!
Hopped in the car, drove back across town to the airport, just in time! They were calling my name at the gate as boarding was DONE! Ay yi yi!
Whew. Sat down for some shut eye on the flight back to Austin.
Got a call Wednesday night with a request to come and sing for my friend, Veronique, the next morning for a “Today Show” segment, could I come? “We know it’s last minute but it would mean a lot to Veronique (as a surprise)”, they said, so I juggled some things immediately, excited to go see my friend and celebrate her surprise!
THURSDAY
Veronique is a woman I have known for, at least, twelve years. We have braved many storms together. From money to men, we’ve supported one another through some tough times. And Veronique had the toughest: she had a double mastectomy about five years ago, and the pain was grueling. We were all shocked when the news was announced because Veronique is one of those women who is all muscle and farm-tan skin
and long hair and bright, shocking blue eyes. She looks like the picture of strength and excellent health. She built her farmhouse. She rode horses. She always spoke out and forcefully. A woman who is happening! I don’t think anyone was more surprised, of course, than Veronique when the news of the cancer came back to her. After the surgery and much, much pain and depression, a little horse came into her world: Toby. And from Toby sprang an idea…Veronique started saving miniature horses, or “minis”, and began taking the horses to rehab, retirement centers and schools to help nurture people. The “Today Show” came down and filmed a piece on her about three years back, and then brought the horses and Veronique up to New York for a segment. It was an exciting time!
So, today, many years later, the tv crew was finishing up a follow up segment they had been working on for three days…and they were planning on surprising Veronique with a visit from Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, who would be bestowing a “Queen for a Day” award upon her! And V’s friends wanted me to come and sing her a song….so, packed up, I headed out to Niederwald, about thirty minutes outside Austin, knowing I had to be back in Austin and pick up Kristin by 10 am to drive the opposite direction, Round Rock, to sing at Dell at 11:30. I had been assured the night before I’d be done by 9:30 so I could head back to Austin….AH… You can just see where this is headed, can’t you?
First, I got lost out in Niederwald, but found my way, finally, to the farm….I hadn’t been out in two years or so…
Got to the farm and was immediately informed the producers didn’t want me to sing because they thought I was showing up for publicity only. (Ok, that hurt, and confused me, since I’d been asked to come out! but I said ok, no problem, I still wanted to give Veronique a hug and a hello
and sing just to her since I had just driven all the way out…)
Found Veronique, who was in a lot of pain, inside her house, with about thirty of her friends/volunteers waiting outside, knowing the Duchess was coming…..and hugged V and consoled her, tears on her cheeks. I could see she was overwhelmed from having the cameras at her home for three days, and she was tired. But she wanted me to come out and get on camera to say sweet things about her children, who I love very much but don’t get to see often, and I was trying to redirect her and say, “No, no, I want to just sit here, quietly with you, sing you a comfort song…” cuz I could see the sound guy from “Today” looking at me and I was trying to not get anyone upset or go against anyone’s wishes without letting Veronique know what all was happening… but next thing I know, Veronique and I are outside in the pen, my heels in mucky poop (ha ha! that’s what I get for dressing for Dell and visiting a farm same morning!) and she is telling everyone I am her dear friend and calling the cameras over and begging me to sing her a song and I am thinking I was just told by a SECOND person affiliated with the show that the producer had NOT wanted me to sing and I was in a quandry because a) I wanted to sing for Veronique b) I was asked to sing for Veronique c) I was here with Veronique and so I sang. Cuddled up next to V on a feeding trough, little horses nudging my arms and legs with V’s tears streaming down her face, all her friends standing around in love and support, and it was so emotional and I was trying not to concentrate on anything but staying balanced on the trough and giving V all the love I could, my voice cracking, trying not to get emotional myself.
Now it was 10:00 a.m., and I kissed V and some friends and ran down the muddy road to my car, where I then sat, quietly, as the Duchess of York passed by outside my car window, leading two minis on leads up the winding path to Veronique’s farm. I was smiling so big. What an amazing gift for Veronique! All the while, I was excitedly relating via cell phone what the Duchess was wearing to Kristin. (I had called to explain why I was now late in picking her up.)
The Duchess’ hair was coppery red, and she was TINY, maybe 5’ 4. She had on black striped tights and a copper raincoat to match her hair, and she was being followed, slowly and at length away, by a giant black limo van, so as the camera crew passed by with Lady Ferguson behind my parked van, I finally was able to start up, back up and head down the road to the paved road which led, many, many miles later, back onto the highway and on to Kristin.
We reached Dell at 11:10, and I would like to thank Annabelle, who hired me, for being so calm and supportive! That show was so much fun…we played in the food court to lots of hungry Dell employees, and Kristin even did an intervention on one gentleman who had his laptop open the whole show. She asked him to relax and shut the dang thing! So he did, and everyone in the lunchroom cheered! Hooray! Also met a great woman named Dawnrita (I hope I got that right) and we talked about WISE, a group of Dell women that I’m looking forward to meeting, who, taking a full circle back to the top of the page, know and love Margaret, who has worked with them all for many years.
Next: left Dell, and I’d like to thank the sky for holding back the rain so we could get to the van!, and took Kristin home, then on to Tequila Mockingbird to drop in on Marty with a hug (and a super conversation on politics), and then down the street to KUT where I taped a radio program for Teresa Ferguson called “Playing Favorites”, in which I got to play DJ for an hour, introducing and spinning songs of my choice. I’ll let you know when that is going to air.
FRIDAY
Got up at 5 am and flew to Dallas to perform at “Ray of Sunshine”, an event/fashion show for kids with cancer, and the kids get to be in the fashion show, escorted down the runway by celebrities. These kids are so brave and present, and they had a long day and never complained.
There were makeup/hair stylists to get all the kids looking extra special, and they were dressed to the nines wearing clothes that are bought just for the event!, and there were clowns back stage making wacky balloon hats for everyone, keeping the kids entertained while we waited for the program to start. Imagine, these kids show up around 7 or 8 am, and the event didn’t even start until noon! But there was yummy food and tables and chairs, so folks could sit and relax, too. Let’s see, who was there….um, I don’t know this show, but a lot of adults were excited that the producers of “Prison Break” were there; Emmitt Smith and Roger Staubach and Troy Aichman (sorry if I have those names misspelled!) and Miss Texas and lots of tv/radio personalities and Stephen Baldwin. I escorted a really awesome teenager named Orpha, and by magic, we matched in our attire…a sort of layered t-shirt, skinny pant and high-heeled clogs look. I sat and talked with Orpha and another very nice young lady, and we waited…and waited…whoo, it was a long time coming! I realized, before we went out, that the runway was l-o-n-n-g, and we needed a plan, so I asked Orpha what she thought about carrying some heart shaped balloons out on the runway, and throwing them out to the audience. She like that, so I went over to the clowns, and they made us these cool sticks with five heart shaped balloons each. So, Orpha and I smiled the length of our walk, dropping red and white love along the way. Then, at the finale, I came out and sang “Always a Saint” and then “I Wish You Well” with all the children gathered around me, singing along. It was a love filled way to end the musical aspect of my week. So, thank you to Rhonda for inviting me to be a part of Ray of Sunshine.
IN CONCLUSION
Ok. That was my last couple of days! They won’t all be so action packed, this week just happened to be. And the best part is that everyone who has been sick here at home is well, and the days of spring are here, and the rain has turned Austin into a green wonderland, birds all a -twitter and the scent of young grass and heavy Mountain Laurel in the air.
posted by Sara Hickman at 05:39 am
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Help the Homeless in Texas ASAP
March 29, 2007
In a 5-0 vote, the bill was “voted out of committee” and sent to the floor of the Texas Senate. There it will be debated on Monday or Tuesday next week and then voted upon by the entire Senate.
If you are from Texas, click on this link:
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/senmem.htm
Locate your senator, then call and say- (substituting your personal information):
“Hello, this is . I’m from the city of , Texas. My zip code is . Please ask the Senator to vote FOR SB 536 to protect Homeless people against violence. Thank You.”
You can also email your Senator, if that’s easier. Go to http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/Members.htm, find your SENATOR, click on his/her name, then scroll down to their email form. If you’re not sure who you Senator is, scroll down to “Who Represents Me” on the first page (http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/Members.htm) and fill it out.
Adding homelessness to the Texas hate crimes bill with NOT be easy. It will at the very least however, require that you and I take this definitive, yet simple action. Time is about to run out. We anticipate a vote as early as Monday at 11:00 am. Thank you.
In Unity There is Strength,
Richard R. Troxell
posted by Sara Hickman at 02:22 am
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Goodbye to Larry Bud Melman
March 27, 2007
By Tom Shales
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 26, 2007; C01
Larry “Bud” Melman is gone. But he was only sort of half-there to begin with.
A frumpy and cherubic little file clerk whose real name was Calvert DeForest, Melman was used as a kind of human prop and punch line during the years that David Letterman starred in “Late Night” on NBC and, less frequently, on Letterman’s subsequent CBS “Late Show” as well.
When Letterman made the move in 1993, NBC lawyers declared the name Larry “Bud” Melman to be that network’s “intellectual property,” so DeForest used his real name from then on. Whether as Melman or DeForest, the genial, open-to-anything fellow would do the daffiest stunts, wear outlandish get-ups (though he was most often seen in a plain black suit) and join in playing pranks on unsuspecting New Yorkers — and on himself.
On March 19, Calvert DeForest died at 85. His fame had begun at 60. Larry “Bud” Melman is his own intellectual property now.
Tonight, Letterman plans to pay tribute on “Late Night” to the show’s former and at one time most popular cast member. Letterman was absent several nights last week because of illness, a 103-degree fever, and NCAA basketball games.
“Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character,” Letterman said in a statement last week, “but in reality, he was just himself — a genuine, modest and nice man. To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him.”
Ironically, Letterman hosted a mock eulogy to Melman way back on the fifth anniversary of his NBC series. Producers prepared a touching tribute — actually a satire of schmaltzy showbiz eulogies — and the sentimental song “The Way We Were” was played. But then suddenly DeForest burst onto the stage shouting that he wasn’t dead and to stop the memorial service right there.
Then he did his wacky, head-tossed-back laugh, never believable yet always contagious. He wasn’t an actor to say the least, or the most, but he could summon up from nowhere this crazy cackle of fiendish delight. He could also seem dizzily solemn; he appeared at the start of the first Letterman show to deliver a warning to the audience — especially the fainthearted among them — about the show that lay ahead. It was a nearly word-for-word parody of the pre-credit speech from the original “Frankenstein” movie in 1932.
From that auspiciously inauspicious beginning, Melman’s role became larger and larger. He was supposedly president of Melman Bus Lines, and often the show would end with his announcement that “This has been a Melman Production.”
And for some mysterious reason, the audience adored him. “I guess we’ve had more comment on him than on any other single aspect of the show,” Letterman said in 1983, at the height of Melmania.
“What it is, I don’t know,” DeForest said during a visit to Washington. “Maybe I relate to people — as somebody’s father, or uncle, or what have you. I really have no idea.” At the time, DeForest was hanging on to his day job because he wasn’t sure the Letterman gig would last.
Asked why Melman seemed so “strangely appealing,” Letterman said, “Well, I’m surprised to hear you use the word ‘appealing’ and not at all surprised to hear you use the word ‘strangely.’ ” In words similar to last week’s statement, Letterman said, “It’s always sort of quizzical; is he a guy playing a character, or is that really the way he is? He’s an average sort of fellow that people are unsure of.”
Over the years Melman perpetrated many fluffs and goofs on Letterman’s NBC series. For a “Christmas in July” show, Melman was dressed as Santa Claus and told to read a story to a group of children. He was handed a book just before air time, but when it was time for the sketch, he opened the book and looked at it in horror. “This must be Spanish,” he said. Then he just kept repeating “ho ho ho” and “Merry Christmas” over and over, Letterman laughing at how wonderfully wrong things had gone.
It turns out the prop department had assumed Melman would be reading his story to the kids from cue cards and so figured any old book would do as a prop. But there were no cue cards. And DeForest’s book was entirely in French, not Spanish. Yet he pressed gamely on.
“That’s one thing I admire about Larry,” Letterman said later. “He always gives it a shot as opposed to just throwing up his hands.” Melman said, “He loves it when I fluff things,” and Letterman said, “Some nights you can see the first domino go, and after that it’s just chasing a truck downhill. But when that happened to Larry, I knew we were onto something great.”
Asked if he minded that the audience laughed at him rather than with him, DeForest said with a smile, “No, I don’t mind. As long as they get enjoyment from it, I don’t care.” They got tremendous enjoyment, and so did DeForest from his arbitrary and unlikely stardom.
Calvert DeForest was stalwart, undaunted and, in his own way, courageous. He wasn’t unflappable, but watching him flap could be hilarious. His fame seemed to mock the whole idea of pop idols and to represent the triumph of ineptitude — but he was in fact a great success: He increased the amount of laughter in the world.
posted by Sara Hickman at 07:28 am
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From Sand to Snow and Home Again
March 22, 2007
BACKWARDS TIME FRAME:
Starting with yesterday, Wednesday, March 22:
Went to Super!Alright to film two new videos…one for kids and one for adults. It was an all day shoot, but Ralph of Blue Tractor is incredibly professional and had his shot sheets all prepped. We rented gear from Gear, including a mammoth sky backdrop. This is all you get to know for now. But if you are on my newsletter list, you’ll get a special sneak preview when the videos are ready!
Then, last night, the whole family went to Lily’s first volleyball game of the season. Oh, it was close: first game was 6-25 (our loss)….second game, closer! 24-25! I wanted to cheer, “Go….” with a team name, but the official name had not been announced. They are the Killer Whales. I was thinking they might go with the Dominoes in those black and white outfits, or the Oreos, re: iolana’s suggestion. Now I’ll have to yell out, “Go, Killlllaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzz!” Is that ok for a mom to yell at young girls behind a net?
Going backwards to Sunday, March 18….
Flew to Philadelphia on American Airlines, which used to be what I considered the classiest airline, but…sadly…no more. All the flight attendents seemed to think all the passengers were hicks with stewed prunes for brains. I couldn’t believe how annoyed they were with us. And, trust me, we were a quiet group, what with everyone wearing iPods or working on their lap tops or watching their in-flight movie with headsets on….We were easy breezy! So, when I asked for some ice for the warm cup of cranberry juice, the flight attendant rolled her eyes (it was not my imagination), took back my nearly overflowing cup and gingerly plopped two sarcastic ice cubes into the drink. She sat it down in front of me as I burst out laughing, rolling on with her cart and bad attitude. Whatcha gonna do? It was pretty funny. Those sad ice cubes!
Anyhoo, I got to Philly and it was bright with snow and sunshine. Rob Litowitz’s daughter, Dana, picked me and Kelly Willis up and took us down to baggage. Kelly’s back was partying in the back somewhere and took a while to show up, so I bought some water for each of us out of a cool vending machine with a robotic arm thingy that made me buy another water, just so I could watch it work. Now that is a stupendous use of technology. I guess that explains why they can now charge $2 for a bottle of water (or Coca-Cola.) My goal is to someday own one of those old gas station coke machines where you deposit a DIME and open the long, skinny glass door and MANUALLY pull out a skinny-necked smaller glass bottle of Orange Crush. Now THAT’S a drink! AND entertainment, by golly. (Can’t you just hear the summer cicadas buzzing in the background and the smell of Alabama dirt in the hot, dry air as you gulp your refreshing, ice cold drink down?!)
Got to the hotel. A very nice Hampton Inn. We picked up Nathaniel (Dana’s beau) and Chuck Prophet while at the airport. I had in my mind all these years that Chuck was an old black blues singer. He is a cross between Aimee Mann and Todd Rundgren in straight legged shiny black fancy pants. (I KNOW you are trying to picture that.)
We ended up that night at the College of New Jersey and performed for the Parkinsong event: me, Kelly, Chuck and Ana Egge. It was a blast, but way too short in my mind. Everyone was just terrific! I think we could have gone around at least another hour, really. The fun aspects:
Hearing Chuck sing and his songs. I really, really enjoyed that. His voice is soothing and rumbling. He has an interesting way of capturing lyrics, and I liked his guitar playing very much.
Having Richard Kind emcee the event. He is the man with black hair/eyes and the square jaw who was on the tv show, “Spin City,” with Michael J. Fox. He was funny, and even funnier backstage with his nervous worries about whether or not he was funny enough. Personally, I was glad he talked about Michael. That was touching and that says more about him, his ability to pull you in, than anything funny can do, really. And the event was to raise money for Parkinson’s research because Rob’s mother had Parkinson’s, and she taught at this college, and Richard and Jon Stewart and many others were her students. A very magical night. I will try to get some photos from the event and post them here.
Hanging with Ana again. I hadn’t seen her since the last time I hopped on stage at the Cactus Cafe and sang “Edelweiss” with her, many years back. She has such an aching voice! And she’s a fine guitarist, not only as a player, but built her own, too!
Of course, one can never say enough nice things about Kelly Willis. She is graceful and lovely, and her voice is unique and magical and childlike and womanly all at once. Plus, we had some great conversations in the airport about God
and church and kids and singing with our husbands…
And a BIG THANK YOU to Mary Robinson and Nancy for driving in from so far away (3 hours). They yelled out “TRAIN SONG!” so I got to rumble! And then they graciously hung out at the meet and greet afterwards, where I put chocolate shavings on Nancy’s hot coffee saucer and they melted and it did not look right at all. We ate some divine desserts and met Richard Kind’s kind parents, and his sister. (They are all now referred to by me as Father Kind, Sister Kind, Mother Kind…you get the jist.) Later, Mary insisted on driving me back to the hotel, which I debated because I knew they had to drive home and then get up and go to work!, but she said yes yes yes and I said yes yes yes because if you know Mary you’d say yes, too! She’s the sweetest soul, truly, so me, Mary and Nancy piled into their car with my guitar across my knee and we drove…and drove…and I would say things like, “Hmm…yes! This is the right way! That looks like the houses we passed by earlier!” and then there was more driving until all the snow and dark of night seemed to start looking the same and the driving went on and I would say “Please stay over in my hotel…I don’t want you driving 3 hours in the dark!” and they’d say no no no and we’d laugh and drive and finally we pulled over and I called the hotel and then wouldn’t you know it a police officer flashing lights whoo whoo up behind us and walking towards the car and now Mary has the phone and she was so calm! I would have hurredly hung up the phone and brushed my hair and been at ATTENTION! for the officer, but she leans out the window into his dazzling overboard flashBEAM and says, “HiWe’reLostandTalkingTotheHotel..” and he says, “Oh, the Hampton Inn?” and she is done by now and disconnects the phone and he points us to the hotel…um, right on the other side of the high way. Oh, that was funny! But the best part is he didn’t give us a ticket, not that we deserved one, but that is what I was expecting. Isn’t that sad? I see a police officer and I feel scared. I remember as a kid I saw one and felt safe. And so, a big shout out of gratitude to our police hero in New Jersey in the snow and cold from three lost, but found, women who have nothing but good intent up their sleeve, I swear!
So, back at the event before we left, I was telling Richard’s parents how much I love Rosemary Clooney and they said, “Oh, we knew Rosemary!” If I had dentures in I would have dropped them, that’s how happy I was! So we talked about Rosemary and then they mention her nephew was the best man at Richard’s wedding, and I look at them quizzically, and they say, “Oh, Richard’s best friend….you know, George Clooney!” Ok, so you can pick YOUR dentures up. I am now
one Kevin Bacon away from George Clooney! Isn’t that cool? I have to say, though, Richard’s sister, Sister Kind, was one of my favorite meets that night. Her joy is so evident, and she has lovely teeth. I must have hugged her at least 7 times. It was a beautiful event. Thank you, Rob, for having me on the cd and including me in the concert. I’d love to do it again!
BACK FURTHER IN TIME…
To the night before this event…
Saturday, March 17
We flew home from St. Thomas…the four of us in my family…after a week on the island…We had flown down for my performance at the Arts Alive!’s series at Tillet Garden. Which, I believe, was sold out and so so so so much FUN. Fun is not a big enough, nor long enough, word for all the festivities and whamma-dimma-ling-long we had there. You must go to Tillet Garden should you ever be in that vacinity! Little art shops and candle shops and delicious food and trees and flowers and, well doncha know, live music! All the way from Texas!
Teresa, my monkey butt friend (long story!), and Kristin deWitt (pal and superb vocalist), Kristin’s best friend, Ann, and Eddy Hobizal (plays keys with us and all over my albums) also all came down. So they had some yummy drinks during their stay at the Mafolie…a terrific hotel that looks out over the whole of the islands. I’ll find pics, yes, I will, and I will post them for your eyes to feast upon HERE.
My arm is starting to cramp, so here is the run down of this fun week:
My family stayed with one of my longest best friends, Alice French, at their mountaintop home. Joe is Italian, drives a Harley, and is a pilot for UPS. He can COOK like no body’s business, so we are all overweight now. Alice is a sea captain and she has no body fat, even though she eats Joe’s cooking all day long. They have a black and white dog named Chili Dog. They have an outdoor shower and potty. You can feel the breeze on your skin and hang your wet bathingsuit on the volcanic rock as you are naked with water flowing from the shower head above. It’s waaaaaaaay cool, and relaxing! Iguanas everywhere. Alice and I have known each other since day one at East Texas State University. We were both in the art dorm for women. She discovered me as I was playing my guitar in the community bathroom and invited me to come hang out with her. Bingo, presto! Instant friends. Alice, I love you. Thanks for all the happy memories you share with me.
Played at a wonderful school for 350 island kids, and we had a ball. Those kids were so well behaved, friendly and ADORABLE! We sang, we laughed, and at the end, I told them if they lined up by class (kindegarten - third), I’d hug anyone who wanted a hug. Guess what? Yep. And some even went and got BACK in line. My arms and heart were so happy!
Played at The Blue Moon for my friend, Julie, who owns this exquisite establishment. Please, do yourself a favor and eat here if you go. It was just yummy and gourmet at it’s finest. Plus, I don’t drink wine, but she has a top notch
wine cellar. Brought my guitar, whipped it out, sang songs, Lily sang the new song we wrote together, iolana danced and entertained, and Lance got up and sang “Take Me With You” with me and magic was abounding. Ice cream to top off that evening. I got Howard, Alice’s brother, up to dance, and sang him a special rendition of “Over the Rainbow” and that was taped for all posterity, too.
Went snorkeling, went kayaking, saw upside down jellyfish (really!), went to Coral World and saw a big fish with his mouth opening/closing/opening/closing, so the girls and I started chanting that he was saying, “Help. Me. Help. Me.”
We saw sea cucumbers (now affectionately dubbed GIANT SEA PENISES!) and we went to Hull Bay and Skinny Beach and Sapphire Bay and we fished and we found wondrous seashells and we shopped (Hello, Kitty!) and we, overall, had an excellent working vacation! Thank you to Doug Dick who believes in me and plays my music on his radio show, and to Larry and to the news casters that came out and captured the event with the children (I have a copy…I’ll add it either here or on my website.) St. Thomas, you rock!
OTHER ODDS AND ENDS:
Since last I wrote, I played at Joseph (Stripey Shirt Man)’s birthday party, where I presented him with two songs I had written as a special gift just for him. I had asked that his friends all send me emails about what makes Joseph special, and wrote a funny song out of those, and then felt God move my heart to write another song (Joseph used to be a minister) entitled “When God Created You.” I like this song so much I will put it on an album soon.
Had Mother/Daughter book club on Tuesday night. We had all read “The Miraculous Adventures of Edward Tulane.” Whenever a mom hosts the club, you create food/snacks that have to do with the book, and a craft related to the reading, as well. So we had fried chicken, baked salmon, biscuits, cherry pie, cinnamon cookies, salad, strawberries, blackberries, celery sticks, corn on the cob, and our craft was to create your own Edward Tulane, who is a rabbit. I also had purchased some cascarones, so all the girls went outside and cracked!whooped!Hollered!confettied each other while we moms relaxed inside.
I dyed my hair red. I’m catching up on emails (and blogging). Booked some more gigs. Played with my dog. Watched the rain come down outside and turn the world green. Ate a gyro.
posted by Sara Hickman at 11:54 am
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Supper Club
March 08, 2007
1) How about “SUPER SUPPERS with SARA”?
2)…Or just “SUPER SUPPERS”? followed by song
3)…or “SARA’S SINGING SUPER SUPPERCLUBS”
4)…Or JOIN THE SUPER PAL UNIVERSE and become a member of the SuperPal Supperclub.. .and you can find out where the next Super Supper will be!
Ha ha ha …this is so much fun! Wouldn’t it be hilarious if everything served had to start with an “s”? SALAD! SATAY! STEAK! SOUP! SPAGHETTI!
and… SCHNAPPS! Ha ha ha!!!
Say………….What is a dessert that starts with “s”? Shakes? Sorbet? Strawberries?
posted by Sara Hickman at 07:32 am
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Is It Racist to Condemn Facism?
From “The Times”
March 07, 2007
How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam
Is it racist to condemn fanaticism?
Phyllis Chesler
Once I was held captive in Kabul. I was the bride of a charming, seductive and Westernised Afghan Muslim whom I met
at an American college. The purdah I experienced was relatively posh but the sequestered all-female life was not
my cup of chai - nor was the male hostility to veiled, partly veiled and unveiled women in public.
When we landed in Kabul, an airport official smoothly confiscated my US passport. “Don’t worry, it’s just a
formality,” my husband assured me. I never saw that passport again. I later learnt that this was routinely done to
foreign wives - perhaps to make it impossible for them to leave. Overnight, my husband became a stranger. The man with
whom I had discussed Camus, Dostoevsky, Tennessee Williams and the Italian cinema became a stranger. He treated me the
same way his father and elder brother treated their wives: distantly, with a hint of disdain and embarrassment.
In our two years together, my future husband had never once mentioned that his father had three wives and 21 children.
Nor did he tell me that I would be expected to live as if I had been reared as an Afghan woman. I was supposed to lead a
largely indoor life among women, to go out only with a male escort and to spend my days waiting for my husband to return
or visiting female relatives, or having new (and very fashionable) clothes made.
In America, my husband was proud that I was a natural-born rebel and free thinker. In Afghanistan, my criticism of the
treatment of women and of the poor rendered him suspect, vulnerable. He mocked my horrified reactions. But I knew
what my eyes and ears told me. I saw how poor women in chadaris were forced to sit at the back of the bus and had
to keep yielding their place on line in the bazaar to any man.
I saw how polygamous, arranged marriages and child brides led to chronic female suffering and to rivalry between
co-wives and half-brothers; how the subordination and sequestration of women led to a profound estrangement
between the sexes - one that led to wife-beating, marital rape and to a rampant but hotly denied male “prison”-like
homosexuality and pederasty; how frustrated, neglected and uneducated women tormented their daughter-in-laws and female
servants; how women were not allowed to pray in mosques or visit male doctors (their husbands described the symptoms in their absence).
Individual Afghans were enchantingly courteous - but the Afghanistan I knew was a bastion of illiteracy, poverty,
treachery and preventable diseases. It was also a police state, a feudal monarchy and a theocracy, rank with fear and
paranoia. Afghanistan had never been colonised. My relatives said: “Not even the British could occupy us.” Thus I was
forced to conclude that Afghan barbarism was of their own making and could not be attributed to Western imperialism.
Long before the rise of the Taleban, I learnt not to romanticise Third World countries or to confuse their
hideous tyrants with liberators. I also learnt that sexual and religious apartheid in Muslim countries is indigenous
and not the result of Western crimes - and that such “colourful tribal customs” are absolutely, not relatively,
evil. Long before al-Qaeda beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan and Nicholas Berg in Iraq, I understood that it was
dangerous for a Westerner, especially a woman, to live in a Muslim country. In retrospect, I believe my so-called
Western feminism was forged in that most beautiful and treacherous of Eastern countries.
Nevertheless, Western intellectual-ideologues, including feminists, have demonised me as a reactionary and racist
“Islamophobe” for arguing that Islam, not Israel, is the largest practitioner of both sexual and religious apartheid
in the world and that if Westerners do not stand up to this apartheid, morally, economically and militarily, we will not
only have the blood of innocents on our hands; we will also be overrun by Sharia in the West. I have been heckled,
menaced, never-invited, or disinvited for such heretical ideas - and for denouncing the epidemic of Muslim-on-Muslim
violence for which tiny Israel is routinely, unbelievably scapegoated.
However, my views have found favour with the bravest and most enlightened people alive. Leading secular Muslim and
ex-Muslim dissidents - from Egypt, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Syria and exiles from Europe and North
America - assembled for the landmark Islamic Summit Conference in Florida and invited me to chair the opening
panel on Monday.
According to the chair of the meeting, Ibn Warraq: “What we need now is an age of enlightenment in the Islamic world.
Without critical examination of Islam, it will remain dogmatic, fanatical and intolerant and will continue to
stifle thought, human rights, individuality, originality and truth.” The conference issued a declaration calling for such
a new “Enlightenment”. The declaration views “Islamophobia” as a false allegation, sees a “noble future for Islam as a
personal faith, not a political doctrine” and “demands the release of Islam from its captivity to the ambitions of power-hungry men”.
Now is the time for Western intellectuals who claim to be antiracists and committed to human rights to stand with
these dissidents. To do so requires that we adopt a universal standard of human rights and abandon our loyalty
to multicultural relativism, which justifies, even romanticises, indigenous Islamist barbarism, totalitarian
terrorism and the persecution of women, religious minorities, homosexuals and intellectuals. Our abject
refusal to judge between civilisation and barbarism, and between enlightened rationalism and theocratic
fundamentalism, endangers and condemns the victims of Islamic tyranny.
Ibn Warraq has written a devastating work that will be out by the summer. It is entitled Defending the West: A Critique
of Edward Said’s Orientalism. Will Western intellectuals also dare to defend the West?
Phyllis Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and
Women’s Studies at the City University of New York
posted by Sara Hickman at 07:12 am
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Whazzup!
March 07, 2007
Taught my Central Market “Thai One On With Sara Hickman” cooking class last week…on my birthday!…and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had the privelage to enjoy. Paul, the chef, and all the volunteers, were exceptional people…”I need a bowl,” I’d say, and BLING! It was in my hand. All the prep work was done that afternoon where I was invited to oversee the cutting, dicing, primping, pre-arranging of all the food for forty guests. My portions were pre-measured, and that is what I shared with the audience as I sauteed and boiled and chopped and bruised (yes, I bruised the lemongrass…it breaks the cells and releases the pungent, lemony smell! You do so with the back side of a large, heavy knife.)
Everyone enjoyed the five course Thai meal….we served Mint and Chicken Salad, Lemongrass Soup, Pad Thai with Shrimp, Pineapple Rice in a Pineapple Boat and Fried Bananas with Caramel/Chocolate drizzle for dessert (including a dollop of whip creme, of course!) I do hope you will join my next class…not sure when, but I plan to have a 50’s dress up party and share the secrets of how to create five stunning casseroles! Or maybe my delicious homemade Meatloaf….The unusual thing about this class, by the way, is that you leave with the recipes (which I drew little handmade pictures all over) and you get to hear me sing in between my cooking segments. Voila! Such joy! Anyhoo, a great big SWAK to Central Market for being such a dream come true, and for having a stellar group of human beings to work with. If they ran our government, we would not have such a deficit, ah…but that is my own delusional thinking, no?
I have watched “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” with Lance. I forgot what an a mind-blowing experience Juliette Binoche is. This is a great date night film.
Since I last wrote, I have also been to D.C. and stayed with the loving Long family, performed at the Barns at Wolftrap (where I lost my way but found my footing through the graciousness of the audience), performed at One World Theatre (which I would like to call home…may I call it home? Not since Caravan of Dreams have I felt such an affinity for a performance venue), played in the snow, seen my brother, Carlton and his wife, Celeste; gone to reunion group, written a new song with my new friend, Shelley Long; recorded the song at Bradley Kopp’s studio…the song is called “Open Up To Me” and we are recording it for a children’s cancer cd; flown to Dallas to sing at Joseph Leavell’s birthday party, where I sang two more new songs, one rather silly, and one I truly love called “When God Created You”….worked on more music for the television show, “Super Pal Universe”, that is in the works…a reality based show for 8-13 year olds about a band of kids who work on creating music and all that entails…Plus their involvement in community service, what they are interested in, what they like to talk about, what kind of snacks they want to create and share with other kids, their clubhouse (which will be the Gibson showroom, done up as a garage band/clubhouse hang out…)
Ok! Tonight I sing, solo, at Central Market, and Friday the entire family, Eddy (keys), Kristin (vocals), Teresa (booking agent) and I head to the Virgin Islands for some shows and R&R;. So happy spring break everybody!
posted by Sara Hickman at 09:33 am
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Only Women Bleed…
You probably never thought of this, but women’s shelters in the U.S. go
through thousands of tampons and pads monthly. Assistance agencies
generally help with expenses of “everyday” necessities such as toilet
paper, diapers, and clothing, but one of the most BASIC needs is
overlooked - feminine hygiene products. “Every month” necessities seem
to have fallen through the ahem - well, they’ve been overlooked.
Seventh Generation, a green paper products and cleaning products
company, has a do-good attitude and will donate a box
of sanitary
products to a women’s shelter in your chosen state - just for clicking
the link. Talk about easy, and, yes, it is legitimate!
http://www.tampontification.com/donate.php
Thanks for helping out. Please pass this on.
posted by Sara Hickman at 09:32 am
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One More Reason To Use Reason
March 01, 2007
Before we collectively enable Bush to destroy another nation, it may be helpful to see what Tehran actually looks likes. Check out the link to the slide show below. A lovely collection of images to share with anyone who might blindly support bombing a place they’ve never seen out of a confused notion it would make us safer.
http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html
Love
Sara
posted by Sara Hickman at 10:39 pm
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