Please don’t tell anyone you read this. I’m trying to keep one of Memphis’ true treasures a secret. But since it’s just you…
The Blues Music Awards is one of those only-in-Memphis events and even though it gets bigger every year, it’s still one of the coolest, up-close-and-personal evenings to experience. Where else can you see Janiva Magness going to town on a waffle board or Bobby Rush backed up by three big-butt dancers following Slick Ballinger praising the Lord?
So we’re sitting at Table G8…
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Celebrities, celebrities, celebrities!
I was up to my eyeballs in muckity-mucks, stars and media-mites at the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Thanks to a generous gesture by the CA’s Washington correspondent, Bart Sullivan (that’s Bart’s wife Susan, left, with me and, ahem, Jane Fonda), I got a seat at Table 256 in the ginormous ballroom of the “Hinckley” Hilton. Some would say that the spot against the wall, waaaaay left of the dais, next to a pillar wasn’t prime. I’d say that by the time we sat down for dinner, I’d already had more fun than I’ve had in a loooong time.
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Mary Winkler goes on trial April 9.

The pastor’s wife from Selmer stands accused of shooting her husband in the back. As the trial unfolds, we’ll learn more about the couple’s real lives. Things are never as they appear.

And that brings me to today’s topic: the pressure put on preacher’s spouses. If you’re married to a member of the clergy, you know what I mean. The constant pressure to do more, give more, be more. If you’re in the congregation, you’ve seen the demands. Maybe you’ve made them.

My mother-in-law was a preacher’s wife. She was as close to a saint as I think I’ll ever know. She gritted her teeth — a lot. She gave up her husband — a lot. And she opened her home 24/7.

I can imagine Mary Winkler living in her church parsonage feeling alone and criticized.

Should that be enough to excuse her?

How does your congregation treat your preacher’s spouse?

And if you’re a preacher’s spouse, do you relate to Mary Winkler?

(Posted by Guest Diva Carolyn McAtee Cerbin)

OK, this just fried my bacon.

A tornado rips through Dumas, Ark., our neighbors to the west. Another twister wreaks havoc in Enterprise, Ala., our neighbors to the southeast. President Bush and his FEMA friends rush to the aid of Enterprise. Dumas gets left out in the rain without a federal emergency declaration.

I call it the “politics of recovery.” And I think it’s wrong. If Americans need help, they should get it. Never mind if they voted for Republicans (Alabama) or Democrats (Arkansas).

Don’t even get me started on Katrina.

It scares me to think what could happen to Memphis — will we get help if we need it? Both of our senators are Republican, but our mayors, governor and some representatives are Democrats.

Will we get the Enterprise response or the Dumas response?

Should politics play any role in helping our fellow Americans?

(Posted by Guest Diva Carolyn McAtee Cerbin)

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., knows a little about being a career woman.

In her third term as congressman (yes, man, thankyouverymuch) for eastern Shelby County and parts east, Blackburn’s used to being challenged about her qualifications. She recalls a particular exchange during one of her campaign stops.

“I was working through a local eatery in west Tennessee when I approached an older gentleman to show him my campaign card, introduce myself and ask for his vote. He took the card, turned it over in his hand, looked back at me and asked, ‘Little lady, what qualifies you to serve in the U.S. House?’

“My response to him was I had been the 3-year-old choir director, the room-mother chairman and the Girl Scout Cookie Mom. If you can do those jobs, you can do anything.”

That makes sense to this former Girl Scout Cookie Mom.

As Congressman Blackburn says, “Skills are a transferable commodity.”

What skills have you transferred into your career? And what do you have to say to those who call you “little lady?”

(Posted by Guest Diva Carolyn McAtee Cerbin)