Author Archive
Remember when former US speedskater Joey Cheek was banned right before the Beijing games started for his Team Darfur activism? Well, the organization that got his original donation, back at the Torino Olympics, Right to Play, is getting some amazing support from some of the US athletes who have won medals in Beijing. As my pal Christine Brennan writes in USAToday, Read the rest of this entry »
Sometimes you come across a story that you just can’t believe, and here is my gasp-inducing story for today: From the Today show (hat tip to poynter.org, every journalist’s must-read) comes an amazing story about increasing trend of pre-teen girls getting BIKINI WAXES! OMG, it’s bad enough when you’re a grown-up to have to worry about “unwanted hair,” but how many ways can we come up with to make our daughters feel bad about themselves? There’s even someone quoted in the story about how if you wax “virgin hair” (can’t believe I’m even typing those words), you can get rid of it permanently in 2-6 treatments. That means waxing has to start at 8. Gawd.
I know that the place I get my pedicures has “Little Ms. Diva” manicures, and though I get why they are fun, it still seems like trying to make little girls into big girls too soon. But this? Can you imagine letting your tween daughter get a bikini wax? Maybe I’m just out of the loop … what do you think?
In my column today (see below for full text), I want to introduce you to Mary Norman, who lives at the end of Heard Avenue. She watches over one of five community gardens supported by the GrowMemphis program of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, and is a wonderful gardener and inspiration for what a community garden can do. Read more about her in this month’s issue of skirt! magazine – click the button to your right to find out where to get your free copy.
And, as I promised in the column, here’s Mary’s all-organic “pesticide” recipe: Three teaspoons garlic oil, 3 quarts water, 3 drops dishwashing liquid. Mary says if you spray this on plant seedlings just as they sprout, the Japanese beetles won’t eat the tender leaves.
I’m not going to the beach, but I’m getting ready to take a few days off, and I feel just like this kid looks: I can’t wait! I’m thinking of all the sleeping I’ll do, the books I’ll read (OK, the wine I’ll drink), and that means I won’t be blogging for a while. I’ll leave a few goodies to post while I’m away, but send scoop: Where was your getaway this summer, and was it worth it? Would you go back? TTFN …
As you might have read in my column Sunday, my close friend Lisa Fuller died last week, after a long and painful battle with cancer. We sang together in our church choir, and I can’t imagine who will sing the solos, correct my pitch when I need it, and do all of the other wonderful things Lisa did for me.
She was only 51, and I realized this morning that this is the first time I’ve lost a close friend who is close to my age. It feels different, to lose someone like that. Has it happened to you? Does it feel different to you, too?
