Patsy Cline & Popcorn

"It seems that every time I stick my neck out, I get my foot into something else." 
    Patsy Cline

Having been in town all of about 48 hours, I was certain I would get lost before finding my way to the theatre.  Following directions written on the back of a Super 8 Motel notepad, I finally knew I was close.  Not because of the road signs or the street names, but because of the long line I had  spotted.  A long line of gathered hopefuls with guitars who were now wrapped around the front of the theatre & down the side of this historic 3 story brick building.

 "Well now, this is completely & totally overwhelming",
  I said it aloud & under my breath while checking my mascara one last time in the reflection of the neighboring souvenir shop window.  As I took one last deep breath my eyes focused inside the shop, it was filled with tourists & families on their last days of summer vacation. I watched as children made their way down the tiny store aisles amidst Elvis figurines & the sounds of Patsy Cline.
The scent from the doorway was a mixture  of taffy & popcorn, ahhhh one of my favorites!  Suddenly I was in a flashback to summer vacations with the fam. Thinking of them now as I walked closer toward the line, envisioning mom & dad standing on the front porch waving goodbye. I pictured it like something out of a Rockwell painting only sweeter. Was that only 4 days ago? It already seemed like 4 months. How comforting it would be to be there now, eating a home cooked meal & visiting with them about how much I had missed them while I was away...

Kerpling cling clang!!  The sound of a seriously out of tune guitar brought me back to harsh reality, right back to the task at hand & the $500.00 grand prize that brought me here. I needed deposit money to get into an apartment in Green Hills. Ahh, the cute little 1960's style garden apartment I had found. The little place that would be the beginning of my new start in Nashville!  Visualizing my lyrics again I was hoping to somehow forget about being nervous. As I joined the line several people began to introduce themselves. Never completely open with people at first meeting, I found it hard to keep my usual comfortable distance in such close proximity. Somewhat forced to join into conversations, I listened while this one & that one told me their entire life story & how they had also just arrived into town. A couple of them told me about being around the block one too many times while sharing their Nashville horror stories (always an unwelcome event in a new town).  Talking to them didn't make me feel any better, but it did distract me from my anxiety.  As the line began to move faster someone from the front yelled "only 1 minute on stage! You're on & then you're off so make it count!"

 OH MY GOD.  1 minute?  Apparently 6 winners would be chosen from the enormous line & those 6 would come back later in the evening to actually perform for the saloon crowd.  Fast forward about an hour & one minute.  I did my thing & as I exited stage left all I could think of was diet coke & finding a seat in a corner alone. Finally, the announcement.  One name, two names, three names & there it was, my name!!  No way, couldn't be.   I had made the top 6.  By some crazy or rather, wild horse, chance of fate I would be one of the 6 who would return in 2 hours for the grand finale.  I would actually be able to perform my entire song & do my whole 3 minute & 15 second thing. $500 was one step closer to mine!

 2 guys returned & 4 girls that afternoon.  I remember the girls well as 2 of them were quite outspoken about their dislike for the 3rd one.  I didn't know any of them, nor did I really care to, but they had apparently competed against each other before & had a serious dislike for girl #3. Something which amazed me at the time.  Wasn't Nashville a huge town filled with dream chasers from around the globe? How could it be they already knew one other?  Ohhh but Nashville is a small town, something I would soon learn..

Girl #3 was from Kentucky. Her loud bawdy southern accent was overshadowed only by her attire which was the sort of getup you would envision Christina Aguilera wearing during the Dirrrty Xtina years only with a bit more country & western flair. Yep, not entirely classy, but I had to admit this girl had individuality & apparently zero fear.  The other 2  thought it entirely inappropriate & wasted no time in sharing their mutual distaste of her with me. "Her reputation is widely known & you should avoid her at all cost, Oh sure", they admitted, "she has an awesome voice, but she's trouble, pure trouble."  Trying to avoid the drama, I kept my distance from ALL of them & focused on the warm up & the  contest at hand.  "5 minutes til go time"  The saloon announcer's voice rang out as we made our way into the dressing room for one last prep.
Standing in front of the lighted makeup mirror, I noticed as the two girls  both checked out my look  in the reflection. "Good luck!", they giggled. Smiling huge toothy grins, they bounced out a swinging dressing room door.  Just as I was exiting the room, Xtina came running toward me, grabbing me from behind "Oh HONEY!, she exclaimed
(in the type of southern drawl I had thought only created in Hollywood for movies & Gone With The Wind heroines)
"You can NOT go on stage!
 Look At Your Foot!"
Looking down in fear... there it was, toilet tissue wrapped around my shoe. A trail longer than Princess Di's very wedding dress train. A looooong winding trail of white paper just flapping in the wind behind me. STILL unwinding from the actual  paper roll STILL hanging on the dressing room wall.
Yes this train could have gone on
 f o r e v e r !!!!
 Quickly she helped me free myself from the most embarrassing moment which almost happened.   Had the other girls sabotaged me?  Had they placed it there?  I wasn't entirely sure, but one thing I was sure of was that they had definitely seen it!! They had absolutely noticed it & walked away.  Leaving me to my own demise.
 Xtina #3 & Me?
 Well, we became fast friends as we laughed so hard we nearly fell to the ground in a mound of toilet tissue.
 On that night I learned to never align with people too quickly.  I learned to never let anyone shape my perception of another person & most importantly?  I learned to always check my shoes for toilet paper when exiting a dressing room door.
  Ahhh Nashville. 

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo


Birdee Bow

Hug Somebody. It's Late.

"They Invented Hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything"
     Bill Keane

At the age of 17 I got my first makeup artistry job.  It was a position in a very small cosmetics boutique, but I remember thinking I had really made it.  I had always dreamt of being a beauty expert dressed in a fabulous little black dress with well groomed nails & perfect eyeliner. The mere thought of working my way through college while becoming a makeup artist felt like the most amazing idea EVER!

Reading everything I could possibly get my hands on, I took stacks of huge bound notebooks filled with press releases & product knowledge home each night. I wanted to be exceptionally well versed & ready for ALL cosmetic emergencies that might arise.  After a few months of sales instruction, artistry lessons & entrance exams into the "World of Beauty", Mrs. Vandemere  (my elegant boss, who at the age of 65 could have easily passed for a woman of 40) decided I was finally ready for my first day on the floor.

My first client appointment was a lovely lady with perfectly styled Jackie O dark hair.  Her taste seemed impeccable & as I approached her I complimented the camel toned wool coat she wore while asking her to have a seat in the beauty instruction chair.  Thinking back now about a teenager explaining wrinkle potions & eye creams to a woman in her 50's?  Well, it makes me giggle. It had  to be tough to take me seriously, but she was polite & kind & seemed to be content listening to my every word.  As I swept a huge powder brush across her face with the final touches of her custom look (just as instructed) I lifted a hand mirror for approval.  Just then a tear began to fall down her cheek & then another & another & yet another until a full on cry began.  I was shocked, stunned & paralyzed with fear.

 "Oh no. Oh no OH NO!  It's all wrong isn't it? Too much foundation?  Do you hate the lipstick? I'm so SORRY!" I went on & on, feeling an already nervous stomach beginning to become nauseous. I wanted to run.  S T R A I G H T out of the front door. I wanted to vanish into thin air & never return.
  "No, no", she replied. "It's this song."
 "What?  A SONG?  What song? There's a SONG?"  This was my very first client & I had been entirely too nervous to even remember my name let alone the fact that there was actual music playing within the store.  Just then, I tuned in.  I turned my ears on & I heard the Beatles

 "Yesterday,
all my troubles seemed
so far away"

 "It's this song, she continued, it was my husband's favorite. I can still see him standing in the kitchen every morning, singing it to me while we would eat breakfast together. He recently passed away. We were married for 25 years. He was my best friend & I miss him."

 I froze solid in my tracks.  This beauty emergency was definitely NOT in the beauty guidebook. Where was this sales technique strategy outlined? What were those positive informative sales terms from chapter 5 for this?   I'm sure I had little know how to handle such a situation at that age, but also LESS knowledge of handling it in a work setting while holding a tube of Tulip Pink lipstick in one hand & a powder brush in the other..

  "I'm so sorry.  Do you want me to turn it off?" I nervously muttered with a lump in my throat the size of Mount McKinley & a few tears of my own welling up inside.  "No!" she snapped back, as a smile began to form, "I think it's a sign!  You see,  I haven't left the house in months & today I made this appointment to somehow feel better again, to feel pretty again.  I had to force myself back out into the world.  I think hearing that song..  here, today is a beautiful sign."

 I could feel myself beginning to breath again as we both started to laugh a little.  "I love it!" she said.  "I'll take everything!"  
As I gathered her products she began telling me sweet stories about their last vacation & the way he loved the scent of vanilla candles & how he made cinnamon toast better than anyone she had ever met AND how he would have loved that Tulip Pink lipstick :)

I never saw her again, but I think of her every single time I hear that timelessly beautiful song &
 it makes me Smile.
Hug Somebody.  It's Late.

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo

Birdee Bow

Wring It Out

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” 
― Marcus Aurelius 

When trying to describe a friend of mine to another friend recently I found myself searching for the right words.  She is such a vibrant & beautiful personality!!  It can be tough to describe her in simple, everyday terms.  As I searched for the proper verbiage to evoke the exuberance & vibrancy of my friend I could only think of a wash cloth.  Yep, a wash cloth.

 I finally said,
 "She lives life as if  she is taking it into her own hands, tightly twisting & wringing out every last beautiful drop from the often ordinary & uneventful wash cloth of life."
I'm pretty sure she's never been awakened with an unsettled worrying that life is passing her by & I'm almost positive she's never taken one tiny drop of life for granted.

I aspire to that kind of beauty.

That's a powerful light.

Shining On 

Legendary Style.

I'm starting to believe that Luck comes pouring down when we least expect.

Maybe if we're constantly wringing out life for all it's worth??

L U C K 

becomes a habit 

not an event.

Thankful today for those whose lights shine so brightly within my life & those who lift me up when I am sliding down...

W R I N G    IT    O U T 

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo

Birdee Bow