October 13, 2008
I’ve had a banner week. You might say too much popular culture or maybe just too much past and present together. Or simply, too many performances. In the same week I went to a Tina Turner concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, watched a vice presidential debate, saw Kathleen Griffin in Iowa City, Iowa, and attended a tea party. I feel slightly confused.
The Tina Turner concert was fun and strange. Tina Turner (age 68) still sings and dances better than most people of any age. She wears 5 inch heels like it’s nothing. But Tina doesn’t come alone to any stage. When she first came out she was accompanied by eight shapely women who pranced around, constantly dancing. She also had a band of old hippies.
Later on, some quasi-dancer-fighter males in loincloth get-ups danced and fought all over the stage. Then Tina, dressed in a sexy robot outfit complete with a long blonde wig, rose to the top of the arena on a block. She met a huge man, dressed in a skimpy, similar outfit. They ruled over the writhing males below.
This spectacle was a bit jarring. The intrusion by twenty first century hype and style (I forgot to mention random fireworks thrown in) was a bit unwelcome. Before that point, I was feeling very sixties. I wanted to protest the war, do my own thing, get equal pay, and save the environment. I felt optimistic. I remembered other concerts: Richie Havens, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, the Incredible String Band at a great place called the Ludlow Garage. I remembered carrying my most prized possessions to a bonfire to protest the War in Vietnam.
Hearing Tina’s music and just seeing her again brought me back to those days. Standing in front of grocery stores picketing for the grape workers in California, going door-to-door asking people to vote for a school bond, cleaning up parks, registering voters, stuffing envelopes, marching on Washington, holding after school forums, passing out literature for ERA, protesting “no-pants” rules for girls…
Back then, I just knew that things could change. I felt optimistic.
Later this week I heard Kathy Griffin at the University of Iowa. If you don’t know her, she’s on a show called “D-list” or you can find her on the internet. She is funny and very 2008, telling irreverent, raucous stories about politicians, celebrities, and her mother who she mocks in a terribly funny way. She talked about the box of wine her mother keeps beside her bed like a clock radio. She teased her lesbian and gay fans in the crowd. She even got by with saying, “When I landed in Cedar Rapids, I thought: Hey, are we at somebody’s house?”
After Griffin’s show ,my son and I fought a huge traffic jam in the parking lot. My good mood evaporated. Humor did not solve much. How would I make it through the next four weeks? I try not to be obsessive, taking breaks from thinking about things. One of my favorite occupations is to review all of the presidents of my lifetime: Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and ? For the last eight years I’ve thought, please let me live through somebody else, anybody else.
Finishing a long week, I attended a tea party, held for alumni returning to the University of Kansas for their 50th reunion. My week: from Tina to Kathy Griffin, to a tea party. I picked up little white bread cucumber sandwiches (crusts cut off). At first, I thought it was some exotic fare—sushi on odd pita?. These folks had a few more presidents than me on their lists. I listened to people talking about today’s students and their ubiquitous cell phones, the rising cost of tuition, and face book. I kept day dreaming about Tina and Griffin lines. I thought about all of the thousands of newly registered voters. Maybe they’ll all vote and stay involved in politics… change things. I listened to the alumni recounting their days in college, before Ike and Tina Turner. They relived the ‘50’s, laughing about football games, the parties, and the pranks from their college days. I smiled. I think I’m optimistic again. .
“More tea, anyone?”
Comments
dwightschrute (anonymous) says...
I am faster than 80% of all snakes.
October 18, 2008 at 7:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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