Thursday Murmurings
Birds of a feather, flock together
Photo credit: Alamy
Happy Thursday, you beauties. I hope you’ve had a week of joy, excitement and good things. Here are a couple of things that caught my eye this week. Having just gone into another lockdown here in Nova Scotia, I will no doubt be upping my reading and these Thursday editions will likely be packed full for the next few weeks.
Enjoy! Comment! Share! All that good stuff!
I had never heard this story before - of the National Guard in the States opening fire on a group of protesters in Kent State, Ohio in 1970. They’d gathered to protest President Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia. In 13 seconds, the National Guard fired 60 rounds, killing four people. A picture of a girl kneeling next to one of those lifeless bodies, became a symbol of the day itself and so much more. The girl in the picture, Mary Ann Vecchio, was just 14 years old at the time. She’s now 65 and that picture had major repercussions for her whole life. It really is worth the time to read the whole article. While reading it, I couldn’t help but think of the girl who filmed George Floyd’s killing, who I recently found out was just 17 years old at the time, taking her 9 year old sister to the store. Or of Philando Castile’s girlfriend, who filmed her boyfriend next to her in her car, as the life drained out of him, having been shot by the police moments earlier. There is much debate to be had around the filming of these incidents, but it’s hard at this stage to not consider them some of the most important pieces of journalism of our time. Would Derek Chauvin have been convicted of George Floyd’s murder without that video? But after reading this article, I can’t help but think of the impact these moments have on those either in front of or behind the lens, long after the news cycle moves on, years down the line. How do these horrendous moments, distressing in their own right, often going on to become political fodder and tense national discourse, change the course of the lives of those who took the video. That 17 year old girl, just taking her little sister to the store and ending up capturing one of the most heinous acts of police brutality we’ve ever seen - how does one deal with that? Then I think it’s only natural for your mind to drift to all the incidents that didn’t get caught on video, all the stories we’ll never hear, the names who won’t make headlines but who mattered just as much. I’m glad to have heard the story of Mary Ann Vecchio who, as a 14 year old girl, witnessed something awful and reacted as any human should in a moment like that - with horror, concern and outrage. It’s hard to even comprehend how witnessing something like that can impact the rest of your life. I hope Ms Vecchio manages to find peace some day.
I’m a huge Prince fan. My first concert, when I was 12, my parents took me to see Prince play at Sheffield Arena. One, yes, my parents are the coolest parents ever and two, I will never not find the thought of Prince wandering around Sheffield to be hilarious (I mean, I know he probably didn’t, but imagining it gives me the LOLZ). I love Prince and I also really enjoy watching basketball, so to come across this article about how much Prince enjoyed the sport was quite a thrill. And to find out he was an ardent supporter of the WNBA? YES, we love a man who supports and cheers for women! Funnily enough, a few days ago, I just happened to revisit the legendary Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories on the Dave Chapelle Show (which, if you haven’t seen it and you enjoy your face aching from laughter, you should go watch immediately). To read this article and get even more confirmation that Prince was indeed, a pretty badass ball player is a fact about the Purple One that I love.
In Monday’s paid edition of The Murmuration, I discuss ageing, beauty and how the lifelong association of beauty with only youth has to come to an end sometime.
I love a craggly, wrinkly face. It’s a map of a life well lived. Give me deep laugh lines that track the gut-busting guffaws I’ve enjoyed, let the crows feet take a bow, front and centre, a symbol of every time you squinted your eyes on a sunny day, toes buried in the sand and the wind in your hair. A deep wrinkle in the brow? What a badge of honour! Every time you furrowed your brow in stress or anger - and yet look, look at you, still here, having survived and overcome. To fear this inevitability, to slather ourselves in anti-wrinkle creams and pump ourselves full of Botox - doesn’t that erase the character of our faces? To let nature take its course, get old and look your age has, for some reason, become a terrifying fate. But doesn’t some generation have to take the bull by the horns here and embrace that process? Show that older women are steeped in beauty, value and wisdom? Should we be that generation?
To subscribe to the paid version of the newsletter, which comes out on Mondays, you can click here. It’s $5 per month/$50 per year. The paid version is articles, think pieces, essays etc about the big stuff that matters to women of our age - we are building a community of awesome, honest, wise women. Come join the flock! This past Monday was an interview with my mother, which is definitely worth a read.
Until next week, smile at strangers, spread good vibes, be nice to people.