Tag Archives: freedom

Michfest… A final hurrah

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Words like community, connection, amazon warrior, are the buzz words for my sapphic sisters, they insight a feeling that mirror balls, poppers and whistles evoked in the Disco set of the late 70’s and that the 2nd amendment, 8 pointers, AR 15’s evoke in a die hard NRA supporter. In fact these buzz words have led thousands of lesbians to load up their camping gear and solar showers and go on a pilgrimage for a week in August to the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. An annual institution celebrating my nymph like lesbian sisters in the woods celebrating their womynly self. Musical stages, mosh pits, workshops, fun & learning for Womyn of all ages, abilities and ethnicities. Freedom to be bare little or a lot or not at all but certainly freedom to be yourself… or maybe be whoever you want to be as long as that person carries a couple of X chromosomes.

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Upon hearing the news that The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival is shuddering its trees I was having a maybe cynical conversation with some friends about how my friend Matt, using me as a front “myn” could take over the legendary camping extravaganza and maybe move it to NYC. Manhattan Womyn’s Music Festival sponsored by Bra Tenders and Cover Girl for today’s lesbian. Special booths set up by Lulu Lemon so when you go to your “Queer Yoga, Sacred Bodies, Sacred Land” Intensive you feel properly clad, Bliss offering back to nature spa treatments, Henkel sponsoring “Amazon Knife and Tomahawk” incentives, #MyStringBling, offering a new way to adorn you tampon string. Performances by Patti LuPone, who might appreciate and audience of naked womyn with no place to smuggle in noisy candy wrappers, Rock-n-Roll as performed by all the back up singers from your favorite male rock singers, Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell could teach intensives on “landing a hot model girlfriend” (someone else could do the part about keeping them) and “Crafting” with Martha Stewart and “Entrepreneurship and beyond” taught by Oprah Winfrey (with the knowledge that Martha & Oprah would have to honorary lesbian since they are not…) The blasphemy of stereotypical Sisterhood went on and on.

So then I went into researching the MWMF, aka Michfest for this blog and I was humbled by the event and its simplicity of choice. Go to Michfest and be safe to express, explore and enjoy being a female born individual.  Someone else has fought the fight and broke down the barriers, been the bad guy keeping the Y chromosome far away so you can go and be among them. They have taken criticism in an ever-changing world to keep life simple and free and promote endless amounts of amazing female musicians. So instead of sending up this event, I would like to celebrate it. Not for everyone, true that, I myself have  way too many issues with camping to ever truly enjoy these back to the earth celebrations. I would like to celebrate an event that has stood the test of time and lets die hard dykes join hands with the children of my two moms and everyone feels safe and happy. I marvel at the “Sheros” that protect this institution of being queer and proud in a time when we are forced to assimilate in our work place filled with designer bags and bikini waxing. These are womyn and girls that are celebrating community just how they want to. I for one will not see you at Michfest, but I will dream about that week in August when so many women will converge on that land in Michigan for the very last time.

Have a great trip you Warriors! May the moon in your house be blessed by your Goddess of choice.

The face of the incredible invisible girl, Ruby!

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DSC_0056I have a little girl who is a little bit untamed and honestly I like it that way. She has an odd mix of freedom accompanied by a wicked sense of familial spirit. If you imagined a child who grew up in the trees in a loving pack, with with her braids tossing about as she dances happily in the sun that child would be my Ruby; but instead of trees she is growing up in a Dutch Colonial dancing happily to whatever tune she is moved by at the moment, real or imagined.

Ruby is seven years old and fights to not be completely dominated over by an older sister & brother who’s needs often seem bigger than life itself. Depending on the day she is video worthy with her ten year old brother or partaking in elaborate Barbie sessions with her eleven year old sister. She’ll never pass up a bike journey, although prefers it include another of her siblings. She loves for me to pick her up and hold her in my arms, an act that is not so easy given her solid frame and height, but something I will do until my body can no longer bear the load. Her preferred lounge ware is a pair of leggings and maybe a bracelet, but that’s it… no shirt required for comfort. She is stubborn to the point that it seems she will never conform to the usual standard practice of dress and diet, but I’m not sure she should. Don’t get me wrong, I would give my left knuckle if Ruby would get dressed without a fight in the morning, brush her teeth and go to the bathroom without an escort but this reality is it is part of her whole package.

Ruby enters a wonderful world of secret passage ways whenever she wants. She’ll make elaborate gifts with letters for her teachers and then never deliver them, but never wants them revealed from their packaging. She will disappear under a cover to play on the i-pad but its not just to be alone, she enters another time, another zone that allows her to block off fire breathing dragons that take the form of her sister Olivia or slip by unnoticed with a heard of Rhinos charging across the jungle floor or as we lovingly refer to him as Cooper. She lives a life under the cloak of that quilt that unfolds without apology or abandon. She pulls her mom and I aside in the most private way but causes a public uproar if we need to depart this covenant. She wants no attention but refuses to go unnoticed. The colors of her spirit are amorphous; the pink of a young girl mixed with rogue mixes of deep purples and bursts of orange. You never know what Ruby you’ll encounter but trust me they are all pure Ruby.

We play our game of twister with Ruby. Manipulating our plans to try to make her feel special but not noticed. We really have no idea where this labyrinth will end. She gives us no clues and almost taunts us with the idea that we may figure her out one day. She has no noticeable agenda but is full of powerful mysteries that God gave her at birth. Mysteries that we watch with equal part horror and love. Her name is Ruby Jones and she truly is one of a kind.

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