Cowgirl Awe

Big storms here late yesterday. Weakened by heat and drought, lots of trees just threw themselves on the ground as soon as the wind picked up.

Starr Ann was saying she should ride over to Ms Jodie Diamond's place, since she's new to this part of the country, and check on her. No need. Right as Starr Ann was saying that, we heard boots on the porch and Jodie Diamond knocked at the front door. You should have seen Starr Ann's face.

To be accurate, it's Professor Jodie Diamond. Professor of American History on sabbatical from some university up in New England.

You wouldn't believe how much you can learn about a woman in the process of killing a bottle of Cuervo Gold. Jodie is our new idol. She left her job and bought that ranch so she'd have the time and a little quiet for recording the atrocities our country is committing around the globe. Recording them in a way that only a historian can.

I'll never forget one part of the conversation. Jodie said, "These cocksucking bastards are rewriting the facts AS THEY HAPPEN! And the bulk of this TV-watching, trans fat-avoiding, SUV-driving society slurp it up like it's the God's honest truth. So what in the fuck do you think the history books are going to read like in ten years?"

Main thing I'm thinking is Jodie doesn't talk like you'd expect a professor to.

Jodie continued. "You saving the rest of that tequila for a special occassion, Margo?"

"Um, sorry. No. Here you go."

Jodie continued again. "On the slim chance there's anything left of America - the America we loved - ten years from now, I'll be ready and waiting with a historical account that isn't overflowing with fear, bullshit and righteousness." She didn't wait for me to pour the next one, and after she threw it back she said, "God damn those motherfuckers for pissing all over my country!"

Jodie Diamond is our new idol.

Night Visit

My best friend Starr Ann climbed through the window and woke me up last night. She couldn't sleep for thinking about the Logo Presidential Forum we'd streamed earlier.

All while we watched - first Obama, then Edwards, followed by Kucinich, Gravel, Richardson (wonder if he thinks he was born Hispanic, or chose to be that'a way?) and finally the big cleanup by H. R. Clinton - the whole time Starr Ann kept shaking her head and saying, "Something just is NOT right."

First couple of times she said that, I got up and fiddled with the screen angle, thinking she meant she couldn't see it well.

That wasn't the problem. Problem, according to Starr Ann, was that she could feel herself discounting all the upstanding, forthright things Kucinich said as 'nice' but 'nobody cares' so let's move on to the beef. So about halfway through the forum, she calmed down and accepted this sad state of her own mind.

Then that headshaking started up again. Starr Ann said, "No, no, no. It's worse than that." She got quiet again for a while until smack dab in the middle of all us LGBTs getting Hillary'd, Starr Ann turns to me and says, real quiet, like you never want to hear Starr Ann sound, "Margo, we're just like the rest of this country full of K-Mart shoppers. Here we are, arguing our faces off over wanting the right to call ourselves married, practically begging these PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS to invite, embrace, welcome us into the mainstream. Here we are, in this siloed studio, setting ourselves apart by ignoring all the broader stakes on the table right now, while we pin these suckers to the wall over what they're going to CALL our full rights under the law when we get them. We're setting ourselves apart while pleading to be included."

Starr Ann got up, kissed me on the cheek, took one more look at Hillary sitting there looking very at ease with the gays, and climbed halfway back out the window. Starr Ann paused to mention, "Coulda watched this whole thing and never guessed we're in the middle of a pre-emptive, imperialistic war. Blue Light Special on the LGBT aisle."