Rising Above Ageism

A mixture of derision and awe ... A couple of years ago a friend and I decided to go have a drink at a new bar in town.  It was trendy and frequented by a young crowd.  Seeing no available table, we situated ourselves at the bar, ordered craft cocktails, and settled in to enjoy each other's company. After awhile a young man on the barstool next to mine nudged me with his elbow. I turned to him. "Hi, how're you ladies doing tonight?" he asked.  We smiled and nodded: "Hello, just fine. And you?" He paused to sip his beer, then leaned over closer to us and continued: "I was just wondering how it feels to be so old you could be mothers of most people in this bar."   Speechless for a moment, I grimaced to my friend, who was also dumbstruck.  I laughed uncomfortably but decided to ignore the insult and engage him in conversation   Shortly we discovered that he was a local guy, where he was employed, and, as small town folk often d

Beautify Yourself ...  ... a Facebook quizzish thing, so I tried it. With tech magic the program instantly smoothed out my wrinkles, slimmed down my face, plumped up my lips, applied eye makeup, and minimized the bags under my eyes.  Gee, I do think I look better!  I think I look sexier in the made-over image.  Younger, too.  I wonder if I could get away with using the image as my Facebook profile picture.  If I wasn't partnered and I had a dating site profile, I'd sure think about that:  but I should think about what might happen if did that then I met someone in person who had judged my attractiveness based on the makeover ... hmm ...  I'd have to wear a LOT of makeup to try to carry that off! And, I could spend a lot of time thinking about improving my appearance.  In truth I do, actually.  I rarely go out in public without tinted moisturizer, some eye makeup and lip gloss.  For evenings I might add mascara and a bit of contouring blush as well.  Once I wore a

Grandmother Spider  Artist:  Jo Jayson Grandmother Spider created the world by spinning her webs, and the interconnections of her weaving bonded all beings together.  The magic of spiders is featured throughout the mythology of ancient cultures across the globe, from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.  People have been fascinated with the spider's ability to weave, and although the magical spider is not always portrayed as a woman, when she is often it is as a wise and powerful elder spirit.  A grandmother. Are you afraid of spiders?   I once saw a strong and independent friend jump up on a chair to avoid a spider crawling across her living room floor.  Another woman friend had a hedge near her house cut down because "there are spiders in there."  In Arizona a young mother routinely (and I maintain, reasonably) entered a shed in her backyard with a flashlight and a rubber flip-flop in her hand, finding black widow spiders in the dark and smacking them

Spring:   When Demeter and Hecate Rescued Persephone  ... you know the story. Persephone, a lovely maiden, was abducted by Hades and taken to his kingdom underground.  In response her mother, Demeter (the Greek Goddess ruling Harvests and Fertility) used her torch to waste the Earth, her anger causing all crops to die.  In despair Hecate hid herself as an old woman and sat by a well, where Zeus (the God of Gods) found her and tried to convince her to let the crops grow again.  She refused, so in desperation Zeus ordered Hades to let Persephone return to her mother.   Hades had warned Persephone to not eat anything while in his realm, but after Zeus commanded her release Hades tempted her with pomegranate seeds. Persephone ate one.  Therefore she was only partially released: only allowed to return to the surface of the earth for a third of each year.  Demeter allowed the crops to grow again, but only during the times of the year when Persephone is free.   Persephone, the G