April 25, 2021

Fanny packs, hugging and well, other stuff

Oh, so many thoughts, which might be the problem with the human mind.

Which is less cool, a fanny pack or a man purse? I only ask because I unintentionally burst out laughing last night when a close friend of mine said to her boyfriend-turned fiancee-now soon to be husband, "Honey, can you mail this letter? I left it under your fanny pack." See, in my neck of the woods, fanny packs are sort of a taboo. At least that's how 'others' see them.

I have one. I love mine. I'd wear it all the time, except that I carry around too much stuff to fit in just one fanny, but most of my friends don't agree. Whenever I wear my fanny pack, I get teased and made fun of. My friends think that fanny packs are for other people, like tourists. But I say a fanny pack is a good pack any time of the year.

So, last night, when I sqawked at the fanny pack, I asked my friend's boyfriend-turned fiancee-now soon to be husband if he would ever consider switching to the man purse. They both laughed at me, said no, and went on to discuss the merits of one's fanny pack over the embarrassment of a man purse.

I dunno.

I'm proud that they're proud of the fanny pack. It's just not something you hear people being proud of all that often anymore. I am proud to carry around my fanny pack too, well on the rare occasion that I'm not carrying around all that much and that I can carry it around. But I'm not like most. Are you?

Now...what if you could never hug a human being? Could never hold a baby, or more importantly your baby? Pet a dog or cat? What would that feel like to you? I can't and don't really want to imagine it, but I watched a fantastic movie last night, in which this happened to be the case. It was about a man named Jose Flores, who was born without any arms. (He also happened to be born with some very short legs, meaning yes, he's a- I'm going to be politically incorrect here - a dwarf), but apparently that's not the focus of the movie.

The movie, Born Without, was super touching, and as it progressed, very revealing. What a story!!! If and when it's finished I hope you see it.

I saw a rough cut, so it's not out for the public now, but it might be soon.

And the best part was Jose Flores was super happy. He loved and enjoyed every moment of his life, his wife and his seven children. And it made you realize that even in the most difficult of circumstances some people find joy, whereas others cannot. But, obviously, if you make it a priority, it is there.

And speaking of joy. Big news as I just signed my first contract to write something other than a magazine article. Will say more soon. And this Friday, 4PM I'm at the New School with Candida Royalle, Abiola Abrams and Ann Snitow. More info. to be posted soon! If you can make it, please do.

Posted by jamye at April 25, 2021 10:30 PM