I was at the Bernie-AOC rally in Greeley, CO, of all places, and showed up with 16,000 new best friends. Then B/AOC went to Denver and gathered the biggest crowd ever in Civic Park (30,000). The next day, a huge windstorm plowed through the Front Range. Metaphors can become real. And I love how you write/illustrate the word WIND. It makes me feel hopeful.
—Member of the Patriarchy Who Needs To Be Replaced ASAP.
How about “rising like a mighty flood”? No wait, “surging like an avalanche.” Also bad. Um…stampeding like a herd of wild donkeys! Clearly need to work on my metaphors.
Next time you're visiting your parents in Colorado, LMK, and I'll buy you a cup of coffee. We substackers need to stick together! And your elk metaphor reminds me of a piece I did for the Colorado Sun, about elk sex. We're crazy about that out here! https://coloradosun.com/2022/09/18/colorado-elk-rut-rmnp-cartoon/
We are here, Kelcey, adding our breaths to the wind building around the sparks starting the great transformational and forgiving benevolent fire of free, creative, and joyful expression. Loved too the photo pics, beautiful at basketball, the three of you watching, cheering, and the cemetary where the sky flows up in startling serenity beyond the tree of memory, crying and singing, all this is wonder.
I live in Littleton CO now, after livng in Iowa City for 18 or so years. I still have my (seventh row) U of Iowa Women's Basketball season tickets - we have friends who now sit in those seats. It's a little far to go for the games. Those friends also have our tickets to the Fever exhibition game in May (if we weren't going to be in New Zealand, we would have traveled for that).
Meagan Gustafson, Monika Czinano, and yes Caitlyn Clark. I remember CC, on the floor, during the first covid season. A scrawny freshman, competitive to the core. And those fans - fans in more than one way. Fanatics supporting women's sports. And fans fanning the flames.
But I also remember the women who came before, even as we are cheering for the women and girls now.
We can start a bunch of small fires. And we can keep fanning the ones already burning.
I keep wishing that I had had what you had! I was born in 1958, and girls played volleyball and this weird, no strength or skill required ring toss game. We could also cheerlead. No competitive teams. No coaches. So many of us would have benefited physically, emotionally, and learned leadership skills through these more meaningful sports opportunities.
Thanks for sharing that history--it's so important to remember. And you make such a good point about the benefits beyond just playing a sport--the physical, emotional, and leadership skills are so key!
Found you for your art (very creative). I’m not competitively sporty, but I recall the real time excitement when our HS could fully support girls athletic teams the year Title IX was established.
Let’s not forget to keep its intended biology in focus. Women still deserve safety, privacy and 100% female opportunity to train and compete.
I know there's a lot of healthy debate as well as political dog whistling about who can compete in women's sports, but trans folks also deserve safety and privacy and the opportunity to compete.
Reading this on a very windy 🌬️ day (we’ve had a lot of them recently!) and looking forward to my daughter singing and playing her original songs at the Girls Write Nashville fundraiser tonight. Spark on! 🎶 💪 💛🤸♀️👸
When I still was playing racket ball I played many times with a female engineer. She had been the top female racket ball player at Purdue. I was asked many times”why do you play with a girl” My response I wish I could play like she does. I only won one game of the many we played and I learned so much.
A small fire I set against the patriarchy: whenever I play video games online, I play under a girl name. Tbh, I’m a hardcore nerd about gaming and my hope is that, when gamers see “a girl” absolutely destroying them, they’ll think, “wow, girls are good at gaming too!”
It’s not much, but I’d like to imagine it makes a tiny difference somewhere, somehow :)
I read the title in my email box and shout "Let's keep on trying please!!".
Heck yeah, thank you!
Same exact reaction to the title!
✊🏻
Cringe
AWESOME! (hope everyone in the real fire was ok :0 )
Thanks, Tom! Thankfully no one was in the building! Gonna miss you at AWP this week!
I was at the Bernie-AOC rally in Greeley, CO, of all places, and showed up with 16,000 new best friends. Then B/AOC went to Denver and gathered the biggest crowd ever in Civic Park (30,000). The next day, a huge windstorm plowed through the Front Range. Metaphors can become real. And I love how you write/illustrate the word WIND. It makes me feel hopeful.
—Member of the Patriarchy Who Needs To Be Replaced ASAP.
Exciting to see those numbers out there fanning the flames! (Though I hesitate to use such a metaphor in Colorado!)
How about “rising like a mighty flood”? No wait, “surging like an avalanche.” Also bad. Um…stampeding like a herd of wild donkeys! Clearly need to work on my metaphors.
Ha! Maybe eating flowers like a herd of elk? (That’s what my folks always complain about in Colorado: as soon as they plant them, the elk eat them!)
Next time you're visiting your parents in Colorado, LMK, and I'll buy you a cup of coffee. We substackers need to stick together! And your elk metaphor reminds me of a piece I did for the Colorado Sun, about elk sex. We're crazy about that out here! https://coloradosun.com/2022/09/18/colorado-elk-rut-rmnp-cartoon/
Maybe “Running like Ralphie”…the ALWAYS female bison of the Buffs! (I’m a sucker for alliteration)
Ralphie it is. We both need to stay out of his way, though. Those hooves are pointy!
Yes! That's awesome, Molly! 😂
We are here, Kelcey, adding our breaths to the wind building around the sparks starting the great transformational and forgiving benevolent fire of free, creative, and joyful expression. Loved too the photo pics, beautiful at basketball, the three of you watching, cheering, and the cemetary where the sky flows up in startling serenity beyond the tree of memory, crying and singing, all this is wonder.
I feel all this, Jay! Thank you!
Yes,, yes, we can.
I live in Littleton CO now, after livng in Iowa City for 18 or so years. I still have my (seventh row) U of Iowa Women's Basketball season tickets - we have friends who now sit in those seats. It's a little far to go for the games. Those friends also have our tickets to the Fever exhibition game in May (if we weren't going to be in New Zealand, we would have traveled for that).
Meagan Gustafson, Monika Czinano, and yes Caitlyn Clark. I remember CC, on the floor, during the first covid season. A scrawny freshman, competitive to the core. And those fans - fans in more than one way. Fanatics supporting women's sports. And fans fanning the flames.
But I also remember the women who came before, even as we are cheering for the women and girls now.
We can start a bunch of small fires. And we can keep fanning the ones already burning.
Oh wow! You got to watch Caitlin from the start--and the seventh row--at Iowa! That's amazing!
I keep wishing that I had had what you had! I was born in 1958, and girls played volleyball and this weird, no strength or skill required ring toss game. We could also cheerlead. No competitive teams. No coaches. So many of us would have benefited physically, emotionally, and learned leadership skills through these more meaningful sports opportunities.
Thanks for sharing that history--it's so important to remember. And you make such a good point about the benefits beyond just playing a sport--the physical, emotional, and leadership skills are so key!
An important reminder of how recent this history is, Barbara, thank you.
Brave.
I sighed with deep relief reading this. You always put words to my feelings, Kelcey!
Thank you, friend! ❤️
Found you for your art (very creative). I’m not competitively sporty, but I recall the real time excitement when our HS could fully support girls athletic teams the year Title IX was established.
Let’s not forget to keep its intended biology in focus. Women still deserve safety, privacy and 100% female opportunity to train and compete.
Thanks for sharing that memory about Title IX!
I know there's a lot of healthy debate as well as political dog whistling about who can compete in women's sports, but trans folks also deserve safety and privacy and the opportunity to compete.
“Enlightment is when a wave realizes it’s the ocean. “ Thich Naht Hanh
Our collective power can move mountains. Thanks, Kelcey, for your inspiration!
Love that quote, Colleen! ❤️
Reading this on a very windy 🌬️ day (we’ve had a lot of them recently!) and looking forward to my daughter singing and playing her original songs at the Girls Write Nashville fundraiser tonight. Spark on! 🎶 💪 💛🤸♀️👸
Oh that all sounds amazing, Susannah!
So hopeful and helpful! Thank you!
Thank you, Grace! ❤️
When I still was playing racket ball I played many times with a female engineer. She had been the top female racket ball player at Purdue. I was asked many times”why do you play with a girl” My response I wish I could play like she does. I only won one game of the many we played and I learned so much.
That's a great story, Allen! Thanks for sharing!
I love the Sports Bra PDX and visit every chance I get!!!!
Lucky you!!!
A small fire I set against the patriarchy: whenever I play video games online, I play under a girl name. Tbh, I’m a hardcore nerd about gaming and my hope is that, when gamers see “a girl” absolutely destroying them, they’ll think, “wow, girls are good at gaming too!”
It’s not much, but I’d like to imagine it makes a tiny difference somewhere, somehow :)
Ha! That's awesome, Max! 😁
That’s pretty dope.