Notes from the Red Bird House

I don't have a clue where I was the day the Las Vegas Aces, my hometown's WNBA team, started it's season. If I had to guess, I'd say Austin, Texas, though I'm not entirely sure what month that would have been. May? Hang on a sec. Let me Google it. Yep. May. The WNBA season starts in May. So yeah, I was in Austin.....and never imagined that three short months later I would be a fan....or that four months later I would bootleg cable from a friend to watch the final game of the season, a 94-90 loss in the WNBA Semifinals to the Washington Mystics. And I sure never ever ever imagined I'd be sitting here a few days after that loss writing these words wearing a Kelsey Plum jersey. I've hated (not merely disliked) women's basketball my entire life. This includes the four years I spent playing in junior high and high school. Oh, I liked basketball ok. It was just the women's version that made me shake. I never understood how a 6'8" women couldn...

I miss you. The truth is I've been longing to say those words. Ok, I've said them bunches since leaving Austin in July. It's just... Ugh... How do I say this? I suppose I should just say it. Here goes... There is someone I miss. Greatly. Deeply. With far more fervor than she would ever guess. Ever. Ever ever. And look, I don't harbor many illusions, none actually. I don't expect her to miss me or - hell - even recall my presence in the world unless specifically reminded. And that's it. The problem. The crux of it all. Why I haven't said ( texted , let's be real) those three little words. Facts are facts. When I moved, everything in my life changed; only one thing changed in hers. Her world is 99.9% the same as it was before. She has her life and I have....well...mine. It's just that mine is completely different and there are things, people that I miss because of that. She is simply (though there is truly nothing simple about her) one of a few th...

Honestly, it's no different than being born green. Well, maybe a little. Ok, so it's probably a bit different. Humans don't come in green as a standard option. Funny, though, as I sat watching "Wicked" (finally...geez) from the first row of the balcony at the Smith Center (Las Vegas, Nevada) Wednesday night, I wondered. Like seriously wondered. Look, I'm sure a bunch of y'all out there connect with Glinda. You're pretty, popular, stared at in a good way; people idolize you, want to be you. And if that's not you now, you aspire to it with every fiber of your mind, body, and spirit. Hey, good on you. But here's the thing-- From the jump - the very jump of my life - I've been Elphaba. Maybe not green....but different. And not in a way most people like or understand, much less accept. I've never figured out why so many people expend so much energy wanting me to be like them. Grow your hair, wear makeup, wear dresses or at least stop dress...