May 2008 Edition by skirt.com

Atlanta, GA

skirt!

all about women...their work, play, families, creativity, style, health and wealth, bodies and souls. skirt! is an attitude...spirited, independent, outspoken, serious, playful and irreverent, sometimes controversial, always passionate.

www.skirt.com

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Destination You Weigh

and cast off excess definitions,

prohibitions, inhibitions.

Take a vacation from being co-worker, boss, room mother, chef,

breadwinner, volunteer, designated driver,

Ditch the one-piece for a none-piece.

housekeeper, caregiver.

Get rid of every map you’ve ever followed. Use your ESP instead of a GPS. checking your image in

your inside-view mirror. Talk to the stranger in the seat next to you.

Adopt toddler-

size eyes to see the world as a new toy. Try on an exotic pseudonym in Starbucks.

Who’s the new carefree you —Lourdes (sultry and mysterious ), Dusty (drives a pickup and plays in a band), Kiki (nomadic siren with a Past)? Life is not a lap lane...sometimes you

need to put an

in your drink

and float while the rest of the world flails. B o n Voya g e ! Cover art by Tinou Le Joly Senoville “I hoped that the trip would be the best of all journeys: a journey into ourselves.” Shirley MacLaine

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May the “Winging It” issue

UP your donations–good things will happen.

Practice being

your cell phone in meetings.

when you’re not. When you’re afraid, ask yourself, “What’s the UP-side?”

Get UP and go.

T U R N U P T H E VO L U M E W H E N YO U R B AT T E RY I S L OW.

TAKE UP A HARD-TO-MASTER HOBBY. Wake UP and remember that every day is a windfall.

Know when to give and ask directions.

Don’t depend on a backUP plan.

When you come a pa rt, p i ck UP the pieces and find some glue.

Make it UP as you go along.

www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 7

features

about skirt! Publisher

Nikki Hardin

Listening For The Click Katrina Grigg-Saito

publisher@skirt.com

Editor/Skirt!Augusta/Aiken

Merry Glenne Piccolino merry.piccolino@skirt.com

Change of Plans Rhiannon Bowman

Managing Editor/National

Kelly Love Johnson kelly.love@skirt.com

Profile:

National Art Director

Caitilin McPhillips

Melissa Hudson

caitilin.mcphillips@skirt.com

Advertising Director

Tammy Martin tammy.martin@skirt.com

Profile:

Rena Mobley

Account Executive

Libby Salvador libby.salvador@skirt.com

Profile:

Graphic Designer Courtney Radtke

Shelly Marshall Schmidt

courtney.radtke@skirt.com

Photography Jenny Allen

Hillary Odom Heather Sargent

sheMAIL Skirt! 102 7th Street Augusta, GA 30901 Sales: 706.823.3277 Editorial: 706.823.3628 FAX: 706.823.3688

www.skirt.com

Skirt! is published monthly and distributed free throughout the greater Augusta/Aiken areas.

Profile:

May

Louise Mulherin

Go See The Tiny Ninjas Patti Digh

Have Junker, Will Travel Kim Risburg

Skirt! reserves the right to refuse

to sell space for any advertisement the staff deems inappropriate for the publication. Unsolicited Manuscripts must be accompanied

by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Letters to the editor are

welcome, but may be edited due to

space limitations. Press releases must be received by the 1st of the

F-Word:

How Can You Be A Feminist Without Anyone Knowing? Chloe Angyal

month for the following month’s issue. All content of this magazine, including without limitation the

design, advertisements, art, photos and editorial content, as well as the selection, coordination and

Pretend Brave Lori Smith

permission of the publisher. SKIRT!®

is a registered trademark of Morris Publishing Group, LLC.

8 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

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Letters .................................................................................................14 Shame/Brava . .....................................................................................20 Skirt! Loves ........................................................................................23 Skirt of the Month ..............................................................................31 United Skirts of America ....................................................................36 He’s So Original .................................................................................38 Girl Power . .........................................................................................40 Quiet Page . .........................................................................................45 Product Page .......................................................................................48 Calendar . ............................................................................................51 Don’t Miss ..........................................................................................54 Skirt! Alerts . .......................................................................................58 Browse ................................................................................................61 24/7 with Dr. Mary Hughes ................................................................68 Planet Nikki ........................................................................................70 www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 11

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from the publisher The “Winging It” Issue A friend had a collage I made of myself turned into stickers. I still have a sheet of them left and when I pulled them out recently, I thought about what I would do if I had a bunch of Mini Me’s running around. If I got to live more than one dream or if I were more adventurous or spontaneous, less controlled and controlling. Here are some tasks I’d assign the Mini Me’s.

Dear Mini Me: • Go live in France for six months by yourself. Learn more French. Ask for help, directions, friendship. Eat in cafés every day. Wear a beret even if our head is unfortunately shaped like a lima bean. Go to Versailles on a cold, rainy day. Get chic. • Learn to ski. I’m too afraid of broken bones, but you could do it, bigger-boned,

cover artist

milk-drinking, snow-loving Me.

Tinou Le Joly Senoville As a child,Tinou visited museums in Greece and Italy with her parents. Greek Art was her favorite, so much so that she later illustrated Greek Myths: Tales of Passion, Heroism, and Betrayal with author Shoshanna Kirk. “The images of the painted frescoes were so animated and at the same time demure,” she said. Today, Tinou Le Joly Senoville lives in an apartment in Paris. She likes to go to flea markets, because it is like taking a voyage. She will track down a vase for its color, a fabric for its patterns, a sharkskin box for its texture. Senoville’s artwork—clients include The New Yorker, Lancome, Veuve Cliquot, Hotel Ritz, Habitat and Madame Figaro—are a bit like those delightful and unexpected flea market finds. She is affiliated with the Maison des Artistes, and since 1999, she has been represented by Marlena Agency (www.marlenaagency.com).

• Go to Tahiti and get a tattoo. On my/your instep. • Eat my 5 servings of fruits and vegetables so I’ll have more room for French fries. • Read Middlemarch for me so I can stop stressing about it. • Learn to tango or salsa or hula or some dance that requires movement from the waist down. • Go to London for the weekend with just a tote bag and a book.

skirt! is all about you

• Learn to cook. Learn to have company. Learn to love it.

Share your thoughts, your words and your art with us.

• Leave home without it: fear of the future, self-consciousness, Spanx, BlackBerry, timetables, schedules, Big Giant Ego.

Your skirt! Let us know what’s on your mind, respond to an article, or give us info on an upcoming event. Send letters or press releases to merry.piccolino@skirt.com, or mail to Skirt! Augusta/Aiken, 102 7th Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901.

nikki

publisher@skirt.com

Your work We are always looking for new writers and artists. Our guidelines for writers and artists are available online at www.skirt.com. Submit artwork or essays via e-mail to submissions@skirt.com. Check out our web site at www.skirt.com for giveaways, essays, and other extras that aren’t in the print edition.

from the editor Even before airlines suddenly shut down and stranded their passengers, before planes full of people were “falsely imprisoned” on the runway for hours on end, before the no liquid rules, before two-hour lines through security, even before 9/11, I wasn’t the biggest fan of flying. I’m sweaty-palmed at take-off and landing, I hate when my ears pop, despise airplane food, don’t like sitting so close to strangers, and I definitely don’t care for the lavatory. Okay, you’re probably picturing Meg Ryan’s character in French Kiss. It’s not like that. I’m not petrified and I will fly. But I do prefer any other mode of transportation. Even if you do like to fly, the “friendly skies” are just not that nice anymore. And for those of us who don’t particularly like the view from 30,000 feet, it’s more difficult now than ever to board a plane-even if your destination is the ultimate vacation destination. This issue of skirt! is full of women with lots of stamps on their passports. Maybe they’ll inspire you to pack your bags, overcome your fears (if you have them) and see the world.

merry glenne merry.piccolino@skirt.com

www.skirt.com www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 13

dearskirt!

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city. I want to know of the little places that are unique and special and not owned by large corporations. Living

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in need of something new like this just for women and will help bring a better unity to women in this area. I most definitely will tell my girlfriends here

in my 40â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now, married for many years,

about it. Again thank you for bringing

with one lovely just turned teenager

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~Simmer~ Take cooking classes, roam the fields and farms, and just try to drag yourself away for some sightseeing. This 12th century estate is now a working organic farm with great rooms and meals and magical vistas wherever you turn. spannocchia.com (5 â&#x20AC;&#x153;loved itâ&#x20AC;? sta rs from skirt! Publisher)

SPREAD YOUR WINGS

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Go biking and hiking in spectacular Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks.

KMU Take a Singles/Solos trip with Backroads, one of the most-respected active vacation companies around. Great food, great scenery, wonderful accommodations, no detail left to chance. backroads.com (5 “loved it” sta rs from skirt! Art Director)

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It appears Patient Family Centered Care is having the desired effect. MCGHealth has been named one of the nation’s top 100 hospitals in patient safety and quality of care by Thomson 100 Top Hospitals®. As you can see, we’re in very good company. But there’s more. MCGHealth is the only academic medical center in the Southeast to make the list.

We’re one of only two healthcare providers in the state to make the list. And the only one in the CSRA to make the list. So it appears that Patient Family Centered Care not only means better medicine, better outcomes, and better care. Around here, it means a better hospital.

your care. your way.SM

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I live for these moments, what I call click moments, of being faced with a decision so big that it elicits an intenseadrenaline filled reaction, a jolt, that narrows down options to only one clear choice.

Katrina Grigg-Saito

decided to move to Tokyo in the space of 13 seconds. “I have some crazy news,” says my boyfriend. His voice is eager, and a little crackly from being in Nova Scotia, where he’s fly-fishing with his dad. “I just checked my messages—there’s no service up here. Anyway, Carl called from the company. A spot opened up in Tokyo. And somehow someone put me on a list and they decided to give me a shot and—I leave in two weeks!” “Wait, wha–!?” My fingers are buzzing and I’m laughing with disbelief. “Really? Wait, what? Ahhhhhhh!” I can barely get a sentence out, but it’s been 13 seconds, and I’ve already made the decision. I’m going to Tokyo. I live for these moments, what I call click moments, of being faced with a decision so big that it elicits an intense-adrenaline filled reaction, a jolt, that narrows down options to only one clear choice. I embrace the rarity of these moments where decisions are so unclouded and clear. It’s these jolt-click moments that have the potential to change an entire life path and I can’t help but trust in them. The shock sends my body into fight or flight mode with either a, “Yes, yes, yes” (tingling, laughing, joy-fear) or a crushing “No way, absolutely not, not doing it,” (tears, head-shaking, fear-fear. I know my limits). It’s a feeling that leads to decisions like hang-gliding in Switzerland on my birthday and missing my flight from Zurich to London to Home (May 13th 2000, sunrise, Swiss Alps) or leaving my boyfriend of three years to sing with a Brooklyn artist collective band in Berlin (July 2005, dusk, NYC). It’s the feeling that made me drop out of college in my junior year to study acting (Fall 1999, middle of the night, dorm room), and made me crash a Journalism Department mixer to convince the faculty that they should take on a Sociology Master’s student with zero journalism experience (December 2007, cocktail hour, Boston). And the jolt-click feeling is the reason that I’m writing from Tokyo, after lunch, April of 2008. These defining moments, while exhilarating and inspiring, also have a long trail of hard work. Missing my flight meant running out of money and being so wracked with worry that I locked myself in a public bathroom for a few hours, before begging a travel agent in Zurich to talk to the German officials to get me on another flight. Convincing journalism professors that I could take graduate level classes meant playing catch up, reading furiously, asking stupid questions, and letting people actually read and critique my work. It meant falling in love with a very hard profession that won’t buy me a Benz any time soon. In Tokyo, I do not speak the language, I do not have a work visa or a job and I am living on my savings. (Somewhere in my past I had the good sense to work

for a lawyer and put some money away.) In Tokyo I miss the following things: authentic Mexican food, people who laugh at my really stupid jokes, and American directness that I only appreciate when I miss it. In Tokyo I am confronted with the difficulty of culture shock, uncertainty, anxiety and loneliness. But then there are the trains that run on-time, the spectacular works of art served at every meal, the heated toilet seats, and the thrill of trying out a new language. I revel in the small success of asking a musician, “When music,” an impersonated gesture of the man playing his horse-head violin, “Thoughts what?” I shrug and widen my eyes inquisitively, “Babies? Sky? Love?” And grin widely as I listen to his complicated answer. Though I cannot pull out words I understand, I am smiling and almost crying because I am being spoken to as if I understand. I nod and I am rewarded with one familiar word, “Feelings.” There is walking in a new city. Finding corners and benches and shops and scenes that seem placed just to remind me of what magic can be found in newness. These moments and places seem orchestrated just for me, and give me a sense of this being “my” city. A nighttime stroll down a wide avenue shows cherry trees heavy with pink blossoms that have bloomed literally overnight. Picnickers eat and drink and laugh under the trees, and with our appetites whetted, we head towards restaurants. All seem closed until we turn a corner onto a little street and see a paper lantern and sliding doors. We peek in and find a bustling, packed neighborhood bar serving grilled meat on sticks. The boisterous business men lean over and feed us pieces of their dishes, tell us what to order, and eventually buy us drinks, saying, “We are the same! John Lennon Imagine! ‘There’s no countries!’ We are the same!” Being plunged, or plunging myself, into brand new situations gives me a sense of movement that is both difficult and worth living for. I love the challenge of it and the genuine sense of possibility it brings. In the balance of taking an uninformed leap and the real consequences of the leap, regret seems, well regrettable. It seems to dilute the intensity of the decision, of that jolt-click moment. When I think of regrets, I regret most of the times that I have ignored the thrum of “Yes” or the discord of “No, no, no.” I have friends who shake their heads when they hear of one of my new adventures saying, “From anyone else I would be surprised, but from you, I guess I would’ve expected it.” Or laughing with, “I could never do that!” But I don’t believe it takes any bravery. I don’t believe that it’s something I can do that no one else can do. Everyone’s had the experience of choosing to take a different route home and running into an old friend. The meeting seems surprising, fortuitous, and very worth the small disruption in routine. All it takes is listening for that click and following where it leads. The landscapes may seem strange, and there may be a feeling of vertigo, but the experience is well worth the leap.

Katrina Grigg-Saito is a writer from Boston, living in Tokyo. She received her Master’s in Journalism and Sociology from Boston University and writes for Metropolis Magazine in Tokyo. www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 19

Peter Sagal, NPR commentator, spoke out on the new subplot in Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who, “The mayor of Whoville has 96 daughters. He has one son. Guess who gets all his attention? Guess who saves the day?… Boys get to save the world, and girls get to stand there and say, ‘I knew you could do it.’ How did they know he could do it? Maybe because they watched every other movie ever made?”

In April, the first-ever Congressional hearing on the use of rape as a weapon of war was held. The focus of the hearing was sexual violence as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with testimonies from The Greatest Silence: Rape

brava! in Congo documentary

director Lisa F. Jackson, and expert doctors.

brava

A new law proposed in the Illinois legislature would force violators of restraining orders to wear a tracking device. If the offender gets too close or approaches the home or workplace, the device would warn both the victim and law enforcement. Similar legislation has been enacted in Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Utah.

it’sashame...

In the re-release of the popular Sweet Valley High series, Random House

A Florida law requires women wanting to give up a child for private adoption to publish

updated the 1980s content

their names, a physical description of themselves, and a description of any one-night

to reflect more typical

stands they might have had. The law is supposed to notify potential fathers of impending

contemporary ideals. The

adoptions, but adoption professionals are alarmed by the financial burden and public

kicker? The Wakefield twins

shame that their clients are forced to bear under the new rule.

previously wore “a perfect size 6.” The twins are now “a perfect size 4.”

In an LA Times op-ed, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) revealed that “women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.” Furthermore, she’s found that “at the heart of this crisis is an apparent inability or unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks.”

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skirt!

Yard Sales Strawberry Farms Lawn Parties Prom Dresses Aiken Bluegrass Festival Dog Parks Flea Markets Vera’s Strawberry Layer Cake Puppy Love Wanderlust The Derby Party Wicker Chairs The Lobster Races Memorial Day Weekend

May “...I might just have to buy a pair for myself...

Fresh, shiny, colorful and fun—my daughter loved her Puma “Spadrille” shoes so much that I might just have to buy a pair for myself (in a different color...of course). Caitilin, Art Director

“I can’t wait for summer…

“One big and comfy, fun and funky beach towel with

blue water, white sand

a little group therapy

and non other than my

and I am set.”

favorite flip flops.”

Tammy Advertising Director

Libby Account Executive

“For a sun-kissed look this spring and summer, these self-tanning towelettes are sure to make

“What woman wouldn’t love to have a handbag named after her? At Vintage 965, you’ll find

the grade.”

the ‘Merry Glenne’ in an

Courtney Graphic Designer

Merry Glenne, Editor

assortment of colors.”

www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 23

Change of Plans

The mango margarita at the concession stand is still the best I’ve ever had. I only wish I’d gotten two.

W Rhiannon Bowman

hen I began planning the trip, the idea was to be big and luxurious; it was our honeymoon after all. After my fiancé broke things off and after he begged and cried and after I reminded him that he wanted other things, I began the sad process of cancelling our reservations—the caterer, the baker, the candlestick maker. When my finger ran down the list, it passed by the travel agent. Again and again I looked right past it and went about cancelling other plans, lamenting with my mother about lost deposits and crying about my newfound loneliness. Soon the only item on the list was this grand cruise. This wonderful once-in-alifetime voyage that our favorite band was hosting. This fantastic opportunity that caused us to change our wedding date and rearrange our finances so we wouldn’t miss it. I tapped my finger on the page, on that listing. I rewrote the information on a new, unmarked piece of paper and called. 24 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

Change of Plans

Nationally Certified Massage Therapists “How much if I travel alone?” I asked. “How much if I change to a smaller room—one without a balcony?” I told them I would call back. Tap. Tap. Tap. I called my mother, crying. “Momma, go on a cruise with me?” By the end of the week, she was going. Her husband and another couple and some guy they knew had made reservations, but I was still going to be by myself in this big suite with a wide-open balcony. That’s when I thought of Lenna. I guessed she had never been on a trip and if anyone deserved a week of pampering, it was Lenna. In her mid-forties, she supported herself and a teenage daughter by cleaning houses. She was always saving for this or trying to catch up from that. The cost of traveling alone versus bringing along a roommate was nominal. With a year to go before the launch date, I knew Len would be able to cover her plane fare and incidentals. We met for dinner a week later. She wanted to discuss the details, wanted to make sure I was serious. After a little convincing and some cheesecake, she was in, and the planning began. I wasn’t sure how I would handle the trip, but I had a year and I was determined to move on and grow past the pain in my heart. I got two kittens. I enrolled in college. I ate dessert whenever I wanted. I researched our ports of call and sent out a warning that I wanted to go on excursions on my own, that people should do what they wanted and not plan around me. I wanted the freedom to crawl back to bed and cry in the middle of the Caribbean if I needed to without ruining anyone’s day. The months moved by, and the excitement of the trip was tickling us all. We would send each other hourly countdowns and little-known facts about Roatan, Belmopan, or Chichen Itza. We prowled the band’s website and called each other the second they made any announcement about anything, whether it affected us or not. By the time our plane boarded for Miami, I was happy to be single and free to travel without my ex-man whining and worrying about what we left turned on or what we forgot. Lenna and I pre-ordered flowers, wine and casino tokens for everyone’s room, including our own. The first thing we did on the ship was get a massage. We supped and napped and boogied all night. The morning we woke in Grand Cayman’s harbor we ran to the top of the ship in our nightgowns to take pictures of the sun rising on a day that promised adventure. I wandered around town and watched the locals while pretending to read their news. I took countless pictures of flowers—in bloom in January!—and accidentally ran into my mother, who was kicked off the diving boat due to an old ear malady. She had $20 and spent it with a corn-row lady. I bought her a bottle of rum, and we took pictures with strangers at the café where we ate fine chocolate on the porch and watched the expensive cars cruise by. On day three, Lenna and I went horseback riding by the Belize River in the rain forest. We saw wild iguanas and monkeys hanging from the trees. I accidentally flashed one of our guides when the underwire of my bra caught on the Western-style saddle as I dismounted, only to realize that my comfortable khaki pants had split on the ride—all along the inseam and across my pantyless rear. Lenna found a fellow traveler with a sarong and saved the day. I took the two-plus hour bus to Chichen Itza on my own and made friends with the married guy sitting next to me after my nap; he woke me when I began drooling in my sleep. I loved every moment spent lingering over the history and drama left in the walls of the Mayan ruins. I crawled to the top of the famous pyramid, hands and feet on the steep stairs, with my wide-brimmed straw hat covering my face so I wouldn’t be troubled by the number of steps left until the top. A stranger took my picture, the dense jungle swallowing the edges of the ruins in the background. I stood at the top for half an hour, back pressed against the cold stone, and watched as others slid back to the grassy ground on their butts or clung to each other, wobbling. I walked down, easy and slow, one foot after the other as graceful as a trained princess. The mango margarita at the concession stand is still the best I’ve ever had. I only wish I’d gotten two. We drank too much. We ate too much. We laughed until we ached. We picked our drunken friends up in the hallway of the ship, on the wrong floor, after the band played their concerts and giggled all the way to bed. Our room looked like a circus; every souvenir we bought decorated it—scarves, festival masks, candle holders. We slept, peaceful, with the balcony door open and woke gently, in time for the start of our day’s agenda, to room service rapping at the door with our coffee and fruit. Occasionally someone would give me an extra squeeze or ask how I was doing. “Great,” I smiled. “Great.” It was days after we returned, after my sea legs disappeared, that I understood what my friends and family were doing. They hadn’t been there to see me glide down the steep pyramid stairs, but I think they knew, as I do now, that one foot after the other, slow and easy, is the only way to go.

Beth McCoy Jen Eckert

Laura Faires

Appointment & Walk-ins Accepted

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Rhiannon Bowman is a journalism student at UNC-Charlotte and an aspiring freelance writer. She is a happy newlywed. She and her well-traveled husband just returned from a spontaneous train trip to Atlanta and called it practice for their European honeymoon that is yet to come. www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 25

WOMEN OF THE WORLD

Melissa Hudson | Teacher When Melissa graduated from college, she wanted to see the world and make a difference. “I wanted to go outside of my comfort zone,” she says, “and the Peace Corps was ready to send me.” Initially, Melissa, who already spoke French, planned to go to Morocco. However, when the Gulf War broke out, plans changed and she was off to Thailand. In Thailand, Melissa had to learn the language and how to slow down. “I’m a true American-I like to go, go, go,” she says. “But in Thailand, it’s all about relationships and no one’s judging your performance.” Melissa not only learned Thai, she learned to move at the pace of the country and how to survive without air conditioning and running water. Melissa taught English to schoolchildren in Thailand for three years before returning home to Augusta. Today, Melissa works at ASU helping students look for career exploring opportunities. Photo by Hillary Odom

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augustaweddingspecialists.com

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WOMEN OF THE WORLD

Rena Mobley | Missionary Rena has done missionary work since age 18. “Growing up in a small town (Andrews, SC),” she says, “I saw needs and I wanted to fulfill them.” When Rena retired from her accounting career, she and her husband traveled throughout Alaska for six weeks, to New York three times, California, London, the Caribbean, the Greek Isles and Mediterranean, New Zealand and Australia. And with First Baptist Church of Augusta, Rena has been on missionary trips to Monterrey, Morocco, Biloxi, Ecuador and Honduras. “Each mission trip has touched me,” she says, “but my heart is in Honduras.” On mission trips, Rena participates in prayer walks, cooks for the group and serves as a greeter to children seeking medical and dental care. “It’s the first time kids in Honduras had ever seen a doctor or dentist,” she says, “they came in droves, walking miles and miles.” Photo by Jenny Allen

28 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

Investing for ALL Your Goals Provided by J. Ryan Winfrey

If you had only one ﬁnancial goal — retirement, for example — investing money to reach it would be simple. But you don’t have only one goal; you have several. You may need money for a down payment on a home, a child’s college education, or retirement. Because all your goals are different, how soon you’ll need the money will help determine the types of investments you make to reach them.

In the Near Future

You’ll probably want to invest money that you’ll need for short-term goals, like buying a new home, in income investments that don’t present a lot of risk to your principal. Bonds, Treasury bills, and other ﬁxed-income investments pay interest, usually at a ﬁxed rate, over the term of the investment, which may be a few days to several years.

Going the Distance Your retirement money and other funds that you won’t need for several years generally should be invested mainly in growth investments with the potential to increase significantly in value over time. Certain stocks and mutual funds are examples of growth investments. Because they are typically more volatile, growth investments are considered riskier than income investments. Some dividend-paying stocks of well-established companies provide both growth and income opportunities. Your financial professional can help you choose investments that are right for your goals, time frame, and risk tolerance. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Mutual funds are sold by prospectus, which includes information on charges, expenses, and risks. To obtain a current prospectus, please contact your registered representative. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money. J. Ryan Winfrey is a financial advisor at First Command Financial Planning (Member SIPC) in Augusta, GA. www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 29

THE LANE COLLECTION

Come see this exciting collectionone that makes it easy to look great! Summer 2008 Representing:

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Traci Daberko is an illustrator and graphic designer in Seattle, WA. See her work at www.daberkodesign.com.

skirtofthemonth Skirt by Lilypod Soho

435 Highland Avenue Augusta

www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 31

â&#x20AC;&#x153;TIBIâ&#x20AC;? Summer â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;08 exclusively at the red dress

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WOMEN OF THE WORLD

Louise Mulherin | Collector Louise has always collected “beautiful things.” On a trip abroad with her husband, Mackey, 18 years ago, Louise purchased four large antiques, filled each to the brim with brass, leather books, porcelain and silver, and sent her first shipment over the Atlantic and back to Georgia. At first, Louise hosted antique sales in her home or in one of their vacant rental properties. Later, she leased a small space at The Antique Market. Once a year, Louise and Mackey flew to London, rented a station wagon, traveled to small villages in England, the British Isles, Ireland, Scotland and Whales, stayed in quaint B&B’s and purchased antiques. About 10 years ago, on a three-week buying trip with her husband and their daughter, Brigid, Louise filled an entire 40-foot container. When they returned to Augusta and needed a larger space, Louise and Brigid opened Louise Mulherin Classic Gardens & Antiques. Photo by Heather Sargent

www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 35

Savannah, GA Stop and smell the dizzying variety of roses in full bloom at the Chatham County Botanical Gardens. Set on 10 acres, this secret urban oasis also encompasses a nature trail, wildlife pond and archeological site. Pop a few bucks in the donation box and enjoy! 1388 Eisenhower Drive. 912.355.3883. Knoxville, TN Birmingham, AL

Get a fresh start every

Looking for a good

Saturday at the Maryville

“Reed”? Look no further

Farmers’ Market.

than Reed Books on

Handpick seasonal

2021 Third Avenue

vegetables, fruits, honey,

North where owner and

plants, baked goods, cut

author, Jim Reed, houses

Memphis, TN

flowers and free range eggs

thousands of antique

Watch the sun set over the Mississippi with

from local growers while

books in Birmingham’s

a glass of sauvignon blanc in your hand at

sipping fair trade coffee.

unofficial Museum of Fond

Tug’s, a new restaurant in Harbor Town,

Bag it from the am bell to

Memories. 205.326.4460

a stone’s throw from the river. Best news:

sell-out. 865.980.9911 or

or jimreedbooks.com.

There’s a spacious outdoor porch, too.

maryvillefarmersmarket.org.

unitedskirtsofamerica Augusta, GA

Greensboro, NC

Visit the James Brown exhibit at

Missing a piece of

the Augusta Museum of History and

your grandmother’s

pay homage to the Godfather of Soul.

discontinued china

Celebrate the man, the music and his

pattern? Replacements

great legacy; it’ll make you feel good.

Ltd. will find it for you.

560 Reynolds Street, 706.722.8454.

Located at exit 132 off I-40 in McLeansville, the Columbia, SC Rhythm & Blooms is one more reason to visit Riverbanks Botanical Garden in May. Thursday nights enjoy live music, wine, and gourmet picnic dinners. riverbanks.org

showroom and warehouse filled with 12 million pieces of china, crystal, silver and collectibles is open seven days a week. replacements.com.

Hampton Roads, VA

Mount Trashmore was the genesis of ecological consciousness

Richmond, VA

in the 1960s. This

Souvlaki, spanikopita, and baklava, just like

landfill symbolizes

your Greek grandmother made them! With live

the commitment to

music and dancing, The Greek Festival of

environmental protection.

Richmond is the best party in town. 4/29-5/1.

It rises 68 feet,

Saints Constantine and Helen Church. 30

encompassing 166 acres.

Malvern Avenue. greekfestival.com

This Virginia Beach park is

“The Greek Festival of Richmond is the best party in town” 36 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

a favorite for picnics, kite flying, wildlife, and has a skateboard park.

Charleston, SC

Considering getting back

As a playwright, actor, songwriter, director, visual artist, and activist,

on track? The Detours

Taylor Mac takes on topics like love, Lynn Cheney, and the War on Terror

& OnRamps conference

and interprets them through fashion, makeup, and ukulele tunes to

May 15 at Bentley College

present a multifaceted, once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience. The

might provide the right

Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, May 30, 31, and June 1, spoletousa.org.

Photo by Drew Geraci

Boston, MA

kind of direction. Hear from employers and entrepreneurs on the route to take.

Greenville, SC

onrampsforum.com

Take a short drive past downtown to 1211 Pendleton Street and you’ll find Flatiron Studios, a shotgun Raleigh, NC

set of three art studios—art

For authentic Chinese tea, visit

& light, knack, and lily

ORiEnTspiration at Falls River Town

pottery—with affordable and

Center. You won’t find any cucumber

eclectic furnishings, lighting,

sandwiches, but you will find over 40 teas

paintings, pottery, jewelry,

to choose from, including Jasmine Blossom

sculpture and a kinetic

tea, which blooms into a flower in your cup!

collection of established and

919.846.0910 or orientspiration.com.

emerging artists.

unitedskirtsofamerica Jacksonville, FL Give your mother a relaxing gift: a weekend at The Inn on Charlotte in St. Augustine. Each room is decorated with antique furniture and colossal beds so that she’ll feel cozier than at home. The innkeeper serves a gourmet breakfast every morning with mimosas upon request. 904.829.3819

Charlotte, NC

Atlanta, GA

Charlotte-based designer Jackie McFee has

We love our Braves,

dedicated a new collection of school supplies

Hawks, Falcons and Dream

to her cousin Kendall, who was diagnosed with

equally, but we don’t

leukemia. Designed for young women and girls—

always love the smelly

Tampa Bay, FL

the group most affected by leukemia—

sports bars men drag

Spicy, soulful or

the collection will be available nationwide, with

us to. Problem solved:

slamming—the 27th Annual

10% of proceeds benefiting the Leukemia &

STATS is an upscale joint

Tropical Heatwave

Lymphoma Society. jackiemcfee.com

with Gruyere Fondue, BBQ

Music Fest’s got it. Local

Candy Cake Pork Ribs and

and national artists come

Tomato Cheddar Popcorn

together on six stages at

as tasteful twists on pre-

The Cuban Club in Ybor City

game apps. 300 Marietta

to belt out blues, rock, folk,

Street. statsatl.com

country, and world music and celebrate the eclectic sounds of community radio. wmnf.org

“…we don’t always love the smelly sports bars men drag us to.” www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 37

HE’S SO ORIGINAL

Louis Heffner isn’t scared a bit. Lou’s wife introduced him to horses while they were in school at Kutztown University. “She trained me to be a good husband with horses,” he says. But it wasn’t until after Lou tried his hand at several unfulfilling jobs that he decided on a career in horse dentistry. Lou apprenticed under several successful equine dentists before receiving his professional certification with the International Association of Equine Dentistry. Lou floats, a masonry term for smoothing; equilibrates, files the edges; and manipulates the teeth so that horses can accept their bits more comfortably. “Horses are very honest,” he says. “If they trust you, they’ll allow you to manipulate them; if they don’t, they’ll let you know that too.” What he liked about wearing a skirt: “Guys are always bound up, this was really refreshing!” What he likes about reading skirt!: “It’s nice to read something written by women, about women.” Photo by Heather Sargent

38 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

Ar e you r ea d y to disc o ver t h e benefits of MonaVie? MonaVie offers one of the finest antioxidant superfoods in the world- the Acai berry. The juice is made of the Acai berry and a combination of 18 other fruits and berries. It is the best nutrition available in a bottle. MonaVie is one of the fastest growing networks in the USA today.

Drink It â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Feel It- Share It!

Lorrie Griffin Independent Distributor 706-414-9103 weareblessed2bless@yahoo.com www.mymonavie.com/griffin1 www.monaviejuicers4life.com

Shoes by DONALD J PLINER made in the mountains of italy

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Janet Palmer

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Ellen Everitt, 11, spent Spring Break last year in hurricane-stricken Waveland, Mississippi. The Episcopal

Ellen Everitt

Day School (E.D.S.) student served as a teacher’s aid and ran errands for her mom and dad as they substituted for teachers at E.D.S.’s sister school. And this year during Spring Break, Ellen joined her parents in rebuilding homes for families in New Orleans. “I could have gone to the beach with my grandparents,” she says, “but I know

“The kids out instead.” there were surprisingly in good spirits. They were just happy to be alive.” God would have wanted me to help

Photo by Heather Sargent

40 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

Come & Celebrate

Our Esthetician’s both have 4 Years Experience in: Skin Care Body Treatments Hair Removal LED Photo Pulsation Microdermabrasion

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3604 Verandah Drive, Suite D s Augusta, GA 30909 www.inspireaugusta.com s 706.737.2332

www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 41

Go See the Tiny Ninjas

Sometimes...life just comes down to showing up...

M Patti Digh

y daughter, Emma, and I both felt a little ill, slightly nauseated, tummies grumbling, and with headaches that make you pay attention and not move too quickly. We both felt the helplessness of victims of food poisoning, facing certain doom. Perhaps it was the heat, or the Mexican food, or the Indian food, or the Thai food, or the unidentified lunch objects from the conference I had spoken at that day. A few days in our Nation’s Capital and Emma and I were exhausted, spent, queasy. After an afternoon at my old stomping ground, the Andre Chreky Salon, our toenails looked smashing and I was sporting slightly Grouchoreminiscent eyebrows. So we might have been sick, but stylishly so. We had fallen onto our hotel beds at the end of the day, sweaty. “How’re you doing?” I asked a little while later, the air conditioner creating a freezer that held me in some fine molecular stasis. “Harph…” she groaned. “It’s time to go if we’re going to get to the Kennedy Center,” I said. “We’ve got to catch a cab now if you want to go.” What I really wanted was to be put into a medically induced coma until the sick wore off, but then again, too much of life is sleeping already and it’s not every day you can go see Macbeth at the Kennedy Center, and for free. The show was a production by the Tiny Ninja Theatre Company. “I had noticed that there were tiny plastic ninjas in vending machines all across the city,” says founder Dov Weinstein, “but no one was using them to perform classical theater. Something had to be done.” When I read that statement on the Kennedy Center Web site, I knew I wanted to go. Our options at this Moment In Time were narrow and narrowing the longer we remained prone. Eating dinner was out of the question. Best not tempt the gods of food poisoning. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t feel so good.” “Me neither.” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “I don’t know, you?” we softly lobbed the decision back and forth, eyeing each other to see who would give us the out to stay in our meat locker until morning. Patti Digh’s third book, LIFE IS A VERB, will be published by Skirt! Books in October 2008. Her award-winning blog, 37days, focuses on challenges for living more intentionally. Patti can be reached at patti@thecircleproject.com or www.pattidigh.com. 42 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

4.75x4.75 Skirt Magazine_Moersfelder

2/12/08

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Page 1

Go See the Tiny Ninjas

Ready to buy your dream home? First Citizens offers a wide range of mortgage loans, and our experienced and dedicated mortgage loan officers can help determine the ideal mortgage for your needs. We each suffered in our own silence for a few more moments, the cool sheets feeling sublime, like how a cold bathroom floor feels good when you’re spending significant fevered time in there, well, you know. It was 5:25 p.m. If we had any hope of making the 6:00 p.m. show, we’d have to leave now. We both stumbled to our feet. Once outside, the hot air felt like an assault. We got slowly into a cab— with air conditioning, blessedly—and made our way to the Kennedy Center. Each lurch of the cab sent us into deep concentrated effort. “Look at the horizon,” I whispered frantically. “Just look at the horizon.” The Millennium Stage was completely empty when we got there. “How can that be?” I asked, peering at the chairs, struck dumb by their emptiness. “I couldn’t have made a mistake—I know it starts at 6:00 p.m.” I stood looking at the stage as if staring was a change agent and Macbeth would suddenly appear. “Mom,” I finally heard Emma say behind me. “Mo-om!” I slowly turned to look at her. “There’s where everybody is going,” she said, pointing. I turned farther to peer at the other end of the long red hall, past the gigantic gnarly head of John F. Kennedy to another stage, one with large hordes of people around it. We were too late. There were no more seats, and the crowd kept growing, pinning us against the crowd barrier, the red rope keeping the seatless masses in line. “I need a ginger ale,” I said again, buying two Sprites that we held, reflexively, against our temples and necks. The efficient red-coated ushers looked nervously at the ballooning crowd. One moved from side to side peering into the crowd. As the show started, the usher moved to our side. “I can take six people,” she said, looking our way. Suddenly, a swell of people swallowed us up and pushed us aside. The lucky six with the strongest arm muscles were numbered and chosen, like those small children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it seemed to me, pushing their way into the chocolate river. Emma, in this moment of insight, was —of course—dear sweet Charlie, quietly standing aside. I played her quiet, precious Uncle. We were prepared to stand for the duration. Emma looked particularly beautiful that evening, her dark curls against pale skin and blue eyes. Feverish? Nauseated? Scottish? Suddenly, the usher appeared just before Emma, locking eyes with her. “Come, sit,” she said, raising her gaze to include me. “Come.” She opened the red threshold, pushing back those who surged forward. “Follow me,” she said, and she was gone, lost through a billowing curtain. We followed, emerging in the very front of the hall. “Sit here,” she whispered, pointing to the floor before the front row of seats. To the left was the performer himself, a man dressed completely in black, with shoulder-length puppeteer gloves, playing every part in Macbeth himself while maneuvering small plastic characters around a small black surface. We watched Macbeth don a wee plaid strip before going into battle, marveled at lighting effects operated by the director’s toes, and laughed at his imaginative props. When Macbeth cries out, ‘Is this a dagger I see before me?’ a ninja-size dagger appears, hanging by a thread off a long stick. Group scenes are pre-glued; when they need to disappear, Weinstein simply picks them up and throws them offstage. We laughed from our perch on the floor, looking at each other from time to time in surprise and amusement. We forgot our stomachs and Sprites. It was the delight that was delicious, the delight that only small plastic smileyfaced figurines can bring. For a bright shining moment, this little tribe of ninjas made all the world a stage. (Sound effect: Patti laughing Nerdy English Major Snort.) Sometimes, it occurred to me as Macbeth received a standing ovation, life just comes down to showing up, or sitting upright, or at the very least, flinging one leg at a time off the bed. Do it Now Challenge The motto of the Tiny Ninja Theatre is “No small parts. Only small actors.” Sounds like life. Get yourself there. It’s too easy to stay in a darkened hotel room with the air conditioner on high and a Friends marathon on low—pretty soon you wake up and have missed the Tiny Ninja Theatre altogether. So get yourself there, even those places you dread. Get to the gym, to the hospital to visit a dying friend when you don’t know what to say or do, to the Kennedy Center to see a grown man play with tiny plastic characters attached to cardboard with duct tape while quoting Shakespeare. Get yourself to your life. Rise above the aches and pains, the nausea, exhaustion, general malaise. The show won’t run forever. Go now or you’ll miss it. And sometimes, tiny ninjas are just the miracle we need.

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The idea that a car has to be new to be reliable is a myth, like the idea that people over the age of 65 are better off retired than working.

Kim Risburg

ucy was one of my finest companions. A spunky yellow miracle, I picked her out of the pack the minute I laid eyes on her. “I’ll take her,” I said to her owner without a moment’s hesitation. I signed her papers, handed over my money ($800 to be exact) and took her home with me, feeling already as if we had known each other for life. She was the last of a great breed, because Datsun—now Nissan—hasn’t made 510 wagons for years. Lucy came into my life at a time when I was ready for a good kick in the pants. I was 30 years old, working jobs I hated, and bored. I was scared I’d always be poor, scared I’d always be struggling, and scared of life in general. Some crazy friends of mine were preparing to take off on a long camping trip, and I decided to go along. I had a big garage sale to raise funds for the trip, put the remainder of my few belongings in storage, and bought Lucy. My mother, who is a good person, did a fine job of teaching me to keep both hands on the steering wheel of life, to always prepare for emergencies, and to take the road with the fewest potholes, even if the scenery is boring. I’d taken her advice and run with it…too far. Lucy was my antidote. I have friends with older cars who will not drive on long trips because “something could happen to the car.” But something could always happen to the car, regardless of its age. The idea that a car has to be new to be reliable is a myth, like the idea that people over the age of 65 are better off retired than working. In a sense, the car dealers who delight in tempting us with shiny new automotive toys are like the fashion scouts who pay handsome rewards to teenagers to pose for us on magazine covers because models who are in their twenties have already become “too old.” Wrinkles, like rust spots, are not allowed. Well, phooey. Lucy was not a good car in the sense that most people think of a good car, but that’s not the point. If you didn’t know her personally, you would miss her beauty. Those unacquainted with her finer qualities would mistake her for...well, a piece of junk. Her faded yellow paint had endured seventeen years of sun, snow, water and wind. She was very crabby in cold weather. Her AC had been dead for who knows how long. And the upholstery? Let’s just say it was dirt gray. But she was mine, unlike the boxy, listless hand-me-down Volvo wagon I’d sold to buy her. Besides, I find there is a certain character about worn-out things that keeps us mortal. When you drive an old car, you understand that human life is temporary. We come from the earth, and we will return to it again someday. Spend time behind the wheel of a brand new BMW, and you may succumb to the illusion that life is a one-way street heading straight to eternal youth, or at least a nice place with spotless marble floors and the option of plastic surgery.

I was nervous as ever as I set out on my journey on that cool May morning. I’d been delayed by a day, and was to meet my companions at a campground some 400 miles away. I had no idea how long I’d be gone, or what I would do when I returned to Colorado. I sat stiff as a crash test dummy in the driver’s seat, wondering how long it would be before an axle broke, the brakes failed, or the carburetor caught on fire. Remarkably, none of those things happened. The engine hummed, the miles passed, and I slowly released my death grip on the steering wheel. I pulled in to that campground feeling triumphant, and more than a little relieved. I wasn’t used to traveling alone, and I was glad to have joined my friends. My camping companions were traveling in pairs. As the only solo traveler in the group, I would have plenty of time alone behind the wheel. As our trip continued, my incessant fears continued to dance their way through my consciousness. I worried about the weather, about bears, about the plight of migratory birds...you name it. After a while, I learned not to fight with the fears, but just to let them be. Yes, they were going to taunt me, but I didn’t have to listen. My companions had equipped themselves with pickup trucks and topper campers. Lucy and I had to rough it without such luxuries, but that was okay. Back home, my days were clouded by an almost constant anxiety about money. But out in the woods, I lacked nothing. I had good food, warm clothes, a comfortable sleeping bag, and a pup tent that provided adequate shelter. Just as importantly, I had friends around me. What else did I need, truly? Our little caravan meandered up through the Canadian Rockies, and the days flew by. We stayed in quiet, out-of-the-way campgrounds where there were few people and fewer amenities. There really wasn’t much to do except enjoy the scenery and each others’ company. The need to be busy dropped away. I thought of how often I had dutifully filled my calendar with activities, just for the sake of feeling productive. After six weeks, I parted company with my friends and began the long drive back to Colorado. The thought of camping alone—previously a terrifying idea— now brought no anxiety whatsoever. I still wasn’t sure what I would do when I returned, but that was okay. I had driven thousands of miles with no particular agenda, no emergency plan...in fact, no plan at all. I had no idea what I was doing, and things had turned out just fine anyway. I’ve heard that Persian rug makers always weave a flaw into their rugs so they’re not perfect, and after my experience with Lucy I can see that there is a certain logic to such a practice. That geezer of a car exceeded my best expectations, taking me and about 70 pounds of camping equipment over 10,000 miles across the Canadian Rockies without a single problem. She would serve me faithfully for another year before the rust on her body reached the terminal stage, and I had to put her down. I love my current car, but driving such a new vehicle—by Lucy’s standards—makes me feel a little out of touch with life’s more unpredictable elements. These days, when I feel the need to break out of my comfort zone, I imagine myself behind the wheel of that yellow Datsun, and I step on the gas.

Kim Risburg is a musician, writer, and make-it-up-as-she-goes-along freelancer. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she enjoys sleeping through rush hour traffic and working in her pajamas. 46 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

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getting our name out is important. With a limited ad budget, I’m very selective about where and how I advertise. Skirt! consistently brings new customers to Pastel and also hits what I consider to be our target audience. Because of skirt!, our neighbors know about us and we’re reaching new customers in Columbia County. Thank you, skirt!, for helping the concept

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may 2 Cheer on your favorite live Maine thoroughbred, enjoy gourmet food, family activities, rides, and live entertainment at The Aiken Lobster Races. 5:30-11:30pm. Adults $5; kids under six are free. 803.649.9500 Follow Valarie Kaur across post-9/11 America as she explores race, religion and identity in Divided We Fall. 7pm; The Columbia County Library’s Performing Arts Center, 7022 Towne Center Blvd. dwf-film.com

3 Celebrate James Brown’s birthday with a concert. Payback features artists influenced by the Godfather of Soul and musicians who shared his stage. $35 (advance); $45. 12:30pm-till. The Augusta Common. paybackjamesbrown.com Sip mint juleps and watch The Derby at The Augusta Museum of History. 5-9pm. $50 at GB&T or The Augusta Training Shop (benefiting organization); $60 at the door. 706.738.1358

2,3&4 Oh my!, The Augusta Players are performing “The Wizard of Oz” at The Imperial Theatre. 745 Broad Street. Friday and Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. 706.826.4707 or augustaplayers.org.

4 Create a painting using found objects with instructor Pamela Ferguson Haggins. Artrageous! Sunday at the Morris Museum of Art is a free program for families. 2-4pm. 706.724.7501 or themorris.org. Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on this day in 1979.

5-11 This is the first day of Astronomy Week. Spend an evening in the backyard looking at the stars. Blanket optional.

6 Come to A. Aibreu Bodine’s Exhibition Opening at the Morris Museum of Art where Aubrey’s daughter, Jennifer, will discuss her father’s photographic career. 1 Tenth Street, Augusta. 706.724.7501 or themorris.org.

8,9&10 Pitch a tent at The Aiken Bluegrass Festival and get down Appalachian-style. The lineup includes the Drew Emmitt Band (of Leftover Salmon) and a late night jam session. aikenbluegrassfeatival.org

13 11 Ahoy! Spend Mother’s Day aboard the Petersburg Boat learning canal lore, singing, and watching wild animals. 2-5pm. Adults: $20; Children: $10; Senior, Military, Students: $18. 706.823.0440 x 4

12 “I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.” Katherine Hepburn would have been 102 today.

Tee up, The Jessye Norman School of the Arts and the Knox Foundation are hosting a lunch and golf tourney at Belle Meade. 11:45am. $300/foursome; $75/ single (advance), $80 (on-site). 706.737.4322

16&17 Attend gardening workshops, visit landscape vendors and tour private gardens at The Aiken Garden Show. 10am-5pm. One-Day: $25; Two-Day: $35. Historic Banksia, The Aiken County Historical Museum. 803.641.6777

20 Learn Investing 101 at the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Women In Business Luncheon. 11:30am-1:30pm. Augusta Marriott Hotel & Suites, 2 Tenth Street. Members: $20; Non-Members: $25. 706.821.1300 or augustausa.com.

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“The essence of pleasure is spontaneity. Germaine Greer

? [ The F-Word | Feminists Speak Out ]

How Can You Be A

Feminist Without Anyone Knowing? Chloe Angyal

“Let me make it quite simple: a feminist is someone who thinks that women deserve the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities as men. Extreme? Hardly.”

“I’m not a feminist, but…” is a phrase I hear young women say quite often. Courtney Martin, an author whose work focuses on perfectionism and body image in women, encourages her young audiences to break out of that mindset and embrace a new f-word: feminism. This is a scary thought for women of my generation, who have distanced themselves from what they see as “extreme” feminist ideas and from the inevitable “bitch” label that comes with them. Let me make it quite simple: a feminist is someone who thinks that women deserve the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities as men. Extreme? Hardly. As a self-confessed raging feminist, I don’t think anyone should be ashamed of the label, and I wear it with pride, but I can understand how many women are not quite ready for it yet. So until they are, here are five ways to be a feminist without ever having to use the f-word. First, stop obsessing about your body. Stop criticizing it in public. Stop telling other women, “I wish I had your thighs.” Every time you do, you’re reinforcing the idea that women are only valuable if they’re physically attractive. You have an amazing brain—you deserve to be recognized for it. You might also have an amazing body, but my point is that while society values men for their brains, regardless of what their bodies look like, women are still largely valued only for their appearance (you don’t hear anyone talking about John McCain’s wrinkles, but everyone’s wondering whether or not Hillary has had botox). Set an example for other women, and for the world, by valuing yourself and your friends for the right reasons. Secondly, stop calling each other sluts and whores. As Tina Fey explained in Mean Girls, calling women sluts and whores just makes it okay for men to call you sluts and whores. Fey was right—if women not only allow this kind of demeaning language, but embrace it and use it, we send a strong message that it’s acceptable for men to demean us. True, their meaning has evolved over the years, but even in their current usage, the sentiment behind them is the same: this woman is contemptible, and she’s contemptible because she engages in sex. Do yourself and your friends a favor, and stop reviling women for having sex, unless you’re going to revile men equally. Third, don’t let advertisers sell you empowerment. In 2003, satirical newspaper The Onion ran a hilarious article called “Women Now Empowered by Everything a Woman Does,” which poked fun at our habit of calling everything we do a “personal choice,” and therefore equating it with feminism. Be a smart consumer: advertisers probably aren’t the best authority on what empowerment looks like, especially if they’re telling you that it looks exactly like their product. Fourth, make smart sexual decisions. It’s easy for feminism to be distorted until it looks a lot like Samantha on Sex and the City—unattached, meaningless sex (or as she calls it, “sex like a man”). But feminism means being able to make the right choice for you. If that means hooking up after a night out at the bar, go for it, but make sure you’re doing it because you want to. If it means saving yourself until marriage, go for it, but again, don’t let anyone pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. Listen to your own sexual desires, acknowledge their legitimacy, and follow them. Finally, value real women. Admire and emulate women who make intellectual contributions, women of talent and integrity. Yes, it’s mindless fun to follow the lives of the tabloid staples, but let’s get real: Amy Winehouse is not a good role model for anyone. Hillary Clinton, the Dixie Chicks, scientists, countless business leaders and politicians—these women make real contributions, and can inspire us to do the same. If you already do these five things, congratulations, you’re a feminist. Deal with it. Those of you still in the “I’m not a feminist, but…” camp, not quite ready to burn your bras: take these five steps and you’ll be on your way to saying the f-word out in the open.

Chloe Angyal is a Sociology major from Sydney, Australia. She can be reached at cangyal@princeton.edu. 52 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Set an example for other women, and for the world, by valuing yourself and your friends for the right reasons.

www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 53

Mother’s Day Brunch

May 11, 2008

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Celebrate “mum” with a Mother’s Day Brunch at The Partridge Inn and leave the cooking to the experts. Moms: wear your “Best Spring Hat” for a chance to win a pampering weekend escape at the landmark hotel; you deserve it! The Partridge Inn will hold a “Best Spring Hat” contest during Brunch and the winning mom will receive overnight accommodations and dinner for two on a balcony overlooking downtown Augusta and the Savannah River.

11am-3pm • $31.95/adult, $12.95/children 10 and under, children five and under are free Reservations recommended • 706.396.2620.

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Catch up on Vagina

Warriors Margaret and

Sabrina’s road trip to the Superdome for V to the Tenth, a celebration of

10 years of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues.

Margaret and Sabrina

spoke to communities along the way about “When a relationship ends before you ever fight, learn what you don’t have in common and what eeks you about that person, it feels as if you’ve lost the only perfect relationship you’ve ever had. It can hurt worse than breaking up with a guy you’ve dated for years (at least then, you can remember what you hated about him!).” Merry Glenne Piccolino Editor augusta.skirt.com/blog

feminism, vaginas, and the state of the union—submit your own video vagina

monologue on skirt.com.

receive The Morning Muse emails. Whether it’s an

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Give “at risk” children and teens a chance to excel in school and life. Volunteer with Ambassadors Community Organization, Inc. (ACO) and help kids learn the alphabet and learn to read, and assist teens with their homework. 706.951.3708

Help women in developing countries sustain themselves, their daughters, and others. More than 70% of the world’s poor are women. Heifer International uses your contribution to promote gender equity, enabling women to be equal partners in family farms. heifer.org

Sponsor a tropical bird at The Feathered Friends Forever Organization in Harlem. Any donation amount to help pay for your parrot’s care in a tropical paradise is welcome and you can visit your feathered

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Amnesty International campaign to protect freedom of expression. Internet repression occurs in countries like China,Vietnam, Tunisia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria, and IT companies like Yahoo! have become compliant in handing over users’ private data.

Transport cancer patients to and from their treatments and related appointments. The American Cancer Society needs drivers with a vehicle, a safe driving record, a valid driver’s license, and insurance to volunteer with their Road to Recovery program. 706.731.9900

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This issue of skirt! was put together to the sounds of: Accelerate R.E.M.

The Very Best of Maria Callas Maria Callas

Shine a Light Rolling Stones/Martin Scorsese soundtrack

For Emma, Forever Ago Bon Iver

Page Turners Resistance Owen Sheers

In this debut novel, Germany invades England in 1944, and the men in a small Welsh village suddenly disappear during the night. The women are left to deal with a group of German soldiers who are on a mysterious mission to their isolated valley. I was mesmerized. Nikki Hardin, skirt! publisher

The Choice Nicholas Sparks

This book has a twist of romance as the characters experience unexpected feelings, which lead to unexpected things. It made me ponder my own life and think about the decisions Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d make if ever faced with the same situation. Tammy Martin Advertising Director

At a Glance e The 1000 Journals Projectt by Someguy, foreword by Kevin Kellyy

In 2000, a thousand blank k journals were launched into o the world and made theirr way by hand and mail to o have their pages filled in n along the way, around the e globe. This is a compilation n of some of the pages.. Why not startt your own traveling g journal project??

Pretend Brave The big question for me, now, is What if I don’t do this? What if I regret that? Lori Smith

There are girls who trek through Nepal, who live and work among gypsies in Croatia, who ride the entire length of the Trans-Siberian Railroad’s 5,772 miles. I know—I’ve met them. I’m not one of them. As a child, I didn’t even like to go out to dinner. I didn’t want to go someplace new, someplace where there were people I didn’t know, people I would have to eat in front of. Even Mickey D’s was scary. I was happier at home with peanut butter and jelly, thank you very much. Fall was my favorite season. Summer, not so much, although I loved the pool and the beach and the sun. In summer, I would be expected to go places and do things—and there would be lots of other people going places and doing things. In 62 mayw2008augusta www.skirt.com

the fall and winter, it was acceptable to stay inside and be quiet, and it seemed the rest of the world was much more reasonably quiet and contained. In fifth grade, I went to a new school—a public school, my first one. I had to change classes. The girls were reading Judy Blume books, and anxiously awaiting their periods. My mom chose one of those dreaded morning rides to school in her wide maroon Oldsmobile to begin the discussion—you know the one—about what a period was and how it would happen even though I was a skinny little stick figure with nary a bit or a blip of woman showing up yet. I cried. Hard.

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Hair Coloring And every day I sat with my brown bag lunch, wanting Tater Tots from the cafeteria line behind the big white cement wall, but not daring to go back there. I mean, how did it work, after all? What if they gave me carrotsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or fish? What if I looked dumb? Growing up for me was a process of learning to be a little bit braveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; or at least learning to pretend. Something my father said once changed my life. This was after college (in which I did master the still-rather-terrifying cafeteria), after Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d taken my first job. I was talking about wanting to meet the writer Madeleine Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Engle, how that was one of my dreams, and he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Well, what are you going to do to make that happen?â&#x20AC;? Something inside me snapped, in the best possible way. I realized then that I could live my dreams, or I could just talk about them. And I became afraid that if I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do something, I would grow old having actually done nothing. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t married, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have kids (the future I had always expected for myself), and anything else that was going to happen I had to make happen myself. So I signed up for a writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; retreat with Madeleine Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Engle for three years in a row. She broke her hip and then was unable to travel for various reasons, and then stopped traveling altogether, so I never met her. But I came very close. Then I went to Paris on my own, with just the barest of French, just because I dreamed of a romantic solo trip. I gripped the arms of my seat as the plane took off. I thought I might throw up. The next morning, a dignified good-looking Frenchman was blowing me kisses over my omelet, as I tried to be terribly polite to the waitress. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Merci, madameâ&#x20AC;? for the coffee, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Merci, madameâ&#x20AC;? for the water, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Merci, madameâ&#x20AC;? for the croissant. (I think I was as solicitous as a schoolchild.) I spent the rest of the trip terrified and elated, with a crowd of tourists in Monetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full-bloomed garden at Giverny, wearing something apparently too short to the ballet at the Palais Garnier, staving off panic attacks on the Metro. (I did try to get off at the wrong side of the train a couple times, pushing the button to try to get the doors to openâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;doors which led only to precipitous drops and more sets of tracks. I felt dumb. I got over it.) Later I was telling my friend Dee how one of my dreams was to hike the Grand Canyon. She said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Really, want to go over Thanksgiving?â&#x20AC;? My heart dropped. Was this another dream I would have to actually do? It was. At 27, I bought a pack and broke in my boots with 50 miles of walking and learned the intricacies of going to the bathroom off-trailâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one of my all-time greatest fears. I got to know the canyon intimatelyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;its quiet trails, sleeping on a ledge in a side canyon under a nearly full moon, hot afternoons and freezing nights. I was terrified of scorpionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;my guidebook said not to worry, you could hike through the intense pain. The snakes were much more dangerous. Two years later, walking into Montana backcountry for a week carrying 40 pounds, I thought I might die somehow on the trail, stumbling into a bear during her dawn feeding, or maybe starving to death with a broken leg. There are always fears. Perhaps for some people there arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not one of those people. C.S. Lewis said every time you make a decision, you change the central part of you that chooses. He meant moral choicesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whenever you choose to lie, for example, or not to lie, you change the substance of who you are and what you are likely to do the next time you have a choice to make. I think the same thing is true, though, with our lives. Every time you make a decisionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to live your life, to do the things that call youâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;you change what you are likely to do the next time you have a choice. Right now, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m choosing to live my life. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m choosing to pretend to be brave. The fear that used to limit meâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;What if someone sees me? What if I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what to do?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;now compels me. The big question for me, now, is What if I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do this? What if I regret that? My latest adventure was following Jane Austenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life through England. For a glorious month I wandered alone through the English countryside. I stayed at a monastery with a gorgeous garden and terrifying silent meals. (Monks happen to eat very fast, should you ever need to know.) I fell in love. I threw up. (In roughly that order.) I prayed sitting in a pew of the tiny church Jane grew up in. I got lost wandering through fields and got stuck walking in the rain on a country road and had to hitchhike, learned that nerds donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make very good hitchhikers, and got rescued by the best cabbie in the world. I felt deliciously, wholly alive. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so terribly glad I learned to pretend.

Lori Smith, from Virginia, is the author of A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love and Faith. Her writing has appeared in Publishers Weekly and Washington Post Book World. She hopes next to conquer her fears of real Italian gelato.

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Available at a Variety of Locations. Downtown and North Aiken Aiken Brewing Company Aiken County Family Y Aiken County Tax Office Aiken Library Aiken Pediatrics Aiken Post Office Aiken Regional Hospital ER Center of the Alley Antique Mall Artists’ Parlor Barbara Sue Brodie Needleworks Chronicle Bureau Office Curiosity Shop Curves Exxon The Holley Building Market Place Antique M. J. Weston Med. Services Mullins Lab Nandina Dr. Rocky Napier New Moon Café Pat’s Restaurant Power Cuts Salon & Day Spa Southern Moon Pottery Stoplight Deli Tea Garden Gifts Vinya’s Boutique Women’s Echoes York Cottage Antiques

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Roly Poly Sandwiches Roma’s Pizza Sherry’s Nail Studio Soho Surrey Pharmacy The FFamily Th il Y Trends & Traditions Villa Village Village Deli Wife Saver Wing Stop Evans Bagel Factory Brown & Radiology Associates Dr. Rosa Blanco Center for Primary Care Circle K CoCo’s Cabana Evans Medical Group Fatz Cafe Gibbs Library Gilvey’s Cleaners Grand Buffet Haydens International Gym High Cotton Jumpin’ Party Zone Just Fresh Kid to Kid Liza Clays Mainstream Boutique MedExpress Mullins Lab

Want to get a free skirt! rack for your store or office? Contact skirt! magazine at 706.823.3277 or e-mail tammy.martin@skirt.com.

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Mini Me Time Out Baby Talk Kid Stuff

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As one of National Geographic’s first woman photographers, Annie Griffiths Belt has broken ground by raising two children while globetrotting for work. Similarly captivated by new cultures, her kids have become nomads at heart

Why Not…Take a camera and your kids and document your day together?

by learning to shear sheep in England, luge in

New Zealand, and body surf in Australia. In A Camera, Two Kids and a Camel, Annie shares stunning photographs and timeless wisdom from all corners of the globe.

“Even without a shared language, it’s easy to let people know that their children are beautiful, their homes are lovely…and their stories are worth sharing with the world. Annie Griffiths Belt, in A Camera,Two Kids and a Camel

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NOW SHOWING

in Fernbank’s IMAX® Theatre! Call 404.929.6400 for tickets and show times. Also Showing in Fernbank’s IMAX® Theatre: Journey into Amazing Caves(Closes May 4) Mystic India (Limited Engagement) Dolphins (Opens May 5))

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Atlanta, GA 30307

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Wanted: Men. (No Skirts Required) “I’m a Feminist Because…” Give us 50 words finishing this sentence, and you might be one of the profiles featured in the July issue of skirt! […because women’s rights are human rights…] […because we can always do better…] […because we should both wear the pants…] […because this is what a feminist looks like…]

Email your 50 words to merry.piccolino@skirt.com before June 1, 2008. Please include your full name, street address, city, state, and a daytime telephone number.

www.skirt.com mayw2008augusta 67

My family: Is my source of strength. My work: Inspires me. My hometown: I’m an army brat-we never know how to answer that question. My favorite possession: My 39th birthday gift to myself—a 1990 candy apple red Mazda Miata convertible.

Last major purchase: A makeover. Don’t mess with me in my diva red lipstick! What keeps me awake at night: Primary Results: Obama for President! I am guilty of: Overcommitting myself.

The best thing I ever won: MCG Distinguished Faculty If I could do it all over Award; there’s nothing like again: I wouldn’t. having your peers recognize you for your work. My best friend says I am: Too trusting. I can’t live without: Oreos! I keep a stash under my desk I still can’t get the hang at all times. of: Picking men. Enough said. Words I live by: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I am most proud of: My eight-year-son Alan.

The world would be a better place if only: We actually practiced what we preached. The worst idea I’ve ever had: Do you really want to know his name?

twenty-four with

Dr. Mary Hughes

MCGHealth Neurologist, Augusta, GA

Photo byby Hillary Odom Photo Blah Blahs

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planetnikki

adI am more ad dicted to Brain Age on my red Nintendo DS than I am to my BlackBerry.

A local woman running for office– why aren’t more?

Another pitiful attempt at selfimprovement...still unwatched.

I bought this photo by Jessica Bruah on 20x200.com because it is exactly the way I work.

late night rain-colored streets, group-colored Om, crossing a lemon-colored river at sunset on the way to art class, lush lipstick prints on my latte cup, the blue hour, my favorite time, yellow-tongued purple not yet night, no longer day. iris, blueberry pie, pink anything is possible...ghosts can pajamas straight from the walk, a cow bell sounds cosmic, dryer, red Netflix envelope angels might be abroad, a in the mailbox, first bite parallel universe might lie just of an orange, sauteing over the hill, the planet slows onions until they’re down enough for us to hear the mellow yellow, gray goosemusic of the spheres if we close feather fog rolling inshore, our eyes and listen with our night-colored sleep like hearts, plants inhale color and the thick wool of a black exhale perfume, dew falls like sheep, technicolor dreams. kind words, insects pause and Nikki Hardin, Publisher discuss who knows what among themselves, a cat sitting on a stone wall knows the meaning of life and would tell us if we simply asked. Nikki Hardin, Publisher

I can spend hours browsing (and ordering) the quirky selfpublished books on Blurb.com.

MORRIS MUSEUM

ART

Art at Lunch Join the Morris Museum for Art at Lunch,

a catered series of lunchtime presentations by local, national, and international figures in the arts.

Jackson Cheatham Friday, May 9 The master printmaker discusses his craft and technique, using examples of printing plates and finished pieces. Lunch by A Catered Affair. Register by May 7. Cortona # 1, 07. Courtesy of the artist.

Should I Throw Out My Camera? The Future of Photography in the Digital Age. Bryan LeBoeuf, Family Landscape, 2003. Courtesy 511 Gallery.

Friday, June 20 Curator Jay Williams discusses the introduction of digital cameras and how they have changed traditional photographic methods and values. Lunch by Roux’s Catering.

Art at Lunch is held at noon on

Erick Montgomery

selected Fridays each month and generally

Friday, July 11

lasts 60–80 minutes. The program is $10 for

The director of Historic Augusta reveals

museum members, and $13 for non-mem-

the rich architectural history of the Garden City. Catering by Cutie Pies

bers; includes lunch, beverages, and museum

Gourmet Cafè. Register by July 9.

admission. Pre-paid registration is required by calling 706-724-7501.

Bryan LeBoeuf Friday, August 1 The artist discusses his current Morris Museum exhibition Realist Paintings by Bryan LeBoeuf. Catering by French Market Grille.

1 Tenth Street Augusta, Georgia 30901 706-724-7501 www.themorris.org

On the Road, 2003. Courtesy 511 Gallery.