Nikki

Nikki is the author of the award-winning Sam Tate Mystery series, as well as a stand-alone thriller and two non-fiction books. Check out the rest of the site, and please subscribe. It's easy and free. New projects in the works include an ebook of short stories, a YA novel, and a new Sam Tate mystery.

Life Before Death

Jul 082015
 

The novel I’m working on (I love saying that. Working on a novel. I recognize it’s an activity nearly as common as dog-walking. Still, I’m happily ensconced in my made-up world. “Imagination, free thyself.” It doesn’t get any better than that). Wait, where was I?

Ah yes: The novel I’m working on is set in New Orleans, a city practiced in resilience and experienced in all things magical, mysterious and inexplicable. The young girl at the center of the story copes with tragedy and with the blurred line between life and death.

afterlifeI thought about my protagonist as I recently tuned into yet another show about what lies beyond. Television writers and producers appear fond of the idea that we can reach out to, talk with or even resurrect the dead. Every show features a skeptic (always a person of science), a believer (usually associated with a classic religion like Catholicism), a child (because they are more open to what is inexplicable—or maybe more easily manipulated) and some new age person who assures the ones who are grieving that their beloved is “happy.” Honestly, though, the focus isn’t about the comfort of the departed souls but about comforting the survivors. Once we let go of the idea the deceased might be suffering in some unspeakable place or wandering aimlessly about, the needs of those puzzling over life and death become paramount. They’re the ones left behind to hurt and also to fret about what happens next. The departed presumably already know.

bridge-in-the-clouds

The skeptic in me squirms. The curious part of me ponders. Logic and belief fight for primacy. What do I think happens after death? What do I need to think happens? What difference does it make?

Thinking about it is human. Worrying about it is unproductive. What happens happens. Meanwhile I need to make certain any explorations into my ever-evolving beliefs don’t interfere with my life in the here and now. It’s far too easy, especially as one gets older and, let’s face it, less relevant in the world, to slip out of engagement. I’m guilty of passing, some might say wasting, time on various social media sites. Online social networking offers some interaction but it’s virtual. I’m not saying that makes it invalid, only that relying exclusively on that sort of interaction is limiting.

Most of us these days take in our surroundings indirectly. We share videos and read summaries of articles and get our news from our friends. As much time as I spend in front of a computer screen of one size or another, I’m a novice compared with the next two generations. Healthy and mobile for the most part, they seem to regularly wander past the wondrousness around them, heads down, looking at their hands or their wrists. When they catch a glimpse of something uniquely marvelous, they record it or photograph it rather than look at it in situ as it were. They see the world through the lens  of a Smartphone camera or worse, behind them, in the background to their endless selfies. If a tree falls in the forest and we’re all watching via Skype, what has actually happened?

Sometimes direct observation is impractical: We can’t all be Ernest Hemingway-style adventurers. Sometimes it’s impossible. Most of us will die but once, making post-life reporting unlikely. Meanwhile, this existence deserves our full attention. Who knows? Maybe we’ll stumble upon something while alive that suggests a journey far beyond anything we ever imagined.
huron-in-flight

This Week in Cray-Cray

Jun 122015
 

Dominic-Strauss-KahnDominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund has been acquitted of aggravated pimping charges stemming from accusations he organized lavish orgies with a network of friends and prostitutes. In 2011, he was acquitted of sexual assault of a housekeeper in a posh New York hotel. The acquittals, widely expected, have produced most shrugs among members of French society. While the charges have quashed his chances at a political career, Strauss-Kahn appears poised to successfully resume his professional career as an investment banker. #rehabilitationalafrançais

Pastor-Stephen AndersonAn Arizona preacher is apparently praying for God to rip out the heart of transgendered celebrity Caitlyn Jenner. He also claims to hold in his heart a “perfect hatred” for Ms. Jenner, prompting some to wonder what an “imperfect” hatred might look like. #whatwouldJesusdo

 

myanmar_flag_pictureThe government of Myanmar, reacting to an international outcry, has agreed to put a stop to the mass exodus by the Rohingya, a group of ethnic Muslims within its borders. The dangerous and illegal smuggling trade has proved devastating to the region, resulting in overwhelmed neighboring countries and death and deprivation for the emigrants. At the same time, officials refuse to address issues of widespread persecution or even recognize the Rohingya as being legitimate citizens. #thisisnotdemocracy

texas

 

Texas #becauseTexas

 

 

 

Jerry-SeinfeldJerry Seinfeld, among several comedians, expressed his concern expressed his concern that political correctness and hyper-sensitivity may be ruining comedy by inhibiting comedians. His comments inspired a hyper-sensitive politically correct social media backlash. #weallneedachillpill

 

 

statement-of-candidacy
There are, at latest (but not last) count, some 366 people who have filed the paperwork necessary to run for President of the United States. Eight percent of them are expecting/hoping to appear in the Republican primary debates in August. #thisisdemocracy

Old Lady Walking

May 292015
 
old woman sees young self in mirror

courtesy: Tom Hussey

The other day I perused the Internet for short hair styles that might be attractive on older women. Why? I’m considering a change in style, and I’m willing to concede I might be considered an “older woman.”

Imagine my surprise upon encountering a picture of the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal among the images. Maggie G. only 37, is an older woman? Since fricking when?

Gyllenhaal told CNN a Hollywood producer deemed her too old to play the lover of a fifty-five year old man. Although the story isn’t immediately verifiable, it dovetails with anecdotal reports from the left coast. Tinsel Town’s ageism is as old as the Hollywood Hills.

So are assessments as to female desirability. Amy Schumer hilariously captures the prevailing mindset in her “Last F**kable Day” video, starring Tina Fey, Patricia Arquette and Julia Louie-Dreyfus. Hard to believe we’re still dealing with overt female-centric ageism in 2015. Where’s the progress?

It goes beyond female desirability. Women over fifty might as well all wear black dresses to the floor, like the nanna few of us ever had. In everyone’s eyes, we’re one amorphous post-child-bearing blob.

Since I’m past sixty, I’m on the lookout for portrayals of “seniors” in pop culture. Trust me when I tell you the difference between men and women remains apparent. It’s not just Liam Neeson and company strutting their stuff. It’s that women are old, done for, vulnerable and over-the-hill. Or they play far younger because otherwise, well, they wouldn’t exist. Two examples among many:

  • On a recent episode of “The Good Wife”, the client was “a little old lady” of 62, played by an actress who appeared to be in her mid-seventies and defended by the lawyer in her mid-fifties played by Christine Baranski, 63.
  • On a rerun of “Law and Order: SVU”, the rape of a woman was seen as especially revolting because she was described as an elderly woman of 60.

Yes, we have a comedy in which two actors in their seventies portray seventy-something characters facing divorce for the first time. The honesty is bracing. The fact that they are played by Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda with gleaming teeth, perfect skin, beautiful necks and all the money their characters require to suffer luxuriously is simply a way to address the issues of female aging without throwing too many wrinkles into the plot, I guess.

Television often casts 49-year old women to play the mothers of 30 year old men. Under fifty, the women can still be rocket scientists, university professors, molecular biologists and CIA agents with advanced degrees who might, if required kick some butt here and there. Given the accomplishments and relative youth among the mothers, I can only surmise there were quite a few on-campus births back in the day as well as understanding employers.

I’ve heard senior women are the latest trend. As AdWeek gushed in early April, “older women are the new ‘it’ girls.” Apparently retailers are belatedly realizing baby boomers hold—and spend—most of the wealth. Wave our wallets at them and watch them come running. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Meanwhile, the truthful portraits of mature females vie for attention with the more popular tropes that older women (except for Meryl Streep or Dame Helen Mirren, of course) have two choices: lift, dye, process, rise, repeat, until you look like something that, as Julie Louis-Dreyfus observes “has been left out too long in the sun.” Or accept your lot in life as a generic sexless thing. You can fight against it; I certainly intend to. It’s an uphill climb. Strong, secure, sexy post-child-bearing women are either terrifying or incomprehensible to a significant portion of the population.

Back to the haircuts: I’m sorry Maggie Gyllenhaal is placed in the “mature woman” category when it comes to style. It could be worse. For instance, I went back to look and came across a style in the “women over sixty” category that interested me: short, curly and low-maintenance. Looks a bit like Carol, the gray-haired warrior from “The Walking Dead”. Wait; that IS Carol; at least it’s a picture of the actress who plays her, Melissa McBride. McBride just turned fifty. What’s she doing in the over sixty category? Is it the gray hair? Or is it that one old lady walking looks just like the next.

This story was originally published in The Broad Side

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