Righteous Bebe too!

04/15/2010 11:10PM CST:

Left photo of Ani Difranco show at the Pageant on 4/14/10.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but we sat only about 30 feet from the stage. As always, Ani Difranco put on an amazing show. Had a blast with my EmersonUU/Concert buddy Melissa - can't wait for Indigo Girls in another week! Melissa best put it that we're a bit longer in the tooth than the average Ani attendee by saying: "I have shoes older than these girls' nose rings."

Sitting in the concert, I was immersed in sound. I was savoring the moment (gluttonous almost), but the music was almost a familiar companion that had acommpanied me throughout my adult life. What a feeling to experience such thankfulness for all that this music and this person's message have done for my own life.

Ani Difranco's music carried messages which helped steer me to some of my own beliefs, though not directly. While often seeming to be overtly political on the surface, so much seems to be based upon principles that I later came to embrace as my own UU spiritual identity. Songs of equality, respect for choice, and concern for all people closely aligned with those principles which have become so close to my own aspirations: the inherent worth and dignity of every person, the search for truth and meaning, respect for the democratic process, and the interdependent web of existence of which we are all a part. Ani's music came at a time when I could have accepted mediocrity, and I could have surrounded myself with meaninglessness, and materialistic emptiness. Thankfully, I did not. Ani helped me identify a need for meaning. Her music helped me break paradigms of what my life should become. Her message has helped me re-define family to ultimately re-invent a family unit for myself. Her music has helped me identify that there is spirituality that comes from our connectedness with others.

Aside from the original Righteous babe, my Righteous Bebe had its next OB check-up. At 13 weeks and 2 days, Bebe had a very healthy heartbeat of 165 bpm. And Jessie and Bebe are in great health.