fame, worrying the sheep, Baptists and high wierdness

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: I had an extroardinary, wonderful and strange henna week .... I was : booked in for lectures on the history, traditions and techniques of : henna into public libraries in the rural Bible belt of Ohio. : The state of Ohio funds libraries wonderfully, and allows libraries to : budget for lecturers ... and I seem to be flavor of the month for : "Young Adult" programming. Thank Goddess. Very few knowledgeable : people volunteer for library gigs, because the $ is pretty iffy ... : but as a daft old retired cow, I find new experiences more intriguing : than $. So ... because several popular books on henna have been : picked up by every library down to the most rural, an in-depth : history and traditions lecture followed up by a cone of fresh henna : for every patient listener is very popular .... especially in the : beaurocratic world of "if you don't use your budget line, you can kiss : it goodbye!". : So, I packed my bags and my $500 '89 rusty Nova, and followed the map : to several very tiny communities .... where I found at each library a : WONDERFUL roomful of girls and ladies very, very eager to find out : about henna at every stop! I've never seen young women so hungry for : a connection to the last 9000 years of women's joy and sexuality ... : and many of them on the first try were outstanding henna artists! : I skewed the history lecture towards the original henna useage as a : celebration of the agricultural cycle of the year, the exhaltation of : the fertility of women, cows, goats and sheep and the fields .... and : leaned hard on the recent stuff I've found that proves that henna was : used in Old Testament and New Testament Palestine .... (because the : local fundie preachers, had, of course pitched a fit at the library : administration that they were programming "cult indoctrination" into : their libraries. Yeah. Right. Get a grip. ) (But if they found me : threatening, I accept the compliment!) (I also went into the Christian : use of henna in Armenia, Spain, Sicily, Egypt, Ethiopia and Lebanon : .... not mentioning that the henna users were Christians but not : necessarilly Baptists... ) : Also .... I showed them pictures and written records of hennaed : horses, cows, sheep, goats .... and as most of them are 4-H'ers .... : looks like there will be MANY burgundy-hennaed pet lambs (and other : species) shown at the county fairgrounds this spring! This is just : tooooooo coool! : If you've REALLY got henna history, traditions and techniques down : and memorized like your pin number for your ATM card ... don't : hesitate to take it into very rural comunities .... for heaven's sake, : most of henna's history was in the hands of young rural women! It : really, really works for people who don't see it as a kicky trend, but : as an art form that weaves women, land and fertility together, : generation after generation. The money may not happen, but the joy is : unsurpassed! : My only regret for last week was ... sigh ... the wonderful full page : all color newspaper article that lauded my lecture as the best : possible #1 thing to attend for the week ... listed "Wierd Al : Yankovic"'s concert as the #10 choice. I was so chagrined. I adore : Wieird Al! I used to listen to "My Balogne" in Los Angeles when he : and Dr. Dementom were just local ..... but fame is very very : peculiar. There's no point in taking it seriously at all. >Actually, : most of you have seen me in a major motion picture done when I was 14 : ( no biggie, I was an extra, but very visible.... email if you want : the dirt)< : If you want to do this sort of thing, and need a lecture outline, : email me ..... : Or if you want me to come and lecture .... I don't charge much over : expenses, and I've got 5 lectures available for presentation .... : email me if you think you'd like to have me.....

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