TuesDayNewsDay Vol2, Issue 6 – March 12 2019

New poetry book and album plans! Road Trip! Shows to come!

Quote: “W.C. Handy I’m rich and I’m Fay… and I’m not familiar with what you play but I get such strong impressions of your hay day…. Looking up and down old Beale Street… Ghosts of dark town society Come right out of the bricks at me…” Joni Mitchell, Furry Sings The Blues (Hejira album – my favorite and top favorite driving album)

Song: Duh… Live, studio version of the above… with the legendary Herbie Hancock https://youtu.be/IGJyjFhCgkE

Dedication: This week’s dedication is to all those things in this world which make us uncomfortable. Those incidents that make us want to scream out in frustration. Those moments when we’re scared and frozen, in the throes of our limbic system’s natural response to fear, abuse, hurt, pain. Those people from whom we are so different and distant. Those chords which beg to be played after a dissonant note… Our lessons are all learned in these things. Our triumphs are all remnants of moments of struggle. I would wish nothing but for what I’ve had, though not all has been easy, all has simply been. To all the foreign ladybugs, yellow jackets, know-it-alls, freezing nights with no heat, hunger, rape, bigotry, hatred, death, I dedicate this post to you all. Thank you for what you teach. Thank you for being the parts of our lives without which we would know no joy.

Dear Humans,

NEWS: As you may have read last week, the birthing of the “Who I Used To Be” Poetry Life book and #SurrenderingToTheSacred album download card is in the stages of infancy (I.E. I am compiling all of my poetry from before I became Anita Moore and publishing a book complete with my music, drawings, (hopefully pop-ups!, paintings, creations etc.). It will be like the old Me is going to be able to be held in hand, appreciated, honored, and shared as an example of resilience and strength to overcome sexual abuse, poverty, abandonment, and a lifetime of shame and learned behaviors of a secret survivor. I sing to share my story with the world. This project is a culmination of a new chapter. Literally. More to come. I’ll be sharing some of my work intermittently during this process. Some of my poetry goes back as far as 1998 (so far, I haven’t gone through all of it) That’s over 20 years of poetry; an amazing personal, over-time comparison of my personality and expression… a unique vision into a person through one of the most sacred art forms… poetry, song, and time.

Today, I write to you from the outskirts of the Northern Alabama town of Florence, just a stone’s throw from the Natchez Trace (one of several National Parkways ((Blue Ridge Parkway is another))). This trace is a road, once a pathway to go back North after having brought goods down to the Gulf of Mexico to trade or sell. The trace was mostly abandoned after the steamboat came into use. My host has much knowledge of the area having grown up here and tomorrow I head further West through Memphis (the song above is based on that town) and on to Little Rock, Arkansas. He has taught me a little about shooting a bow and arrow and much about life as a single, 80 something year old man. Life isn’t easy, but he’s in a beautiful spot and I am appreciative of his inviting me to come visit. Staying in a tiny guest cabin is lovely – there is privacy, a bucket for peeing, cedar smells abound and at least 50 of those non-ladybug invasive spotted beetles. If only the birds knew to come into this room, they could feast upon the critters which are en masses crawling in the warm, Western window before sunset.

These last few days have been inspiring and have provided an actual vision into the past of American music only (for me) heard on original 45s and LPs and on the radio. So much music has been recorded within a 30 mile radius of where I’m sitting. Muscle Shoals recording studio and Fame recording studios… What a jaw-dropping and humbling experience to walk through the same rooms as the Swampers… to stand in the same recording space as Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, and Paul Simon… to touch the keys of the piano Cat Stevens played… to listen in the same Studio A control room of Fame studios (Studio B is under construction) which have shaped much of our memory of American soul, blues, and rock music. I’m speechless and will be processing how amazing this is for a while. My dreams of recording an album are vibrating inside my heart. *buzz buzz buzz*

Last night I played in a circle of old men with guitars, bass, dobro, and harmonica. It was fun listening to them play a lot of the old songs I learned growing up from my grandparents’ day. I played “I Love” (little baby ducks) by Tom T Hall and they lost their shit. (How’s this “little girl” know all these old songs… the surprise is always amusing.) *hahaha*

This road trip is going well so far and it’s good to open up my old road atlas and head out into the morning sun. Back home, from the road, more shows are coming together and I will be posting those when they are confirmed.

Teaching my first semester at ACC has been a learning and eye-opening experience. I tried not to build expectations about who my students would be or how the class would go. I didn’t expect for a significant number of my students to be failing, simple because they’re not turning in their work. Expressing my concern with my director, she assured me that sometimes you just get a class that mostly disappoints you and she was sorry this was my first classroom semester experience. I have been contemplating and writing about how to accept what my responsibilities are and to learn to expect the students to bring to the table their part as well (it would be easy for me to take the blame and wonder what I’d done to cause them to fail.). Luckily, Al-Anon and therapy have given me some priceless tools to recognize my part and to honor other people’s parts – separately. Lucky me! So grateful for those lessons!

Speaking of therapy, a few weeks ago, I started taking a weekly (soon to be monthly) workshop on “Detoxing from toxic parent relationships”. (There’s a giant female blue jay outside the window perched on a tree… so beautiful.) In this workshop, we’re learning to be able to 1. Recognize toxic behavior and 2. How to (as objectively as possible) evaluate that behavior, externalize it, and take the appropriate response route without pulling the proverbial rope. This can be applied to all types of relationships, not just parents! I’ll fill in more once there’s more to share!

I’m about 3/5 of the way finished with my Spring Break road trip. Once I return, I’ll be heading to the surgeon to see about this MRI on my left ankle. There’s a tear and a radiologist is determining the extent of the damage this week. My 2019 focus is going to be healing this ankle, doing my best teaching, playing shows and practicing guitar. I will get back to my community activism when my ankle is healed. Right now I’m taking time to focus on getting right with my body and spirit – you can’t love and advocate for someone else when you haven’t learned how to fully love and advocate for yourself.

#LivingQueryOfTheWeek – For what lessons through hardship are you most grateful? Can you name only one or can you think of many?

Upcoming Shows:

March 31st – private bday party with Crystal Bright

May 18,19 – Glendonfest Location, time TBA

May 28th – Lucky 32 in Greensboro, evening show with Crystal Bright

TBA – Leveneleven in Greensboro – working out details

TBA – Hot Tin Roof – ” ”

July 27th – STARworks in Star NC with Pete Pawsey

This week in pictures!

(Picture update to come when I have service!)