When I was hmmm I think about thirteen, I was in a play called Sneakers. It was a musical. It was terrible. Picture a bunch of kids wearing brightly colored converse box-stepping so hard that their jaunty baseball hats fall off but at least it distracts you from their singing. But, it was my first big role. Prior to good ole’ Sneakers, I’d been chorus, Ling the Weaver in The Emperor’s New Clothes (I only had two lines but I had a badass wig that made me look like a tiny makeup-less Siouxsie Sioux) and a bell-ringer. Important roles, all. So, in Sneakers, I got to be the big sister and I got to sing a bunch, solo even. It was a pretty big deal in my life at the time even though I pretended I didn’t care by sighing a lot.
The music was really bad. Like, cringy bad. But, the thing is, it’s been on my mind for the last -oh I dunno- twenty-five years or so. The terrible songs pop up at the weirdest possible times. I’ll be in the grocery store and suddenly I’m hit smack in the brain with a melody and a step-ball-change combo. There’s a really awful song where the sister tries to convince the little brother that he’ll like their new house and she sings, “Don’t you like the paint?” That one’s particularly painful and likes to creep into my head when I’m watching horror movies about evil houses.
Lately, my Sneakers ear worm has been a song called (I think) “Brand New Beginning.” I don’t need a therapist or a psychic or an ear worm interpreter to tell me it’s because there’s been a lot of starting over in my life lately. Things are, well, they’re in flux. But, it all seems like it’s for the better and I’m excited. Like, this new website. This new website is going to be great, guys. I’ve dropped the “garden” and I’ve made everything simpler. It’s, you know, just my name now. It’s just me. And, hey, I don’t have to deal with google. (Grrrrr, if I could wish an ear worm from the non-hit musical Sneakers on anyone, it would be google.) I’ve brought a few blogs from the old site over with me just to flesh it out until I’ve gotten things underway here so some of you may see things below that you’ve already read. That is why. I’ve also linked to some oldies in the ‘Selected Links’ section above. Hope no one is too upset about this. If you are, please leave a comment on the old site. I’ll get right to that.
So, here’s how that song goes. I promise I’m not making this up:
“Brand new beginning/A shiny new start/Lovely new house/Great lookin street/People to meet.”
And then I swear to you, it goes on to say, “Don’t only need/A hammer and nail/A positive mood/And we’ll never fail.”
But, shit, the play is about magic sneakers so. Yeah.
I wish I could sing it to you. But I’m not going to. This is a blog, not a vine. We’ll all be OK.
Hopefully my brand new beginning lives up to my super cool musical past. Thanks to all of you for following me over here and for caring. Here’s to more (better) posts to come. Probably including Hogie or at the very least a Star Wars reference. I promise one or the other.
xo,
Kendra
*photo of me in the early 90s SINGING in Sneakers in an amazing shirt and pants combo. not even talking about the hair. you’re welcome.