Shades of Purple Memories

From the Front Porch

I am an "accidental blogger". When I launched my writing career in March of 2014, one of the things that I decided to include was my journaling, which I have always found to be a comforting and therapeutic endeavor. It was a big risk to open myself up in such a public forum, but it has taught me that, for the most part, we share far more experiences than we think. It's comforting to know I'm not alone! (*the "Button Text" is the link to my first novel)

Shades of Purple Memories

4/21/2016

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Prince, may your new journey be lined with purple flowers. Photograph by Janet Hoots

If my teen years had a Soundtrack, you can bet Prince songs would top the list. I remember school dances with "Purple Rain" playing as the final song, a perfect choice if you were dancing in the arms of the right partner, and I must have played "The Beautiful Ones" a thousand times, listening to the ache of a man sing about a desire so strong the emotions of it rattled from him to me and back again through the speakers, resonating on some invisible purple thread that joined us in a powerful feeling. The first time I heard "Darlin' Nikki", I thought I was getting away with something super naughty just by listening to the lyrics, so I memorized them and I tucked that tune away for when I wanted to walk the "wild side". I wanted to be cool enough to drive a "Little Red Corvette" and brave enough to tap into me at my most primal level, so I could understand what happens "When Doves Cry".

I remember the first time I saw the movie Purple Rain his childhood of abuse and pain nearly ripped my teen heart to shreds. I think the end of that movie taught me for the FIRST time how true music and art, writing and creativity spring from a well of deep, vibrating emotions. Today the world mourns the loss of an exquisite musician, while I hold tight to memories his tunes bring back in crystal clarity. R.I.P. lovely man. The soul you gave life to through your music will live on, and on, and on...

I'm posting the video below of Prince's Super Bowl Halftime Show because I think it is a great tribute to a musician who will be sorely missed...He stood in that wild storm and played like a madman! It was amazing!

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About The Author

I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter.

Since then, I have learned to reach well beyond what I ever dared to think was possible. I've learned not to allow fear to stop me from whatever future I want to create!

What keeps me grounded? My Tribe! What provides the wind beneath my wings? A well of reserves filled with unstoppable passion!

From the Front Porch