Hello! I hope everyone is doing well tonight. My thoughts are with the American, British, and Australian soldiers fighting in the Middle East right now, and of course my prayers are with them also. I didn't really know what I felt like writing about for my weekly journal entry tonight, but the following came out of me for some reason. Best wishes to everyone, wherever you may live, as we continue through a tough political time right now. XXXOOO


Recently two makeup artists were talking. One mentioned that she was disappointed that her boyfriend was not taking steps to clean up his credit history. Years ago he had accrued some credit card debt and neglected to pay it off. The other makeup artist said, "Well, why are you still with him if he is not serious about his money?" The first woman responded that she and her boyfriend had a child together, he was a wonderful father, and she and he had a lot of fun as a couple. Also, her boyfriend worked really hard at his job, but it was difficult for him to put extra money towards his debt because he worked in a relatively low-paying field. The second makeup artist looked at her with disgust and said: "He sounds like a complete LOSER!"

Loser? Wow, what a scary take on the situation. Good father, fun partner, hardworking, and he's a loser? Granted, credit card debt is not a good thing, but it's at least an understandable fact of life for someone in his twenties. The boyfriend in question was in his twenties.

I happened to overhear this conversation when I was at a photo shoot. The makeup artist with the boyfriend was doing my makeup. It was appalling to listen to the insulting remark from the other woman even though I hear sentiments like that all the time. I've heard them all my life.

When I was young I lived in a wealthy section of the San Francisco Bay Area. There was a street called Alameda de las Pulgas which ran along the edge of my immediate neighborhood. Some kids from my school lived on that street. I remember my mother referring to their homes as "the shacks on the Alameda." That seems beyond ridiculous now given my perspective as an adult. The houses on the Alameda were nice homes even then. I wasn't able to understand that as a kid because I had never even seen a bad neighborhood.

A few years ago I was active in a dog rescue group. I was speaking on the phone to one of the group's organizers and she and I were having a spirited conversation and getting along famously. She mentioned what a great judge of character her own dog was. Her dog was really warm to her owner's friends when they came to visit, but she would snarl at repairmen if they entered the house. The woman was quite proud that her dog could differentiate between acceptable guests and "plumber-type people," as she called them. I smiled to myself wondering what she would think if she knew what I did for a living. It had never come up before. In her estimation I would probably have rated much lower than a "plumber-type person." I can't even fix a toilet.

I've thought about her comment a lot since then. Somehow "Plumber-Type Person" became an actual entity in my head. She should be a superheroine. In many bondage and wrestling/catfighting shoots I have played the role of a superheroine. The superheroines often have names that are close to, but don't infringe upon, copyrighted names such as Wonder Woman, Batgirl, etc. Plumber-Type Person would be in a whole different league. I envision her driving around by herself in a van like the A-Team had. She has her hair in a ponytail and wears Levi's,work boots, and a white wife-beater tank top. Of course she has a tight, hard little body and big boobs because all superheroines do. She arrives at people's homes, toolbox in hand, ready to fix the plumbing. Most days are ordinary ones and she fixes the plumbing. Every once in a while, though, she becomes embroiled in a dramatic scenario where her true powers are desperately needed. Unlike regular superheroines she doesn't save lives or rescue entire cities or planets that are in peril. Plumber-Type Person specializes in pulling people's heads out of their assholes so they can start figuring out what's truly important in life.

I've known many people who could use her services. Maybe it all seems so clear to me because I've experienced a lot of different gradations on the wealth spectrum. Many people I grew up around had a lot of money. The ones who derided financially poorer individuals most loudly and most often did so because they had such deep unhappiness within themselves. They had a rancorous need to make others feel bad too. Our culture promotes the acquisition of material possessions and money as the keys to happiness. They aren't. I've known way too many miserable rich people to believe that.

As an adult I've had times when I didn't even know how I could pay the next round of bills. I know that feeling of lying in bed, unable to sleep, scared to death that I was going to lose what little I had. At those moments money seemed like everything, but in my heart I knew better. Now I enjoy working and trying to "get ahead," but I never judge anyone by their financial status. Similarly, I've never sneered at anyone who works an honest job. Maybe those who do would be better served by trying to figure out the source of their own hatefulness instead.