UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • MAY 2017 • 29 Living the Upbeat Life [FASHIONISTA]


SANTA ROSA, CA. ~ Q: Any new experiences where you also learned a new word? Just Curious, SRs


A: Yes, from tak- ing part in a spring fashion art show. “Aging With At- titude, Style and Sass” featured gals 60-85 years young, opening for a “60+” gallery exhibit at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. We had


a SRO audience, there for art, food and wine and celebrating healthy aging. In prepping for the show, the term fashionista entered my vocabu- lary. I hadn’t known I was one, until I consulted the online Urban Diction- ary: “a woman with a natural fl air for combining current and vintage fash- ionable trends. She sees fashion as an art, her body as the canvas, and the sense of style she develops along the way is the masterpiece. Fashionistas [instinctively] know a ‘good hand’ in fashion, and believe in [its] power.” By the way, “ista” is derived from the Latin word “manista” which means “exalted one” –LOL! For the fashion show, each artist-


cum-model created her own outfi ts, coming out of the closet with an oc- casional self designed hat or frock, and many treasured fi nds from resale


about Golf, “Turning lead into gold, The Alchemy of Golf.” By utilizing one’s golf clubs as an alchemist, one can


conceivably


turn the lead of dysfunction misfor-


and


tune into the gold of ath- letic joy. By learning to harness


shops or garage sales. With gusto and gumption, we displayed aging bodies as works of art.


I was a late joiner. Attending a local po- litical event, a former colleague spotted me in the crowd. “El- lie” remembered my fashion stylings, was coordinating a show with local photogra- pher John F. Martin, and invited me to join the fun.


Unfortu-


nately, I couldn’t make the pre-rehearsal party, missing the chance to get acquainted with the other fashionistas, or up to speed with the back story.


While there were a number of uncom- fortable or confusing shifts and bumps for me along the way, it was a valuable experi- ence. For instance, I’d been asked the night


before the rehearsal if I could pos- sibly teach the runway “catwalk.” I was really rusty! But watching two hours of youtube did the trick. Now, two weeks after the show, I’m walk- ing taller and prouder. My posture’s improved. And I thoroughly enjoyed


covered the value of laughter on a golf course and how our follies can become our best teachers.


Standing silent witness to


a


glorious sun- set after hol- ing out for eagle an


with from the


powers of one’s imagination one can use their cre- ative process to over- come stubborn obstacles golf and in life. I have also dis-


in


8-iron the


fairway on


the 18th hole at San Geron-


imo a few years ago on my birthday


was just one of those price- less moments. We


all have


indulging my life-long penchant for self adornment, and showing off two fashion creations to appreciative peers. “A gas and a half,” as we old fogies used to say.


Another gift was the unexpected aha that came from trying to describe my style. I discovered I have an in- stinct for multi-layered variety, tex- tured assemblage and playful impro- visation. I make it up as I go along, selecting hem lengths, coordinating colors, inventing new combinations, accessorizing.


And guess what?


That’s also how I make a salad, deco- rate my house, design a garden, teach Improv, make a mask, write my Upbeat column – and do music performing for se- niors. Who knew I’m this distinct creature having predictable designer mo- ments?!


There were less fun tasks, too, but they also proved valuable --like taking a surgical knife to my carefully crafted run- way bio, chopping it into


requested bulleted statements. But through each edit, I had fun recol- lecting. Like remembering when my famous singing coach advised me to be a fashion standout whenever I entered the room to perform. On a meager income, that meant thrift,


Mr. Eagle Eye: A New golf Column ... continued from page 28


access to the big medicine of change as nature is still our best source for wisdom. That is why I choose Golf as my path because it brings me closer to a spiritual kinship with all of Creation. We are all better art- ists than we believe. The game of golf helps us to confi rm this with the feathery brush-stroke of a birdie or eagle, a smile from a friend or the soft caress from a whispering wind. James Fish works as a Golf


Teaching pro at the Foxtail Golf Club and can be reached via e-mail


at james524@


gmail.com or by phone at 707-548-2664.


“The beginning is always NOW.” ~ Roy T. Bennett


Overhead Door is a leading provider of overhead and garage door systems. From residential garage doors to commercial overhead doors and openers, Overhead Door provides Upbeat solutions, service and support you need to ensure your home or business is safe and has reliable access everyday.


It is our business to


provide for the needs of our


customers and to strive for 100%


satisfaction, in our


attitude and in spirit. ~ John


by Marcia Singer www.lovearts.info


resourcefulness, imagination, and keeping physically fi t – habits still serving me to this day.


And remi-


niscing made me realize I’ve always loved playing dress up, trying on new ‘looks.’ At age ten, stepping into one of Mommy’s bequeathed piano con- cert gowns, shy little Marcia turned into a beautiful, barefoot, backyard ballerina, performing perfect imagi- nary pirouettes beneath our weeping willow. I had no idea then that cos- tume art would become a life-long shape-shifting ritual, a portal to dis- covering goddesses within. –Handy when my inner Ugly Duckling quacks about no longer having a fl at midriff. Which brings me to another valu- able insight: that fashion-ismo can be used in two different ways. One is to hide, cover up, disguise or apologize for my perceived fl aws. The other is to fl esh out, unveil and reveal the unique and changing woman that I am, in a word, to be a braver, more authentic fashionista.


Weird Facts & Fun Trivia - 5


Honey ants were a food re- source for Australian Aborig- ines, squeezing the swollen abdomen of the ant for their stored liquid honey.


Ants are one of the most popular edible insect spe- cies around the world.


Most ants live in the jungle where there are almost 2 1/2 billion to the square mile.


The world’s harvester ants are believed to consume more small seeds than all mammals and birds put together.


While on a 4th of July picnic in 1956, Milton Levine had an inspiration and created


the Ant Farm, which went on sale in January 1958.


Sonoma County’s Upbeat Garage Door Company!


Overhead Door Company of Santa Rosa, Inc.


www.overheaddoorcompanyofsantarosa.com (707) 542-4949


Serving the North Bay Since 1958 250 Colgan Avenue ~ Santa Rosa, CA 95404 UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • MAY 2017 • 29


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