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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
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A dyke about town |
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| A dyke about town | ||
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by Mercy Moosemuzzle -
SGN Contributing Writer Mercy Moosemuzzle just returned from a two-week trip to visit her sister, Jubilance, in Nicaragua. Jubilance lives there because her disability checks go further and she loves Central American culture. On Mercy's arrival, Jubilance explained the Spanish word, "Jodido," which appeared on bumper stickers, means "screwed up, but we will survive," an apt attitude to have toward an economy that is even worse than ours is. In fact, the economy is so bad a lot of people don't even have bumpers to put stickers on, but rather walk, ride bicycles or ride horses, the sound of whose clopping hooves add to the atmosphere. Mercy was in Nicaragua the day of the US elections. Everyone there was very aware of Obama's victory and excited about the idea that they will have more autonomy with him at the helm than the invasive Bush and Reagan administrations. They pointed out that they already had a woman president - the first in the western hemisphere - Violetta Chamorro. She is well loved and credited with ending the war there. Their current president, Daniel Ortega, is in the second year of his five-year term. He was elected in spite of being under a cloud for sexual misbehavior with his stepdaughter. Ortega is suspected of having caused the Nicaraguan courts to reopen an old and unfounded accusation of libel against the poet Hector Calderon, because Calderon had made statements critical of Ortega. Some Nicaraguans describe themselves as Sandinistas but not Danielistas. The Sandinistas won a number of mayoral elections while Mercy was there, including Leon, where Mercy was staying. They celebrated with red and black banners and their theme song, which is to the tune of John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance." Mercy met a tour guide who had been to Seattle and said she enjoyed the wildlife here. Mercy said she enjoyed that part of Seattle, too, but was surprised to find out the guide meant rare birds such as the yellow crowned night heron, iguanas and crocodiles. Part of that day included seeing and touching just-hatched sea turtles. Mercy learned that one of the reasons sea turtles are endangered is because their eggs have a reputation as aphrodisiacs. Jubilance told her one ad in defense of the turtles included a famous Nicaraguan actress saying her lover doesn't need turtle eggs. Another guide said he used to hunt birds that later became endangered, but stopped, because the Catholic Church teaches it is a sin. His perception was that Protestants didn't have that belief, and an increase in their number was an element in the balance of elements arrayed for and against the animals. Another tour guide was of the Subtiava group, the local indigenous people. He said there is a heated dispute in Nicaragua about the fact that the Subtiavas believe there is a law that prevents them from having to pay taxes, but the government acts unaware of it. Mercy and Jubilance went on to spend a week in Costa Rica. They found people there equally universally enthusiastic about the new US president. The two women spent a day in the rich green cloud forest of Monteverde, where they saw a quetzal bird and howler monkeys. Mercy is very excited about her new girlfriend, Cuteness Bunkhouse. The two met at a Women of West Seattle outing to the Seattle Opera Wagner Singing Contest, although neither woman lives in that neighborhood. Cuteness caught Mercy's attention because she was organizing a group to go see Annie Liebowitz's lecture. Also, because her first name is so apt. Liebowitz's presentation of her new book was delightful. Her speaking style had the same sense of humor her photos have. The slides showed the diversity of her subjects and her skill in capturing them. She talked about the impact her lover, Susan Sontag, had had on her work. They felt Sontag's death must have been a terrible loss to Liebowitz. Mercy and Cuteness also enjoyed Book-It's Production of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which Jo Miller music directed and accompanied beautifully. We had forgotten the book was a straight man's fantasy about Lesbians, so the main characters had to die or return to men. Oh well. Except for that, it was a fun, well-acted return to the '70s. |
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