When I'm feeling a little disconnected and I need to get grounded; when I need to reacquaint myself with my inner peace, there's a mantra I like to chant. In the interest of spreading the good vibes, I share this mantra with you: You take the good. You take the bad. You take them both and there you have. The facts of life. The facts of life.
All kidding aside, the story of how this week's cover, and consequently the entire issue, took shape really is one to chew on ( with your metaphysical teeth, that is ) .
About two weeks back, I piled into to Mr. Burns ( my Monte Carlo—get it?—MONTY Burns? ) to head down to @mosphere to catch Amy Armstrong's hilarious cabaret show, with which I'm sure you are all familiar. I did have an ulterior motive, though. I was on the way to ask her to pose as Mrs. Garrett for this very issue. Not really having thought it all the way through, by the time I left my house and started the journey, I had not given much thought to who might fill the roles of the Eastland girls. And then it hit me. Teri Yaki from Hydrate would be perfect! I would ask Amy if they knew each other and whether or not it sounded good to her and, with hope and a bit of pluck, it would all fall into place.
I arrived at @mosphere and took a front row seat for the show. Amy kept us all rolling in the aisles until, after three or so songs, she took a break to rest her pipes. She leaned in to me, and the first words out of her mouth, having no knowledge of my quest at the time were, 'Hey, do you know Teri Yaki?' I was flabbergasted. How could she have possibly known to say that to me? It all began to take on an air of kismet at that point.
So we set up a date. I left a message for Teri, who was out of town and had not heard back yet when, at Bobby Love's I ran into a certain Vanity Fair ( TV's Blair Warner ) . When I hipped her to the idea, she threw her wig right into the ring.
Everything having come together as smoothly as it had to this point, it came as no surprise that standing right there, next to Blair, was Keith from Beatnix. He heard of our plan and was more than glad to supply the costumes.
Ah, but it was not all as perfect as it seemed. As hard as I tried and as many girls as I made an effort to enlist in playing Tootie, by the shoot date, I had not secured a model for the pivotal role. But when life hands you lemons, you strap on a pair of roller skates and improvise!
Thanks again to Beatnix for the garb, Hydrate for the space and all who put up with my last minute ass to help make this issue a success.
So be proud of yourself this year. Take pride in all your accomplishments, your relationships and your undying commitment to fabulosity.
See ya at the parade!
kirk@windycitymediagroup.com