Now some of you may have guessed from the photo's on my various sites that I'm not exactly....well.....er....trim, taut, and terrific.....well actually I AM terrific .... but the trim 'n taut bit, well....err.....yes....it's true! I'm not!
Guilty!
And if I listened to the media, I'd get real sad about that .... depressed .... morose ....self-conscious.....uhm, embarrassed.....hmmmn. Well reader, if you've ever seen me in live performance, you'll know that none of those descriptions apply. I'm larger than life - and loving it!
But I'm fed up to here [pointing to the top of my wee short head] with the bombardment of 'lose weight' messages .....get fit....fit in....fit the right shape, the right size, the right clothes, the right pigeonhole. Well Bugger it - I won't! I refuse to be shaped by popular tastes and stereotypes.
And I'm REAL ticked off with a society that tells our young people that they can't be loved, accepted, worthy, unless they fit that bloody pigeonhole! Because that's nothing more than marketing hype to fuel a weight loss industry which is making millions ....currently $750million per annum in Australia....and a marketing machine that wants to sell squillions of beauty-based products.
Well you know what.....I like to know who somebody is under the skin ...and I'm surrounded and loved by beautiful people who love me for who I am ....and who I am has nothing to do with how I look. In my mirror I'm beautiful. [my mirror's not for sale by the way!] I'm respected, admired, appreciated by people who matter [including me]....and that's ALL that matters.
so endeth the lesson.........
but the reason I've shared that with you is so that you'll know what's behind the song A Little Fresh Air 'n Exercise. It's a send-up song. Written during the time of my last relationship with a dear man who couldn't handle any more than 9 years with a wacky muso! [and we are still friends] He used to say "gawd, I love a woman with a big bum - y've got something to snuggle in to"
I think you'll enjoy the song .....and if you haven't heard it, it's now loaded up on my reverbnation site. You can have a listen. And you can buy the track if you like it. Even make it your ring tone!
http://www.reverbnation.com/mymaureenobrien
Oh, and its on the Many Shades of Blue Album - which won the national Trad&Now magazine award for best CD in Blues and Roots. You can order that direct and we'll post it out.
Enjoy the listen ....and love yourself.
