Three North Carolinians have been embracing successful careers post-American Idol: Fantasia Barino, Clay Aiken, and most recently, Scotty McCreery. Just a few weeks ago after his reunion performance on the 12th season of American Idol aired on Fox, McCreery returned east-side to Charlotte, NC to give a free concert, and he did not disappoint.
I completely forgot that yesterday (April 7) was Billie Holliday's Birthday. I had the fortune to learn more about her while making a student film centered on her childhood home. For the past 40 years a lot of misinformation has perpetuated due to the sensationalized tales of New York Times Journalist and ghost writer William Dufty in the biography Lady Sings The Blues, the 1972 biopic based on it that served more to boost Diana Ross' career than educate the world about Billie.
During this time, I used several books as research materials to help me compose a narrative. Among them I eagerly recommend the book If you can't be free, be a mystery:in search of Billie Holiday by Farah Jasmine Griffin, which takes a multilayered perspective from the recollections of relatives, friends and colleagues in the music world who knew her in every stage of her life. Billie wasn't perfect, but she was FAR from a victim.
I hate compound fractures: Just to warn you, Kevin Ware's injury occurs at 0:24:
One of my middle-aged FB friends had an interesting question regarding this:
"Is this normal, or could it be an indication of a serious orthopedic condition? I'm having a hard time understanding exactly why his leg should have snapped like that."
Kevin Ware is a young man, yes, but nowadays being young is no factor for adding these injuries to the "impossible" file. Just the right impact the the perfect angle could either snap your leg in half or just pull it up under you.
Anyone who's ever attended a college game has seen how often these players tumble, leap, and spring around the court with the position of any lower appendages being a second thought. All that work on their legs will do damage in good time. Kevin's predicament has been witnessed in other athletes like Joe Theismann or Joba Chamberlain, but bone and joint problems should not be seen as issues isolated to the sports world.
I am DEFINITELY not an athlete, but too long ago I began suffering chronic knee pain. With every step I took up and down the stairs, sharp pangs traveled through my knee caps. I thought I was developing Arthritis. But here was the problem--I'm 30 years old-- only 2 years younger than Kevin Ware. I was too young to have arthritis-- or at least I thought.
Another cause of knee pain is obesity. The knees were nerve meant to carry more than so much body weight, but I had lost a significant amount of weight, so it wasn't that. After eliminating all these factors I wasn't sure what was causing my continuing knee pain. With those leg-snapping fears in my mind, I wanted to take precaution and FAST!
Well, tune in for my solution, until then, don't assume because you're young that you have bones of steel. As for you, Kevin, wishing you well on that recovery.
