Monthly Essays

Me? A Swiftie?

You could name the top ten box office actors, and I might have heard of two of them. I couldn’t name one actor in Barbie, although I did stream the movie. Wait, was Justin Timberlake in that? Maybe I have him mixed up with someone else. It’s the same with singers. Of course, I can name all four Beatles, but those guys were from my teenage years.

I’m no longer a teen, and yet I’ve found myself caught up in fandom.

It started with football. I’ve never been to a pro game, but when our Missouri team started building their powerhouse, I turned on TV on Sundays. Kansas City and the Chiefs’ Kingdom is just a drive north, so it feels like they’re local. I have watched their games the last few years, even recording them if I’m not home at game time.

I’ve been familiar with Travis Kelce for years because of his TV ads with a local attorney, teaming up for his charity, 87 and Running. So when the Chiefs started building their dynamo team, I was already aware of his name.

Then when he started dating Taylor Swift, I decided I’d better get clued in because who doesn’t like a love story? (Especially a romance writer.) I asked Siri to play a Taylor Swift song so I wouldn’t be totally inept in current culture.

I Googled her and watched her musical monologue on Saturday Night Live when she was the ripe old age of 19. Check it out. It’s hilarious.

That led to more clickbait, and I found all her appearances on Ellen, from the age of 18 and year after year after year. I saw her grow up on those clips. So, Tay and I go way back.

I have now streamed her Eras Concert. It took two nights since it’s three and a half hours. The second night, friends were over, and they watched the last hours with me. Of course, I had to have closed captions on since my hearing aid isn’t powerful enough to make out all the words.

What a writer! Who would think to put the words cruel and summer together? Writers of all genres are taught to evoke emotions. Taylor Swift gets that and writes what she and others have experienced, although they may not be as open about it as she is. Fans identify with her songs.

No, I haven’t listened to the latest album, and I don’t have a friendship bracelet. But if you’ve got one, I’ll gladly take it off your hands.

That Sunday Afternoon

Mike is playing ball at Ryan’s house when he gets a phone call from his mom, who’s at friends’ house, telling him to head home because of an impending thunderstorm. Normally he would have asked to wait the storm out at Ryan’s, but he still has homework and it’s already after five on Sunday afternoon. He rides his bike to his house and goes inside when the tornado sirens start screaming. He checks the local weather on TV and sees a giant funnel cloud on the TV tower cam before the electricity goes off. He and his sister run for the basement. Then everything changes. Although this novel is by definition fiction, the events of the F-5 tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri, are very real.

Download your copy on the free Kindle app to your phone, tablet, or computer. That Sunday Afternoon