Manic Mannequins!

Stay with me here - I think I may have found possible employment for my comedic future: Become a "real life" mannequin. Well, the truth is, when I first read this story circulating about the new thrust of truth in advertising, I was like, "Wow - I could qualify for that!" Then I realized that the story was about the mannequins and not real LIVE women BEING the mannequins. Then I laughed. But here's proof a nerve has been hit from one of the comments made on a picture from a Facebook page -

The lingerie-clad mannequins, displayed in one of the stores in Sweden's Ahlens department store chain, have fleshier stomachs and fuller thighs than are typically seen in stores. Both are far from overweight, as many people have noted in comments about the widely circulated photo.

“Those aren’t mannequins, they are real women, and they are gorgeous,” wrote one of more than 3,350 commenters on the Facebook photo posted March 11 by Women’s Rights News.

"The lingerie-clad mannequins, displayed in one of the stores in Sweden's Ahlens department store chain, have fleshier stomachs and fuller thighs than are typically seen in stores. Both are far from overweight, as many people have noted in comments about the widely circulated photo. “Those aren’t mannequins, they are real women, and they are gorgeous,” wrote one of more than 3,350 commenters on the Facebook photo posted March 11 by Women’s Rights News." -by Eun Kyung Kim for Today Style

Real women. Gorgeous. Real life mannequins, which is quite different than real LIVE mannequins. OK. I got it now. But even so, I could qualify as a stunt double for a real life mannequin. Kind of like being a mannequin for a mannequin...swarming cellulite, rolling belly lines, "very-gross" veins, flabby filler - but a huge smile! Yeah, that'll work! But you won't find me in the lingerie aisle. Nope. I'll be more than happy to be the plump and flashy modest model for the tarp, tent and outdoor arctic gear section of Cabela's. I'm no dummy... :)

There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. Matthew 5:26

Also posted on "The music, humor & life of Sue Duffield"

I'll Leave It All Behind

My travel hap-hazard trademark: Leave a little bit of your belongings behind. 

Wish I could say I "leave a little bit of my behind behind", but that never works. :) Of course I left a newly purchased Clinique eye pencil in the hotel room at the Gaylord Texan over the weekend. My roommate "thought" she left her entire make-up case behind, but found it later hiding in the billowing mounds of her suitcase. Good for her. I approach the Lost & Found at the Texan and they suggest, after their eye-rolling sigh, that I just call back at another time. You see, they are FLOODED with items left behind. They let me take a brief tour through their section of the hotel where items are stored that are left behind. Everything you can imagine. Someone even left a "Left Behind" book behind. I had to laugh at that one. Finding my eye pencil in a box of mascaras, lipsticks, purses, eye shadows, brushes, nail polishes - was like wading through the discount containers at a flea market. Mine would still be in the Clinique box, since I didn't take the eye pencil out yet. But there was no box; and there was no reason to waste another minute to excavate a $12 purchase. (Chocolate brown eye-liner, in case you're feeling generous)

Can you imagine being on a recovery team of Lost & Found at a resort like this? I can't comprehend it, even after what I saw. Coats, hoodies, cameras, books, bras, magazines, ©Pam Cooking Spray (this one bothered me for a while), watches, rings, curling irons, vitamin containers, earrings - you name it. I only saw this arsenal of a holding tank at a glance, but I was in utter horror over the things we (consumers) leave behind in hotel rooms. I asked the woman at the counter, "How long do you keep all this stuff?" She responded, "Well, we're instructed to keep it until someone claims it." You're kidding???! Who in the name of Tim LaHaye is going to claim their left behind ©Pam Cooking Spray??

Blissdom 2013 was incredible in every way. Writers/networkers/creatives - real living breathing women - come from all over everywhere. And the truth is, I not only left my chocolate brown eye-liner pencil behind, but I left my heart there too. I left my heart and twitter name with new friends, new inspirers, and new visionaries. I also left my heart behind with my peers and seasoned friendships, to blend with theirs, creating more community than ever. I was a student in the hallways, elevators, late night table-talk and carpet conversations at the Gaylord Texan as much as I was in the sessions. Maybe more. 

You see, "behind" every great writer is a heart left behind. And this time, it's a good thing. Lost and found. Both.

(Also posted on Sue Duffield's blog)