Rebel with a Cause

I’m a donkey among elephants, a democrat among a family of republicans--a product of the seventies when Earth shoes were popular and sprouts took the place of lettuce. Animals were friends we didn’t eat.

To round out the picture, I was cursed with an artistic streak. So you get the vision, a flaxen-haired twenty-something girl in a peasant blouse, sans bra, and handcrafted sandals with clay on her bleach-spotted jeans. Macrame was all the rage then too, so throw in a carefully knotted belt with beads dangling from the ends.

I was a rebel with a cause. In high school, we had sit-ins for peace, instead of proms and pep rallies. I’m sure my mother shakes her head and wonders where her quiet good child went. My sister, on the other hand, was a rebel in her youth but has since dutifully joined the elephants. So, I sit through family reunion breakfasts with my lips set in a tight smile, because though they are misguided, I love them.

So what, may you ask, does a flower child of the seventies have to learn about life in the 21st century?

That life can never be completely fair no matter who’s in control of the congress. People get cancer no matter how carefully they eat. Look at Mr. Rogers. He was a vegetarian who swam everyday. There are no guarantees in life. When all is said and done, those with money are no different from those without. Death is the great equalizer. And once you know all this and have been thoroughly depressed by this gem of wisdom, you come to realize you have to grab at the moments of happiness that are given to you instead of letting them zip past you while you’re looking toward the future.

Perhaps that is why I became a writer. A romance writer has the chance to create fairness in a world where fairness is too seldom the winner. Romance writers are optimists by nature. We offer the world a happy ending, something that is in short supply. If you doubt me, just listen to the evening news. Romance readers are our partners in hope. They want a better world too. I salute them.

Lorelle Marinello

posted by Lorelle @ 5:30 PM