Thursday, December 31, 2020

HOPE...A THING WITH FEATHERS

 hope.....


 Big HOPES for the future  are major   

I was hoping my first novel  would be a best seller.  It wasn't, but I was sigNed by  an important agent

THE AGENT SENT  OUT the summary or  'Splintered Heart" AND immediately received an offer from Bantam books. $2000 SEEMED LIKE A EXCELLENT FIGURE TO EARN...

My Bantam book didn't sell very well til we named it "SPLINTERED HEART"  and then it SOLD          QUITE WELL ON AMAZON). WHO EVEN ARRANGED AN AUTHOR'S PAGE.

Guys, I SENSE THAT NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE VACCINES TO END THE PANDEMIC. 

SHAREEN, JD, JOHN CULLUM & BERNADETTE --HOPEFUL AUTHOR EM PROCEEDED AND PUT UP THAT GREEN CLOTH  EXPRESSING FEARLESSLY, LOUDLY,  PRACTICALLY SHOUTING THE VACCINES WILL END THE PANDEMIC.   


  




Monday, November 23, 2020

WHY DON'T I FEEL LIKE WORKING?

 My mind is muddied from too much talking. 

....too many ideas. 

....got Frankee, got her husband Mark Ryder... 

....got plenty of events planned as they become busier & more successful , but so what....?   

Actually it's sort of boring to explain that Frankee's  husband begins to resent her because she choreographs and performs  as a dancer, better than he does.  It happens often with "TEAMS" in business together 

SO...why am  I writing this ? Work at a keyboard isn't exciting. The page that ends up existing is not thrilling. There's no suspense.  I am  not bored with the plot but there's NOT more to describe. -

Guys, it's a committment to write about myself. Not what I wear, or the lipstick, eye shadow, and glossy stuff that makes MY features gleam, I am determined to reveal what I am, who I am and who, why, and what  I do, or what aspects  of what I do or don't do,  is me -- THE REAL, REALLY  TRULY ME. Why?  

Because it might inspire you, the reader, to talk realistically , comment realistically, reveal realistically  why you visit the comments  of so many strangers  and spend a lot of time reading and pondering what they express.  

WHO IS THE REAL REALLY TRULY Y-O-U?


 


Thursday, November 19, 2020

HUNGER AND MONEY TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

The first time I stayed in New York City and took a summer course in ballet, (two classes a day)  I stayed with Mrs. Graves. Mom figured I'd be happy and safe. Being the wealthy widow of one of my father's distinguished clients , MRS  GRAVES OWNED ANAPARTMENT IN WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK and talked a lot about Life and Death--their thirty-year-old daughter was in the hospital for leukemia and not doing well. I learned BIG words from her, and street talk from her maid who fed me.  
         Alas, I was always hungry. Mom send me $7 week for food.  At the automat I ate corn muffins and  and leftovers . There was a market nearby at New York University. I selected fruit, squeezed it and put it back. Later I'd return, find the bruised fruit, hide it in one of my pockets, and gobble it up later. 
        I did a lot of walking but my feet were growing --my shoes were too small. .
        I developed "'bitching corns" (the maid calls them that). 

        Actually living in the park, observing Greenwich Village inhabitants, I've become quite an expert in aggrandizing whatever I seriously crave.     hurray!!!

   

Saturday, November 14, 2020

NATHAN OGELSBY BUYS FRANKEE TOP NOTCH EVERYTHING

 When we're dancing "Haunted Moments" we use a Bose amplifier. Our  tapes are recorded on Magnecorder, at 15 inches per second. It provides the most realistic powerful sound you can get.   

Mark dances the train , chugging into a station, utilizing deep MARTHA GRAHAM contractions. She says she loves the way Frankee dances to the cheering crowd sound--especially  the 'economical use' she makes by doing just one low extension of a leg into a one very slow 'rondejambe.'  

The famous Pilates  actually came backstage the other day, when she performed  'LAUGHTER' at a fund raising  benefit  for Juilliard. They have become 'names' in dance. The life-size photo of Frankee in pink ballets slippers is on the main wall at Capezio's at Lincoln  Center.  When she told Pilates how Carola Trier, popular teacher in Manhattan had over-crowded classes, Pilates  said in broken English, ''You need no teachings."

The Big BIG Deal is Jacques COSTEAU, French scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied  all forms of life in water. After each  performance Costeau hugged and kissed the team, and Mark Spitz, Olympic Swimmer, got Frankee on the cover  of "Time" in a new costume Nathan hired a famous designer to create for her that 'Vogue' called "super chic."   


Friday, November 13, 2020

WHAT ARE AVERAGE NORMAL PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT

 ARE THEY THINKING ABOUT THANKSGIVING ?  It's always been one of our special holidays.  My husband John Cullum loves to tell what I cooked for the first Thanksgiving we celebrated as a couple. In a flash I'm remembering how I make a spicy turkey--massaging the thawed cleaned bird with olive oil and  headING  for the spice shelf above the stove.    
I DID A GOOGLE SEARCH AND BUMPED INTO WHAT MY HUSBAND WROTE ABOUT THE HOLIDAY BACK IN 1914
"The most memorable Thanksgiving dinner for me was the one a young redheaded dancer made for me in her Artist In Residence n studio in New York City. It wasn’t a turkey, just a large chicken, and it never occurred to me that this gorgeous girl could even cook, but boy, she could – all the trimmings, fresh cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, vegetables and all. I could hardly believe it. There she was, the best dancer I had ever seen, gracefully whirling around a tiny kitchen, whipping up a dinner as good as any I had ever eaten, and all for me. Never had a Thanksgiving meal been made exclusively for me and me alone, and with such love. It was an experience I couldn’t walk away from. And I never did. I guess Emily decided if I was going to keep hanging around, she might as well marry me. Which she did."

Fact of life:  Unless our son JD who lives in California flew home for the holiday spur of the moment, I am not cooking. I am very busy finishing the novel I've been writing all year online.  

Anyhow, aren't most people today are thinking about survival; earning a living, and what our New President will be suggesting about "Wearing a mask."  

Since I specified average normal, what is average, normal?   

Are you? Am I?





Thursday, November 12, 2020

FUN DREAM

 I WAS ABOUT TO BE MARRIED, BEING TAKEN TOTHE CEREMONY BY OUR SON JOHN DAVID.   (ENVISION HIM as a GROWN UP VERSION  OT THE INTENSELY FOCUSED BOY IN THE PHOTO I POST SOMETIMES, WHO IS DRINKING MILK FROM A BOTTLE I AM HOLDING AS HIS CONTENTED  LOVING MOM..(MY HAIR IN A BRAID (THAT LOOKS LIKE A CROWN)

Yep, I was about to be married  to the good looking man  who was playing Mr. Chucky in the outdoor drama, (which I watched every night)  --he definitely to seemed to like the way I coached  him to have 'listening elbows' before doing cartwheels.  HE SENT ME AN E MAIL PROPOSAL SUGGESTING, "DON'T CALL ME mR.CHUCKY....CALL ME BY MY NAME...'jOHN' --  ACTUALLY  MY NAME IS "JOHN CULLUM." 

In the dream I was thrilled.  The fact is. the realme. Emily Frankel,  ex dancer who is writing a novel on line that is almost finished, about a dancer named "Frankee," (who wants to be the best dancer in the world ) is clearly dreaming (and still thrilled) about her marriage to John Cullum.




Wednesday, November 11, 2020

favorite tv PM commentators

 Nicolle wallace--so sympathic and tender even when she's not sympathetic. and Ari melber whom I especially enjoy observing  his beard, in the course of an annoucement, growing darker/ AND THE ARTICULATEL REID "REPORT" GALE WITH HER MARVELOUS HAIR DO  THAT KEEPS ME WONDERING IF HER HAIR IS REAL!!! EACH TIME ONE OF THESE THREE APPEARS I AM RIVETED. 

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

YOU ARE THE BOSS

 No one knows better than YOU what you want. Make a list"

 
1. fame/staus/

2. courage to do anything that crosses your mind

3. quit using a computer--it  limits freedom.

4. pin the head of a gorgeous, go-anywhere butterfly to the rectangle that's your door.

5. kill it? yes? no? black? or white?  Do iT! Yep/nope/real/ or fake!



















Monday, November 9, 2020

THE REAL MR. CHUCKY

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After Mark re-introduced himself to the star, Frankee mentioned the ten extra dancers. “We worried about hiring them, Mr. Chucky Jack. They’re not first class performers--they're...well...somewhat inept  as ballet dancers, but choreographer Mark  Ryder,  my husband felt  a stage packed with performers would be exciting,  more  impressive --actually, since the character you’re playing  is a well-known Tennessee hero. 

He nodded. Yes, a famous hero...” 

“Yes.   Most people who buy tickets have heard the name or read about “Chucky Jack” in the newspapers. Knoxville and Nashville are running ads and the extra dancers...

“Somewhat ’inept‘ like you said"...

“So, maybe we don’t really need them. It might  be a better number without them, Mr Chucky.”

“It might be. But your husband has enabled me to work with them, and your guidance is invariably helpful with successive cartwheels, Mr. Chucky.”

“Mrs. Ryder, why don’t you just call  me ‘John.’  My name, actually, is ‘John Cullum.’    


 


Sunday, November 8, 2020

SISTER MIRIAM

 

When I first  thought about creating a dance--- it was the Ballad of The False Lady. 

False Lady pretends an awful lot that she is very sexy even when she is not.  It was a ballad that I heard someone sing when I was 13.  More than anything I wanted to be a great ballet dancer.  I wanted to be the greatest dancer in the world.  I didn’t have the feet for it. That dream  was the dream of a false Lady. 



I came to NY in the summer from Harrisburg PA. My sister Miriam opened the grand piano, open all the doors and windows in our house and when my parents gave me permission to try a summer course in NYC at the Novikoff school of dance which advertised in Dance  Magazine every month,  Miriam opened all the doors and windows, put a record of the Romeo & Juliet overture on the record player--volume up, piano lid open she pretended she was playing and people stopped on the street to see and hear her.


I went on pointe too early when I was young.  Miriam has a snapshot  of me in my first ballet class outfit. There was something extraordinarily beautiful about my hands, my arms. At the end of the summer Novikoff told me and my parents I was a born ballerina. But when I returned to school  I couldn’t walk without a lot of pain.  Finally we consulted the best Doctor in Harrisburg.  He said ”she will never be a dancer--she has wrong FEET FOR DANCING,  


 Of course I Walked to and from school everyday.  I was eleven. We were living  near Indiantown Gap. I remembered Valse Trieste, EXCRUCIATINGLY  sad music by Sibelious . While it was playing, some soldiers asked if I could dance for them. Thinking very sad thoughts, I circled the room where soldiers where  they were sitting. They applauded., One soldier wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. .

        Despite  wrong feet, I allow myself to think  about dancing that sad circle in pink satin toe shoes.



Saturday, November 7, 2020

THE STAGE CREW SAYS HE MISSED A SHOW

 



 

Why would he miss doing the show?  Does he have  a cold?   Maybe on of his  legs hurts...those three successive  cartwheels could be wearing him out?  Maybe he had an agent or  a manager here to discuss another job in the winter? If  I had seen the opening number of the show that the stage crew said he missed  I could phone him and ask if he's feeling okay....Or call him.  And ask what he's thinking about doing this winter.  Since we're friends he might like to talk about his plans.  I wonder if he knows how to reach me in New York. I could write down the numbers and give them to one of the stage managers in case there's some sort of emergency....  that's what I should do,  yes--that's what I'll do....maybe I'll see what Mom says....    



Monday, November 2, 2020

ON STAGE IN SPOLETO

FRANKEE  WAS WEARING A FAVORITE BLUE OUTFIT THAT USUALLY BROUGHT HER COMPLIMENTS.  BUT THE BIGWIGS IN CHARGE OF THE FESTIVAL SEEMED TO BE AVOIDING HER.
 
They were seated here and there in the empty theater.

 Menotti reset his watch. Barber sorted  festival pamphlets, while the famous Benjamin Britten was studying a piece of sheet music, talking out loud to himself. 

 FRANKEE WAS  SWEATING. It was a hot afternoon  and everyone was standing too close to her. She kept wishing she'd borrowed her husbands double-breasted jackets --it would hide what she was wearing.    

Suddenly, out of the blue, somebody said "Cut the damn introduction--it's redundant." Menotti nodded. Britten vociferrously agreed. 

FRANKEE AT THE EDGE OF THE STAGE, A POWERFUL GIRL-WOMAN SAID "YOU INVITED ME  HERE.  I CREATED WHAT YOU ASKED ME TO CREATE ABOUT THE WRITER AS THE WAR BEGAN --YOU'LL HEAR AND SEE HIM.  I WILL NOT CUT ANYTHING. 

THE PRE- REORDED MUSIC FILLED THEATER AS FRANKEE, IN HER "ACTRESS TONE OF VOICE," INTRODUCED AN IMAGINARY  FAMILY.  
       "MY MOTHER--" (a spotlight fades up. as if encircling her).  "MY FATHER--" (spotlight comes on).  "MY UNCLE--" (another spot comes on).  "MY AUNT --(another spotlight) 

The music has sounds of street car horns honking as welll as cars. Frankee enacts in childlike dance movments  that includes  somersalts, childish  turns, and cartwheels. The vision of those circles on the floor becomes a real reality.   

The light that encircles each member of the writer's family  remains on, and the family is always there as writer  James Agee words as danced (mimed) by  Frankee as he recalls the summer of 1915.  


Sunday, November 1, 2020

NATHAN OGELSBY

"Who the hell is this Nathan Ogelsby guy who keeps phoning you, Frankee?  Ogelsby told me called  you three time today because he loves your voice."

"He wants to invest in the team Mark."

 "Frankee, he told me that when he aked you to marry him, you said yes! "   

"Mark, he's a very nice guy with a ton of money."

"You said Yes?   Are you sleeping with him Frankee ?"

"My goodness, of course not.  He paid the rent once when we couldn't pay the rent."  

"FRANKIE, YOU are  MARRIED!" 

" Nate said his lawyers could dissolve the marriage. MARK. They'll open  "Haunted Moments" at the Longacre  Theater -- the Bijou theater is too small."

"'Haunted Moments' -- your choreography to sound effects ? You're referring to the new work that you said was going to make us 'big names' in the dance world?" 

"I didn't promise --I just said there might be a part  for his ex wife."

"Frankee, how long have you known his guy?"

"He gave me a ring after I danced  False Lady on Trudy Goth's showcase.  I gave it to MOM. She says its quite tiny, but it's a genuine diamond.  1/2 carat.  He gave me a much bigger diamond in a pink velvet box that I keep in my underwear drawer.  I'll wear it when I meet his family. 




















retured from gatlinburg


Sunday, August 16, 2020

LETTER FROM ITALY

FRANKEE, ENTERING THE BACKSTAGE AREA WAS patting he SWEAT ON HER NECK. 
"Why a I here tonight--its too hot--flowers  every where, buds on the bushes--its overwhelming me .\tjeremust be twenty thouand peoplel fstill in theirseats , 

entering the  area, the star of the show was k, pattimg with  patting himself with awashcloth  grinned at her. " I must haesigned 1000 autograph books beofre I could get outof my dressing room    "my oh my that's a pretty yelow dreass your wearing.." 

He pointed to his eheek.ng? isitbleeding  I think I cut myself when I was shaving . 

frankee moved closer to him to see the cut, while Mark surrounded bythe eight extra daners asked  tithe kissed cheeks andsked " Is anybody hungry fir dinner no?'

theydiscussed food --an error someopne made, one o the extra and teh opeing number that Mark ha been fiing. Onof the exxtras had suggested that she  and 3 others could do mo32 fouettes--a giggle creative chit chat esued , whie frankee ,standing ext tothestar tilteded her head studying the wound on hi cheek....

Pronoucing her diagnosis frankee said "it will heal"   fans were beginnng to arrive fill the stars dressing room 

mR.CHUCK  declared loudly, rankee wee  you siting on pillows. You loked  ik a aazoj queen wenyou parked the statio wagon. TOLD FRANEE YOU WERE ITTING SOTALL WHE YIU RRIVE ITHAAT STATIONWAGOE 

pupupupipi     pupupupipi   pupupupipi

i"It's not a wagon , Marksaid, It's was A HALF TON TRUCK Ttil they installed HAT RACK ON THE ROOF WERE COSTUMESTRUNKS AD A RAIATR INTHE CENTER..fRNKENODDED ,,iTS JSUT A FORD..VERY CONVENIENT--THE OTHER CARE ISA SECODN HAND PLYMOUTH--

EVER DRIVE THE pLYMOUTH 

FRANKIE NODDED UT SHE COULDN STOP THINKING ABOUT HIS SKIN AND THE WAY HE TILTE HIS HEADS TI SHIW  HER THE SALLCUT,,,TO HERSEF THINKG SURELY THIS STAR HAS A GRLFREND ,,OES SHE KNOW iM HERE, i WONDER IF TEHRE;SSOMENE WAIING FR HI t the to of the him..


with the oerfume un teh air D GREENTHINGS GROWINGAL AROUND THEM FRANKEE FOUND ERSKF THINING THIS ACTOR KLIKES E.."

THE BOX OFCE MANAGER BARGED IN waving a whie eelop


THE BOX OFFICE EMANGER SAID "MR. RYDER, THIS LETTER ARRIVED YESTERDAY ADDRESSED YOUR WIFE."  

THE THICK LINEN EXPENSIVE ENVELOPE TOLD FRANKEE AND MARK IT WAS IMPORTANT.

FRANKEE CAREFULLY OPENED THE ENVELOPE, SKIMMED THE TWO PAGE ENCLOSURE. 


 'Mark, i read read the first page, tand the secodn --you read them hen read the second. We've received a very prestigious invitation--the Annual Arts Festival 'du  Spoleto has asked me to perform--they sent me a script. It's a famous quote from writer James Agee. I'll read you my script. (Frankee ennunciated the words like an actress.) "We are talking now of  summer evenings in Knoxville Teneessee, 1915, the time I lived there so successfully disguised to myself as a child."

"Sounds like a big break for you, Mrs. Ryder," the Star said, as heRE ENTEED  entered the backstage area. 

Frankee flattered that Mr. Chucky knew she was married. "Yep!  My first acting credit. It's a little scary--I stand up on the arms an old Rocking Chair  and reach up, up--up to the Gods above...when the chair arrives maybe you'll see me rehearsing it."

I will. And You'll  be watching  me do cartwheels in the show tonight--that's scary--your husband's certainly made the opening number more spectactular!" successive cartwheels  with a stage fille with 8 extra dancers ??

Mark Ryder said, "W\hen the outdrama closes end of the summer, maybe you can see Frankee acting and dancing in in Spoleto."  (if we can getthe management to get us tickets  for the travel and front row seasts for the show. got tickets for the show. ere


pupupupupupuppupuuuupupupu


Thursday, August 13, 2020

WHAT DO YOU FRET ABOUT-- YOUR AGE OR YOUR WEIGHT?

 JOHN SAID HE TELLS PEOPLE "I don't know my wife's age.  

C'MON, I KNOW HIS AGE, AND HIS HEIGHT, WEIGHT,  SHOE SIZE, PAN'T SIZE, HAT  SIZE, --ALSO WHAT SIZE UNDERWEAR TO PURCHASE. ALSO, WHAT SIZE SPORTS JACKET FITS HIM.

Wrist size?  Of course I know what wrist-watch he'd like, though he wears a digital timex. He loves rings. especially our  tall (below the knuckle) 18 karat solid gold wedding rings that we rarely wear because they are ucomfortable. He likes cufflinks, including the 3/4 inch fancy pair that has a floral pattern.  

I used to shop for his sweaters at the 17th street Barney' before it  closed--greens, browns, never purple--purple clashes with his skin tone. Now there's two Brooks Brothers within walking distance but the dresser where we keep his sweaters is jammed and has to be left open for at least 4 days till the moth ball smell fades into tolerable.

Currently he buys exercise outfits for me in Greewich Village, last Xmas--an extra warm, extra large,  flannel Salmon-colored exercise outfit that makes me feel like a big something or other who escaped from a tank.  I gave it to his oldest, wisest sister, Lee Gunter who brags--"the moment my brother saw this outfit, he bought it for ME!  Lee Gunter wore it with the 6 turquoise necklaces brother John gave her for her 50th birthday last year. 

 HE BUYS THINGS FOR ME LIKE THAT, SO  LEE GUINTER  CAN WEAR THEM.  I WONDER IF I CAN  BORROW THE NECKLACES? THEY'D LOOK GREAT ON ME IN ONE OF MY JOGGING SUITS.  I WEAR  DIFFERENT STYLE SUIT EVERY DAY.  COULD THAT BE WHY MY HUSBAND  DOESN'T KNOW MY AGE?  YES! Every time I look different, we have to figure out who I really am again. It's quite titilating for someone who's been married for 8, going on 9 years. 

TITILATING?  HEY, ITS FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!


Wednesday, August 5, 2020

GRABBING THE DAY

 GO FOR IT.  BE SURPRISED, BEWILDERED, SHOCKED,  OR AMUSED  BY WHAT'S AHEAD, LOOKING BEYOND WHOMEVER IS WAITING IN LINE, STANDING ON TIPPY TIP-TOES AS  YOU STRETCH LONG, REACH HIGH OR PALM THE FLOOR, SMILING YOUR MOST CONFIDENT SMILE,  WHILE EATING A CHOCOLATE BAR OR TWO. 


CONCENTRATE     
 
                       SNAG 

DON'T  JUST  HANG AROUND   

Be your REALLY TRULY REAL  GRABBER SELF









 
FEARLESSNESS








Monday, August 3, 2020

SAYING GOODNIGHT TO PEOPLE I LOVE

Who? 

WELL OF COURSE JOHN CULLUM. 

If I count how many years we've been together it tells a private tale of when and how we got together --revealing enough about how old we are, so that I need to behave like a sensible, contented older woman, but ....but I shared the whole day with you--you brew the coffee and make sure there's extra packets of sweetner cause you know I want it extra sweet but won't use sugar ever since my dancing days when I watched my weight scrupulously. Did most things scrupulously. Yes, everything that's sweet is made sweeter with artifical sweetner and you always make sure it's on the table ----the sugar packets--cause I Iike  it sweet, and I shared this day with you--the steak you cooked for my supper that YOU didnt really want to eat, but ate smothered with kethup. Anyway, you know me so well I don't bother to pretend to be sensible, and can don my silliness or kiss your hands when you figure it's time for me to have an "activia" strawberry yogurt.  Yes, you watchover me; I decided to pull togther the book I am writing on line with the help of WHO--well  of course it's Shareen. Brilliant, creative sister daughter dearest truly best friend who married and divorced our son JD who lives way way out west and puts photos of sunsets on his facebook posts--she loves him, I love him and who and what he really is now a days, well I can only sort of imagine. Not ask 'tho I think he is inside and outside a idea man, a deeply philosophical man-man. So therefore, also  ignoring typos I want to say goodnight to Jd  and Shareen  and John my husband and say grab tomorrow -- with all the confusing woeful things that are heating up--covid, Trump, open or don't open schools  etcetera -- you don't need a list---just grab tomorrow and live. I am with you and love you hugely. 


Sunday, July 26, 2020

ME AND JOHN

I think about this special guy (John Cullum every day--if there was/ is/ a watchful, listening LORD above us, I bet he would approve. Since I am thinking and writing about THE REAL ME, you are getting the story about me --"The Real Me,'" ---and also getting the story of Frankee Ryder, a passionately committed girl/woman who very early in her life, always ALWAYSwrote on the bathroom mirror. 

Frankee didn't budge till the letters on the mirror melted and ran together-- I WILL DANCE TILL I DIE--  I W D T I D  ...


(Wish there were a way I could ramble on in upper and lower case with what I'm typing and NOT use caps: Our son JD (John David Cullum) says when you write in caps, you are shouting. Although I am not shouting, right now I am sharing a few moments when I feel this is really me.)  

If right now I am REALLY ME, declaring it like JD said, what can you grab onto from this "shout?" 

You are possibly rabbing it, understanding what I'm saying loudly right now
        (Please, read this with dramatic energy)

  I wanted to be a great dancer more than anything in the world and I did it!


Thursday, July 23, 2020

DILEMMA


Mark was trying to reach Frankee, red-faced, bellowing-- "I'm done-- my choreography for the new opening number for "Chucky Jack"  is great--just what the show needs."

Frankee was peeved.  "Mark, you just added two cartwheels and one somersalt. The star of the show is a singer not a kid, Mark. Weave the extra  dancers in and out and make it interesting. Those 'extras'  are lousy dancers. the girls can't even even do triplets.  Use your ex girl friend with the big boobs. Please Mark  you nagged -- kept nagging me to come to Gatlinburg . I think its rude and wrong that you never take Martha Graham's classes these days!"

Mark chuckled. "Frankee, I dont need to--believe me, I know everything there is to know about Martha's technique. And yesterday when we finished re-choreographing, everything was perfect." 

"Please Mark, get the extras  cartwheeling --I'll see the show tonight  and head for New York and then Spoleto-- got a idea for the Spoleto Festival--James Agee--ever hear of him? Agee said, "We're talking now of summer evenings in Knoxville, Tennessee, the time I lived there so sucessully disguised to myself, as a child..." 
(note to reader--author Em hasn't conquered all the blogger's rules--if the words get spaced weirdly, expert assistant (Shareen Mitchell) will re-do the typing!)


Saturday, July 18, 2020

SYMPTOM

WILL WE EVER ADJUST TO A COVID 19 DEATH? 

 There's no warning. Generally your pal feels okay.  Suddenly, it's over. It's a "boink." The pal's Gone.    

Thursday, July 16, 2020

JAZZED UP CHOREOGRAPHY

The opening number was "jazzed" up byMark's choreography.. He actually gave  Mr Chucky a big kick to do and a cartwheel. "It's exciting," Frankee told the star of the outdoor drama. "can I give you a little professional advice?" 

The actor playing the star of the show had a VERY friendly smile as he nodded.

Frankee demonstrated, raising her arms and cartwheeling.   "It's fun watching you, Mr, Chuck. Just try to relax your arms---you look a bit stiff Mr.  Chuk. 

 (They'd never been introduced).  

She was very surprised when the star said, "Thanks Miss Frankee.  Hey, why don't you call me  'John.' "

Echoing his tone, Frankee said "Okay,  Mr. John!"

The tall very handsome star of the outdoor drama about a famous Tennessee hero chuckled. "John Cullum from Knoxville--my family's seeing the show. after the show I'll introduce you. Your husband says you're a very special dancer and uniqely excellent choreographer.   

John's smile was on her face, His extra friendly smile became hers.  

Monday, July 13, 2020

Wondering what to write about today?


Aside from corona virus and what can we do, about the spiking numbers, I'm sending the words that I say to myself and people I love--DO what seems wise to YOU,  immersing yourself with things that are vitally important to you. 

YOUR MASKED FACE

I FORSEE A TIME COMING WHEN WE WON'T REALLY GET TO KNOW MANY PEOPLE--WE SEE EYES BUT THE HALF FACES THAT WE ARE SEEING DO NOT REVEAL WHO MOST PEOPLE REALLY ARE.

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

WHAT IS STUCK IN MY MIND...

We have re-opened more than a few businesses as we're returning to "nomal"--you can get your hair trimmed, even get a massage, nails polished and other beautification treatments in about twenty states but they're running out of supplies. No more hospital beds in Texas. And more than a few businesses  were told that they could now open, are re-opened, and then closed back down. 

ARE WE WE GOING TO CONTINUE EXPECTING, with announcements of the progress we've made, the pandemic crisis is subsiding?

I heard Dr. Fauci about an hour ago saying saying "WE'RE UP TO OUR KNEES IN IT NOW."
Shuddering, feeling tears fill my eyes I reply to the television image with a nod.

In our fears about what's next, it could be another bout of Corona.   Oh no! Oh yes!  It could be CORONA  VIRUS  II.

































































haztver theresons, we ae i a crisis--taagain 

Saturday, July 4, 2020

FRANKEE AND MARK: CHAPTER ONE

Frankee lived in a cold water flat on 15th street--5th floor--six rooms she  rented out for  more or less, $9 a month. When her lover wasn’t spending the night with Martha Graham, he and Frankee slept on a folding bed they picked up for $5 at the Salvation army on 14th street.


They bathed in the kitchen sink. It was near a window.  Heating the water before their ablutions, the window glass got foggy. Praying every night to be a ballerina, she wrote  on that window “Till Death Do Me Part  I will dance” and waited until the words began to melt,, saying over and over, “Till death do me part, I will dance.”


Her lover, Sasha Liebich, legally changed his name to Mark Ryder after he danced with  Martha Graham in “Errand into the Maze.“ The NY times praised his “balon”--the height he attained as he jumped while Graham did her agonizing. That’s what it looked like to Frankee --she wasn’t a Graham fan though Mark nagged her to study with “M.G.”


Graham will love you Frankee. She’ll find your lyrical style interesting. If we were both working for her we could be together night and day and night!”  


It made sense. They were talking about marriage. He split the front room rent with Frankee, as did her very first lover, Tolly. His real name was Anatole Holt. He still visited frequently so Tolly kept clothes in her closet for $2.00 a month. 


Six feet two, handsome masculine Mark didn't seem concerned. He was in a Charisse ballet class--everyone who was anybody studied with Nenette ever since her long-legged sister Cyd Charisse got famous. Mark Ryder had a logical practical way of thinking, so Frankee headed for the next class that Martha Graham was teaching at an arty fancy place called Westbeth.  


Frankee noticed immediately how all the Graham dancers all were wearing their hair pulled back like Martha’s into a chic bun. She left hers loose. She liked to find her own way of doing things.


When Martha G herself entered she knew who Frankee was. With all eyes pinned on her, Frankee absorbed the routines, the rhythms, the emphasis on the beat, and managed to make her movements slightly, (but interestingly) a fraction ahead of the beat as if she was actually inventing the moment of the movement. 


Yuriko Kikuchi, a major leading dancer who did everything absolutely perfectly, stared.


Another Graham dancer, Helen McGee repeated the movement, again, and did it again as if  her own perfect  rendition of  the routine would sooner or later force Frankee me to do it perfectly. But new student Frankee realized she was distracting other students as well as Martha G. 


It inspired Frankee to perform the classroom routine more percussively, and lyrically,   despite the percussive emphasis that the class-accompanist gave it.


Frankee already had an idea --about a folk song, no agony, just beautiful movement, about a lady who danced with a bird in a tree. Ryder saw her working on it and liked it.  A lady named Trudy Goth, who rented a space for dancers to audition, told Frankee, “You can use my studio and showcase your idea.” 


A well known dancer, Janet Collins , a soloist at The Met Opera Ballet told Mark “ I’d love to dance it myself. “  Frankee said, “ I want to dance it on a program we might do if we become The Frankee Ryder Duo.  Mark laughed. “ It sounds better if my name is first.” 


Frankee’s feet were blistered.She pretended they were fine.  


Mark Ryder warned Frankee, someone phoned him after Frankee’s third class with the Graham Dancers.  “Your girlfriend is rocking the boat.”


“Frankee,  Don’t count on that role.  Don’t count on any roles. The New YOrk season that’s scheduled for August probably won’t happen unless someone donates more money.”


But the dancers were whispering.  Martha seemed to be upset. After Frankee’s fourth class, Martha announced,  “ We have to look for new dates.  I wanted it in the spring and now my backer says I have to wait until the winter.”
“ I can’t do that, Martha!  It has to be now. My feet.  My ankles.  The blisters. “

Martha moved to the group at the barre. Martha said, “ Frankee, the season has to be cancelled. The backer needs another ten thousand. “ 


“Tomorrow we will work on small solos in “Deaths and Entrances”.  There is a good role for you as the little girl, Frankee. ”  Your husband wants you in the season. It’s an excellent showcase for you. “ 

Carrying her things,  Frankee opened the door to the hall. “Ms. Graham,  when you know the dates for the NY season, I’ll be back in class. “


When they got to the street, Mark Ryder was furious. 


Back at the apartment, Frankee, folded up one of the folding beds and told Mark, “ I’m not a Martha Graham fan.  Her agonizing, her contortions, are wrong for me. “

“ You are wrong, Frankee”

“We need to earn money right away so I don’t have to get rent money from Mom.”


“How much does Martha pay you? “

“ It's an honor to be in her company. We don’t get paid.” 


“Mark, I’m going to get on Trudy Goth’s list.  She has paid dancers doing her workshop. 

I got an idea for a dance, a solo, something beautiful, lyrical, that suits me.
Long time ago I thought about dancing to an old English ballad, barefeet, black velvet dress, split open at the knees, so that every movement I make will be seen and sensual.



In the ballad the woman tells the bird to come down and play with me.”

 Frankee improvised around the furniture, showing Mark how she’d make the bird play with her. 


Frankee arched,  the movement became a bouree, like a ballet dancer would do on pointe.  


Mark said, “Frankee, you are wasting time.  You are not being realistic. Nobody is going to be interested in you dancing with an imaginary bird! Why not dance it with me. Make it a duet.”


Talking to the bird in the tree, in her own tone of voice, Frankee said,  “ Come down, come down you pretty little bird. “ Come down and play with me.:”  When the  bird says, No!  I won’t come down. Frankee said, “ Why , why won’t you?

I can’t come down. I won’t come down.  I can’t play with you.”

Why, why? Why can’t you.?


Daa daa da dee da da da da, 

I can’t come down, I won’t come down.

Why won’t you play with me?
If I play with you,  an ill death may you die.

I won’t die! 

 

As I pas de bouree. 

The music is going to be played by a harpist,  Eugene Bianco. He is a wonderful harpist.  And sung by a soprano. A Peter Bartok recording. 

And Tolly’s giving me the money.  He didn't pay me last month for storing his clothes.  


After I rehearse this and it's in my bones, I’ll dance it at Trudy Goths and ask her to show it to other dancers. 



Monday, February 24, 2020

BERNIE-ITIS

Bernie Sanders befuddles me. There is something about him--his tone, the look of him, the energy thats in the air  before he speaks that irritates me. Is it his over confidence? He's so sure that what he's about to say is important, that every word he utters will be heard, understood and educate me--he's  clear, articulate, and uninterruptible and very annoying. Why? He's smart and well-organized, but the more I see of him, the more I hear him, I am compelled to say to people I know as well as people I don't know that I do not want to support or follow or ever find myself voting for Bernie Sanders.

Friday, February 21, 2020

EENY MEANY MINY MO

rollin stone tells uS.....j 

not  done.  not otused


ccopy from rollng stone
wht do Youthink what do I think, rolling stone sis commenting.




HOMEPOLITICSPOLITICS FEATURES

The RS Politics 2020 Democratic Primary Leaderboard

Ranking a crowded field of contenders jockeying to confront Trump

Shutterstock (6)
After emerging victorious in the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders holds on to the top spot in our rankings. The Vermont senator is consolidating the progressive wing of the party, to the detriment of Elizabeth Warren, while the center-left-lane is just getting more crowded with plausible contenders. If moderate voters consolidate behind a single candidate, Sanders is beatable. But no candidate in that lane has yet shown the strength needed to knock out the competition — and nobody is volunteering to stand aside.
Pete Buttigieg’s strong showing in the first two contests actually gives him a delegate lead — for now. But as the nominating contest shifts to more diverse states, it’s hard to see where he wins next. A surging Amy Klobuchar is winning media attention after her third-place New Hampshire finish, but she’s hardly shown more resonance with voters of color than Mayor Pete. Joe Biden has been a disaster out of the gate, but he could still redeem his campaign with a big win in South Carolina, buoyed by African Americans who have backed him strongly in the polls. Waiting in the wings is Mike Bloomberg, who is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the Super Tuesday states, has surged to third place national surveys, and appears ready to pick up centrist support if Biden can’t seal the deal in South Carolina.
As we assess the fallout from New Hampshire, we also bid farewell to Andrew Yang, whose viral #YangGang phenomenon didn’t translate into many actual votes. Launch-failures Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick have also dropped out. Below we rank the eight Democratic candidates still in the running.

1) Bernie Sanders

Website: BernieSanders.com
The 78-year-old Sanders is on a roll — riding a potent combination of people-power and cash. The campaign’s focus on grassroots organizing is peerless in the 2020 field, and he’s built his campaign with the help of more than 1.6 million individual donors, raising a whopping $34.5 million in the fourth quarter. Sanders does not have the left lane to himself as he did in 2016. But he is seen as the uncompromising champion of Medicare for All, and one-upped Warren’s income-based college debt relief by calling for a complete wipeout of the nation’s $1.6 trillion in student debt. He recently received a clean bill of health after an October heart attack.
Signature Policy: Sanders’ 2016 campaign set the table for 2020. He gets full credit for mainstreaming a $15 minimum wage and tuition-free college. Sanders recently introduced the “For the 99.8% Act” that would sharply increase the estate tax, including imposing a 77 percent tax on estates in excess of $1 billion, raising an estimated $315 billion over a decade. (Read more about Sanders’ platform.)Signature Apology: Sanders apologized to former female staffers for a 2016 campaign marred by pay disparities and allegations of sexual harassment by male staffers, promising to “do better” moving forward.Delegates: 21
RS Coverage: 
On the Trail With Bernie Sanders 2.0

2) Joe Biden

Website: JoeBiden.com
The former vice president offers America a seductive promise  a reboot from the Trump catastrophe and a return to the sanity of the Obama era. And rather than risk falling in love with a progressive New Hope, many rank-and-file Democrats, particularly older voters and voters of color, seem happy to fall in line behind Biden, 77. At his Philadelphia kickoff rally last May, Biden touted his record as a Mr. Fixit: “I know how to make government work.” But Biden’s terrible showing in Iowa and New Hampshire is eroding his electability narrative. If can score a big win in South Carolina, it could key a national comeback. If not, he’s likely toast.
Signature Policy: Biden has peerless foreign policy credentials and isn’t afraid to tout them: “I’m the most qualified person in the country to be president,” he’s said. “I know as much about American foreign policy [as] anyone around, including even maybe Kissinger.” (Read more about Biden’s platform.)Signature Apology: “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” Biden told reporters after being rebuked by multiple women for his space-invader style of politics. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I have never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman. So that’s not the reputation I’ve had since I was in high school, for God’s sakes.”
Delegates: 6
RS Coverage: 
Joe Biden Is Not Helping

3) Michael Bloomberg

Website: MikeBloomberg.comThe 77-year-old former mayor of New York launched his campaign in late November, shocking and awing America with a wildly expensive national ad campaign that branded him as a: “Jobs Creator. Leader. Problem Solver.” Bloomberg has now spent more than $300 million on his campaign, vaulting him into third place in national polling. While the Bloomberg boomlet is real, we’re still finding it hard to imagine hard to imagine a centrist former Republican, who backed George W. Bush in 2004 and embraced racist police tactics as mayor, winning the nomination of today’s left-leaning Democratic Party.
Signature Policy: Bloomberg is fully in step with today’s Democrats on gun regulation. He has used some of his massive fortune to fund groups including “Everytown for Gun Safety,” which advocates for sensible gun regulations in a country that desperately needs them.
Signature Apology: When he decided not to run in the spring, Bloomberg mocked Joe Biden for launching with an “apology tour.” Bloomberg has now embarked on one of his own. A staffer apologized for sexist and demeaning jokes published in a 1990 pamphlet, Portable Bloomberg: The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg, saying, “Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong.” And Bloomberg recently visited a black church to apologize for his embrace of stop-and-frisk policing: “I can’t change history, however today I want you to know that I realize back then I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
RS Coverage: The Mike Bloomberg Black New Yorkers Know

4) Pete Buttigieg

Website: PeteForAmerica.com
He’s the unlikely phenom of 2020. But Buttigieg continues to be held back by what we’ll politely call a lack of resonance with voters of color — suggesting he could soon hit a wall in racially-diverse early-voting states like Nevada and particularly South Carolina. The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is making a play for the party’s moderate wing, with policies like Medicare for All (Who Want It) and free public college (for families earning less than $100,000). Steeped in the values of the Christian left, Buttigieg has wowed pundits, and his is fundraising is prodigious, including nearly $25 million in the fourth quarter.
Signature Policy: “The electoral college needs to go.” (Read more about Buttigieg’s platform.)
Signature Apology: After news reports revealed that Buttigieg declared “all lives matter” in 2015, Mayor Pete distanced himself from the comment, insisting he “did not understand” at the time that the slogan was “being used to devalue what the Black Lives Matter movement was telling us.”
Delegates: 22
RS Coverage: Is America Ready for Mayor Pete?Pete Buttigieg’s True Privilege

5) Elizabeth Warren

Website: ElizabethWarren.comWarren soared to the top of the 2020 Democratic field last fall on the strength of bold, progressive policies. But Warren, 70, has fallen behind Sanders in the progressive lane and hasn’t been able to shore up support from moderates. She placed well in Iowa, but failed to rack up any delegates in New Hampshire. Relying on grassroots donors, Warren raised $21.2 million in the fourth quarter. She remains the most widely acceptable candidate in contention and could get a second wind if the field narrows quickly.Signature Policy: Warren wants to address American inequality with a wealth tax, imposed annually on “ultra-millionaires,” to pay for benefits, including universal free or low-cost childcare, for “yacht-less Americans.” Fortunes greater than $50 million would be taxed at 2 percent. Billionaires would pay 3 percent. The proposal has greater than 60 percent support and would raise $2.75 trillion over 10 years. (Read more about Warren’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Warren has apologized for conflating “family stories” about Cherokee heritage with native identity. At the Native American Presidential Forum in August, Warren underscored her regret. “Like anyone who’s being honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes,” she said. “I am sorry for the harm I have caused.”
Delegates: 8
RS Coverage: Elizabeth Warren: The Rolling Stone Interview

6) Amy Klobuchar

Website: Amy-Klobuchar.comThe Minnesota senator’s understated persona stands in contrast to Trump’s bluster and bravado, winning her a co-endorsement from the New York Times, which praised her as the “standard-bearer for the Democratic center.” With an impressive $11.4 fourth quarter fundraising haul, Klobuchar, 59, had a decent showing in Iowa and a surge in New Hampshire. Can the senator who launched her campaign in a blizzard capitalize on her media moment and make a stir in sunny Nevada?
Signature Policy: Known for a focus on reform of revolution, Klobuchar has emphasized her record of enacting practical laws that have reduced the backlog of rape kits and banned lead in toys. If Biden continues to decline, Klobuchar seems likely to corral some of his moderate-minded voters. (Read more about Klobuchar’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Klobuchar has been dogged by reports she abused and demeaned staff, including throwing a binder that “accidentally” hit a staffer. The senator has admitted she has pushed employees “too hard” at times and can be a “tough boss,” but added she just wants to hold her employees — and the country — to high standards.
Delegates: 7
RS Coverage: Amy Klobuchar on Al Franken, Brett Kavanaugh, and the Road Ahead











HOMEPOLITICSPOLITICS FEATURES

The RS Politics 2020 Democratic Primary Leaderboard

Ranking a crowded field of contenders jockeying to confront Trump

Shutterstock (6)
After emerging victorious in the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders holds on to the top spot in our rankings. The Vermont senator is consolidating the progressive wing of the party, to the detriment of Elizabeth Warren, while the center-left-lane is just getting more crowded with plausible contenders. If moderate voters consolidate behind a single candidate, Sanders is beatable. But no candidate in that lane has yet shown the strength needed to knock out the competition — and nobody is volunteering to stand aside.
Pete Buttigieg’s strong showing in the first two contests actually gives him a delegate lead — for now. But as the nominating contest shifts to more diverse states, it’s hard to see where he wins next. A surging Amy Klobuchar is winning media attention after her third-place New Hampshire finish, but she’s hardly shown more resonance with voters of color than Mayor Pete. Joe Biden has been a disaster out of the gate, but he could still redeem his campaign with a big win in South Carolina, buoyed by African Americans who have backed him strongly in the polls. Waiting in the wings is Mike Bloomberg, who is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the Super Tuesday states, has surged to third place national surveys, and appears ready to pick up centrist support if Biden can’t seal the deal in South Carolina.
As we assess the fallout from New Hampshire, we also bid farewell to Andrew Yang, whose viral #YangGang phenomenon didn’t translate into many actual votes. Launch-failures Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick have also dropped out. Below we rank the eight Democratic candidates still in the running.

1) Bernie Sanders

Website: BernieSanders.com
The 78-year-old Sanders is on a roll — riding a potent combination of people-power and cash. The campaign’s focus on grassroots organizing is peerless in the 2020 field, and he’s built his campaign with the help of more than 1.6 million individual donors, raising a whopping $34.5 million in the fourth quarter. Sanders does not have the left lane to himself as he did in 2016. But he is seen as the uncompromising champion of Medicare for All, and one-upped Warren’s income-based college debt relief by calling for a complete wipeout of the nation’s $1.6 trillion in student debt. He recently received a clean bill of health after an October heart attack.
Signature Policy: Sanders’ 2016 campaign set the table for 2020. He gets full credit for mainstreaming a $15 minimum wage and tuition-free college. Sanders recently introduced the “For the 99.8% Act” that would sharply increase the estate tax, including imposing a 77 percent tax on estates in excess of $1 billion, raising an estimated $315 billion over a decade. (Read more about Sanders’ platform.)Signature Apology: Sanders apologized to former female staffers for a 2016 campaign marred by pay disparities and allegations of sexual harassment by male staffers, promising to “do better” moving forward.Delegates: 21
RS Coverage: 
On the Trail With Bernie Sanders 2.0

2) Joe Biden

Website: JoeBiden.com
The former vice president offers America a seductive promise  a reboot from the Trump catastrophe and a return to the sanity of the Obama era. And rather than risk falling in love with a progressive New Hope, many rank-and-file Democrats, particularly older voters and voters of color, seem happy to fall in line behind Biden, 77. At his Philadelphia kickoff rally last May, Biden touted his record as a Mr. Fixit: “I know how to make government work.” But Biden’s terrible showing in Iowa and New Hampshire is eroding his electability narrative. If HE can score a big win in South Carolina, it could key a national comeback. If not, he’s likely toast.
Signature Policy: Biden has peerless foreign policy credentials and isn’t afraid to tout them: “I’m the most qualified person in the country to be president,” he’s said. “I know as much about American foreign policy [as] anyone around, including even maybe Kissinger.” (Read more about Biden’s platform.)Signature Apology: “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more,” Biden told reporters after being rebuked by multiple women for his space-invader style of politics. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything that I have ever done. I have never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman. So that’s not the reputation I’ve had since I was in high school, for God’s sakes.”
Delegates: 6
RS Coverage: 
Joe Biden Is Not Helping

3) Michael Bloomberg

Website: MikeBloomberg.comThe 77-year-old former mayor of New York launched his campaign in late November, shocking and awing America with a wildly expensive national ad campaign that branded him as a: “Jobs Creator. Leader. Problem Solver.” Bloomberg has now spent more than $300 million on his campaign, vaulting him into third place in national polling. While the Bloomberg boomlet is real, we’re still finding it hard to imagine hard to imagine a centrist former Republican, who backed George W. Bush in 2004 and embraced racist police tactics as mayor, winning the nomination of today’s left-leaning Democratic Party.
Signature Policy: Bloomberg is fully in step with today’s Democrats on gun regulation. He has used some of his massive fortune to fund groups including “Everytown for Gun Safety,” which advocates for sensible gun regulations in a country that desperately needs them.
Signature Apology: When he decided not to run in the spring, Bloomberg mocked Joe Biden for launching with an “apology tour.” Bloomberg has now embarked on one of his own. A staffer apologized for sexist and demeaning jokes published in a 1990 pamphlet, Portable Bloomberg: The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg, saying, “Mike has come to see that some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong.” And Bloomberg recently visited a black church to apologize for his embrace of stop-and-frisk policing: “I can’t change history, however today I want you to know that I realize back then I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
RS Coverage: The Mike Bloomberg Black New Yorkers Know

4) Pete Buttigieg

Website: PeteForAmerica.com
He’s the unlikely phenom of 2020. But Buttigieg continues to be held back by what we’ll politely call a lack of resonance with voters of color — suggesting he could soon hit a wall in racially-diverse early-voting states like Nevada and particularly South Carolina. The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is making a play for the party’s moderate wing, with policies like Medicare for All (Who Want It) and free public college (for families earning less than $100,000). Steeped in the values of the Christian left, Buttigieg has wowed pundits, and his is fundraising is prodigious, including nearly $25 million in the fourth quarter.
Signature Policy: “The electoral college needs to go.” (Read more about Buttigieg’s platform.)
Signature Apology: After news reports revealed that Buttigieg declared “all lives matter” in 2015, Mayor Pete distanced himself from the comment, insisting he “did not understand” at the time that the slogan was “being used to devalue what the Black Lives Matter movement was telling us.”
Delegates: 22
RS Coverage: Is America Ready for Mayor Pete?Pete Buttigieg’s True Privilege

5) Elizabeth Warren

Website: ElizabethWarren.comWarren soared to the top of the 2020 Democratic field last fall on the strength of bold, progressive policies. But Warren, 70, has fallen behind Sanders in the progressive lane and hasn’t been able to shore up support from moderates. She placed well in Iowa, but failed to rack up any delegates in New Hampshire. Relying on grassroots donors, Warren raised $21.2 million in the fourth quarter. She remains the most widely acceptable candidate in contention and could get a second wind if the field narrows quickly.Signature Policy: Warren wants to address American inequality with a wealth tax, imposed annually on “ultra-millionaires,” to pay for benefits, including universal free or low-cost childcare, for “yacht-less Americans.” Fortunes greater than $50 million would be taxed at 2 percent. Billionaires would pay 3 percent. The proposal has greater than 60 percent support and would raise $2.75 trillion over 10 years. (Read more about Warren’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Warren has apologized for conflating “family stories” about Cherokee heritage with native identity. At the Native American Presidential Forum in August, Warren underscored her regret. “Like anyone who’s being honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes,” she said. “I am sorry for the harm I have caused.”
Delegates: 8
RS Coverage: Elizabeth Warren: The Rolling Stone Interview

6) Amy Klobuchar

Website: Amy-Klobuchar.comThe Minnesota senator’s understated persona stands in contrast to Trump’s bluster and bravado, winning her a co-endorsement from the New York Times, which praised her as the “standard-bearer for the Democratic center.” With an impressive $11.4 fourth quarter fundraising haul, Klobuchar, 59, had a decent showing in Iowa and a surge in New Hampshire. Can the senator who launched her campaign in a blizzard capitalize on her media moment and make a stir in sunny Nevada?
Signature Policy: Known for a focus on reform of revolution, Klobuchar has emphasized her record of enacting practical laws that have reduced the backlog of rape kits and banned lead in toys. If Biden continues to decline, Klobuchar seems likely to corral some of his moderate-minded voters. (Read more about Klobuchar’s platform.)
Signature Apology: Klobuchar has been dogged by reports she abused and demeaned staff, including throwing a binder that “accidentally” hit a staffer. The senator has admitted she has pushed employees “too hard” at times and can be a “tough boss,” but added she just wants to hold her employees — and the country — to high standards.
Delegates: 7
RS Coverage: Amy Klobuchar on Al Franken, Brett Kavanaugh, and the Road Ahead