Starstruck

Some people get starstruck when encountering what I would consider a conventional celebrity like a Hollywood starlet, a national news anchor or a New York Times bestselling author.  In a previous life, I was married to a man that was an autograph collector and dogged celebrity hound.  Memorable examples entail him interrupting Clint Black's dinner for an autograph at the restaurant formerly known as La Paz here in Nashville (which everyone knows is a big no no...we Nashvillians leave our celebrities alone!), bragging about his encounter with Ashley Judd, chatting up Harmony Korine in line at the Green Hills Movie Theater (obscure filmmaker known for Kids and Gummo), and literally running after Ethan Hawke for an autograph outside of the Chelsea Hotel in New York City.  My second (and last!) marriage has refreshingly paired me with a sweet, sweet, endearing man that gets starstruck when meeting local "celebrities," like Beth Curley, President/CEO of Nashville Public Television, or seeing Bart Durham, ambulance chaser extraordinaire, at McCabe Pub.


I've never been one to get googley-eyed when seeing Nicole Kidman at Whole Foods or meeting the friend of a friend that used to work with Sheryl Crowe's manager, but yesterday, I was starstruck.  Absolutely and completely. 


Rich and I went to The Farm Midwifery Clinic for a prenatal visit and whom was there stopping by before hopping on a plane to Sweden but Ina May Gaskin herself.  Of course, The Farm is her home and the midwives are her family, so why wouldn't she be there?  In reading all her books (I just ordered Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta (2011) and Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding (2009) and they should arrive today-- yay!), I have come to admire this woman so much.  If someone were to ask me one of those silly get-to-know you questions, "If you could have dinner with anyone alive or dead, who would it be and why?," some might say Oprah, JFK, Gandhi, or Jesus, but for me, it's Ina May.  She has made a significant contribution to the lives of women and the health of families all over the world.  In Sweden, she is being honored with an "Alternative Nobel Prize" awarded by the Right Livelihood Awards Foundation...how cool is that?!  (To answer another nonsensical get-to-know you question for inquiring minds, "If you were an animal, what would you be and why?"  A dolphin.  Hands down. They're graceful, playful and uber smart!  Random, I know, but I'm a sharer.)


I anticipate seeing Ina May again on a subsequent visit and next time, I'll have my wits about me.

”A society that places a low value on its mothers and the process of birth will suffer an array of negative repercussions for doing so. Good beginnings make a positive difference in the world, so it is worth our while to provide the best possible care for mothers and babies throughout this extraordinarily influential part of life.”

-Ina May Gaskin