Jennifer’s Bloggallery

From: Jennifer Jane Leitham
February 21, 2003

One of the ramifications of my newly scaled down simplified existence has been the weeding out of a lot of the luxuries of modern life. Probably the thing I miss the least is cable television.

Paying a monthly fee for the privilege of being bombarded by 24 hour corporate news channels, bad movies, overblown sporting events driven by highlight reel coverage instead of real skill and teamwork, vapid self-serving entertainment reporting,( not to mention the incessant commercials), makes it easy to cross cable TV watching off my list of worthwhile activities.

While in the hospital for my most recent round of surgery on the comeback trail I was delighted to find that cable TV would be my companion once again. Being a captive audience, a little too groggy and pained to read or write, I settled in to check out the latest news regarding the coming cataclysm in the Middle East. Secretary of State Colin Powell had delivered an important speech at the United Nations a day earlier. President Bush just appeared on the screen at the White House. Breaking news. It looked like something important was going to happen. I was watching CNN.

Faced with the problem of reaching an audience possessing increasingly short attention spans, most of the “news” networks have resorted to a teletype scroll across the bottom of the picture that gives the viewer something to do when the talking head on screen is too boring. The President of the United States was about to make an announcement that could plunge the world into war. Across the teletype scroll an extremely important announcement rolled by that told the world that a hockey player was going to miss tonight’s game because of an injured groin.

Could you imagine the impact from 1941 to the present if when FDR gave his address to Congress and the world about the “Day Of Infamy” there was a banner behind (or scrolling under) informing us all about a hockey player’s groin?

Maybe our problem today is that we don’t take the “News” seriously. How is it possible when it’s presented in such a fashion? News outlets have become mere shills to the entertainment and cyber conglomerates that own them. Is there a way to bring the arts into the mix?

Symphony orchestras are floundering across North America because of a lack of funding. It’s made worse because of a lack of appreciation for art forms that require education to understand their depth and expressiveness. I don’t even want to rant about the state of Jazz. It hurts sometimes.

At the same time, people filled with performance enhancing substances are reaping insanely huge rewards for “athletic” prowess while playing at sports that have devolved into putting the individual above the team. Major movie musicals are being cast with people who can’t sing or dance. “Musicians” are reaping huge rewards not for playing but actually splicing already recorded music together and calling themselves artists. I guess art is in the eye of the beholder. As is news.

The cameras roll.

We’re going to war.

Let’s watch a hockey player’s groin.

Jennifer Leitham
February 21, 2003

From: Jennifer Jane Leitham
February 4, 2003

I’m very honored that so many people would ask my advice in personal matters. I’m always happy to hear from folks who are encouraging and positive, it truly helps to lift my spirits. But lately there have been some very serious requests from people who need guidance that I’m not equipped to provide.

The last thing that I would want to happen as a result of my life choice would be to become some sort of advice-columnist to everyone who writes with questions regarding their gender problems. That being said, here’s another last attempt:

One thing I have learned from my experiences is that each of us is unique, our stories are different, and that no one approach works for everybody. If your inclination is strong enough you will find a way to happiness. Weigh the personal, emotional, and financial costs very seriously – this is going to affect the rest of your life.

Hopefully society will learn that acceptance of people who are different is the only way to peace. We just can’t all be the same in appearance or beliefs.

My personal hope is that someday I’ll be remembered as a decent human being and a musician who contributed some worthwhile results, NOT as a person who underwent Sexual Reassignment Surgery.

If your questions are serious enough to be considering such an important life change I would recommend talking to a gender counselor, not a jazz bass player.

Being a whole person, someone who makes a difference because of actions, not protests, is the path I hope to follow. If everyone would take the time to think about how they are presenting themselves, we could advance our culture in leaps and bounds.

I welcome all who write. I try to respond to all but time doesn’t allow detailed advice to the trans-lorn. I’m more interested in music!!!