I read earlier today that Tina Turner had her 77th birthday on Nov. 26. The site I visited has very nice photos and captions to go with..here’s the address- http://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/celebrity/tina-turner-life-in-pictures  You’ll have to copy and paste until I figure out the link system.

Those who have known me a long time…Know the deal. She scratched my head when I was ailin. With Love Happy 77th Tina, may it be your best year yet…

I knew of Tina Turner even as a young girl. My father and his friends would call her the Colored Betty Grable because of the length and shapliness of her legs and the story that some film studio had insured Ms. Grable’s legs for a million dollars. They all agreed Tina’s legs should have been insured as well. I saw her once at the movies. She was singing Rolling on the River and dancing furiously. I was fascinated by her moves, voice and her joy, it was a sight to behold.

I didn’t think of her for years until What’s Love Got to Do With It, the song, came out in the eighties. I was too busy dodging fists, working unmercifully and having children. Like I said I graduated from Tina Turner University. When the movie came out I had been in recovery from nearly everything that had plagued me during my twenties. Nearly everything.

It was a new turn on the spiral of life and I was knee deep in the underworld. It was so dark down there sight was useless besides I was so depressed by the struggle I didn’t care to see anyway. I had done a thing for all the right reasons and it had become the biggest nightmare of my sober life. One day after a whole morning of worrying, my friend took the children out to the movies. I crawled back into bed and decided to watch What’s Love Got To Do With It on VHS. It broke me open in a way I thought unimaginable.

It happened when she was rewarded for her efforts at trying to record a song while he partied. He had her by the throat and he raped her. She was doing her best and he beat her up and raped her. I began to howl, claw my face and pull on my hair. I got down on my hands and knees and screamed WHY???? WHY???? WHY???? I rocked myself in the fetal position until I caught my breath and fell asleep.

I returned to finish the film and to be inspired by her triumphs. I was emptied out and so her successes filled the space and I thought I saw a dim flickering light at the end of the tunnel.Don’t give up she whispered, cajoled, shouted and ultimately convinced me to not give up. I had my relationship to the Divine. I had my gifts, my heart, my soul and I realized the light indicated I still, despite my current state of affairs, I still had my dreams. I remember 10 years she played those small hotels. Even after Ike was gone there was work still to be done…and then I understood and I began to imagine again.me-tina