Tough as Steel-chrome- plated even

It was Nautica during the early summer of 1996. The three of us, mom dad and I decided this was a great day since the tickets were cheap and we wanted a different kind of music. Mom had never heard her music and thought ok. Dad was going back and fourth from the beer-tent back then cause ladies like to drink beer while it is nearly 90 degrees and of course then dad and beer still had ' a relationship'. 

It was hot and lots and lots of women were all over the docks, near the grandstand bleachers, down by the food and beer stands dressed in barely there tops and skirts and shorts. Some wore jeans and light jackets but Etheridge surprised us. I recall Melissa coming out with her guitar slung over her shoulder and she was clad in white leather with full up to mid calf boots. Excited and ready to entertain her hundreds and hundreds of fans, she opened with a much newer piece than this one but this song "Chrome Plated Heart" holds a special place for me since the very first time I heard it when I needed to know the depth of my own strength within my 'chrome-plated heart'.

A 'tough as steel' woman, Melissa showed the world she could be especially since her recent bout in the last decade with breast cancer. It tried to ravish her body, nearly managed to break her spirit and has never certainly shattered her heart for she represents a fortitude each woman who listens to her belt a tune, appreciates. She moved me then and still can move me now with that fortitude she delivers with passion. As I watched her delve into independence and being backed up against many walls in her career, I discovered my strength as tested as it always been, really never waned. I thanked her silently and sang right along with her and the hundreds of fans who equally adore her for what she stands for.

When my spirit was crushed from my first marital disappointment, I needed someone, something, anything, anyone. Melissa's music, lyrics, power in delivering hope, brought me that thing 'amiss' in my life at that time. She sang with purpose and I listened with intent. Intent to move forward without regret and forge a road of peaceful romantic adventure admist past memories of melancholy, nostalgia, sorrow and joy. Loving relationships were not my forte because I picked wrong instead of going with what was already intended for me much later. This suffering was in preparation for greater and deeper committments of the mind, body and spirit.

A 'chrome plated heart', mine especially, is designed to withstand any and all the fluctuations both good and bad that life tends to challenge this precious organ with. It graciously rejects any harmful interference. But the physical pains are not in discussion here, the emotional ramification of choosing positive over negative when loving someone is. As Anon once said, ""Let there be such oneness between us, that when one cries, the other tastes salt", I did not have that capacity in me to love that deeply this first man I took as my husband. I let Melissa's music explain why. This song re-directed my feeling of failure to an understanding of much-needed growth. I simply was not ready to be part of a couple when I was still honing the single.

I craved independence and marriage denied me of this. I was frustrated, young. I was resentful, bitter. This made loving gently very difficult and as hostility crested over like a ferocious and dangerous wave, I reeled back on my surfboard, chose to ignore the cravings of body and stuck to what was stronger and more relevant to my true self-actualization that I found within within my 'chrome-plated heart'. Nothing could permeate and attack me as the protection was tough as steel, and discovered through lyrics belt out by a woman who served as my best friend, then, today and even tomorrow.

Thank you Melissa . . . love ya !