Slippery When Wet

I am a Gemini, so what? They say I am supposed to be two people at once, supposed to blow hot and cold all the time, to love to be in a crowd and yet run away and hide the minute I can. Geminis are supposed to over-do everything...too much work, too much play. They are expected to be indecisive, to not finish all the wild projects they start, and to keep other people waiting all the time.

So maybe I do those things, but doesn't everybody?

I mean, really...everyone who walks on this planet likes to have their cake and eat it too. We all want curly hair one day and straight hair the next. All of us want to be stars, and hermits, at the same time?

Yes, it is flattering to hear that those of us born under the sign of the twins tend to be smarter than the average bear and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. And absolutely it is cool to learn that many famous people are Geminis. Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Depp, Mark Wahlberg, Natalie Portman, Bob Dylan (for crying out loud) are just a few of the names on the current list of celebs born under the sign of the twins.

Good people and bad people are Geminis, just as is the case with every...other...sign. Geminis are not the most likely to be criminals, nor are they the most likely to be saints.

We are type cast as charming, funny, pretty, witty, tricky, manipulating. And.... maybe there is some truth in all that.

We are supposedly best matched to other air signs, including Aquarius--my true love's sign. So, OK. Except when he was asked his sign, he always replied, "Slippery When Wet."

We are supposed to have energetic minds, be good at strategy, at seeing the big picture and plotting a plan to reach that goal. All the above pretty much describes the ways in which I have made a living all my life. But we are not the only signs with those skills.

It is often said that we are flighty, inconsistent, judgmental, materialistic, and sarcastic.

Ha! Not true. No way! Well, sometimes, maybe. I have been a little harsh, in the past—certainly not anymore. I absolutely hate to hurt anyone’s feelings and I learned a long time ago that if you say anything negative about someone it will get right back to them.

Hmmm, this might be something I should work on.

Geminis are supposed to love to travel. But travel is a pain in the backside these days. All the precautions, all the risk of disease, all the restrictions on what you can carry and how many ounces of it and all that is just too much trouble.

But I will admit that I have been on the most amazing trips, to historical places that just reach right back into my family history and my inner being...I can feel a connection to the past every time I visit Scotland, Ireland, England, and Germany. Ancestors on both my mother’s side and my father’s hail from all those regions. But I am just as much in love with New Orleans as with all those and I can get completely lost in the background of traditions and culture in the French Quarter. And not one speck of French DNA lives in my chromosomes.

What I really love is to sit and look at the waves splash on the shore, or stare across the Texas hill country where only things with horns and thorns can thrive. But not as much as I enjoy reading a good book in a park—unless it is hot, or the mosquitos are out, or it is rainy and cold. My favorite spot is the window seat where I sit to write. It looks out over a one-way street in a hidden neighborhood and from my fourth floor view I can see the business district, nearby, and the industrial area, a few miles away.

But the view I used to have of the bay was much more peaceful and the other view I used to have of the thriving nightlife in downtown Austin was way cool.

Again...this has nothing whatsoever to do with being a Gemini. Anybody would feel the same way.

Must jump. I have two more articles to write, dinner to prepare, some laundry to do, and I am dying to see what the Red Queen and the White Queen are doing on Starz before my free trial runs out. But there is a great band playing at the club down the street and I promised myself a long, hot bubble bath before I sleep.

And, anyway, I have made my point.