Dying Alone & Other Single Lady Fears: ‘Born Again Virgin’ Season 1 Episode 4 Recap…

Hello World, Born Again Virgin Cast  TV One

Remember the single lady who was dead alone in her London apartment for three years before anyone found her? Her body was so badly decomposed that she could only be identified by her dental records. Amazingly, when she was found, the television was still on…As a single lady, when I heard that story, I understood how such a tragedy could take place…I mean this is an extreme example, but if someone is not close to their parents or other family members and doesn’t speak to their friends every day and or out of work, I can see how someone could be dead and or injured for at least 2 to 3 days alone at home without anyone realizing that person is missing. So dying alone and not having anybody even notice was one of my fears when I was a single lady although my mama called too much to let that happen…

So that was a long introduction to last night’s episode of “Born Again Virgin.” The show was titled “Slaying Your Dragons” and was about the fears that ladies, particularly single ladies, have. The episode begins with Jenna and Tara debating which one of them is brave enough to kill a humongous bug that has landed on the refrigerator. Confession: One of the perks of being married is not having to be on bug duty anymore. Men totally get into being the protector of the home against evil forces including bugs 🙂 Anywho as the women are scared to even get near the bug, Kelly comes into the kitchen and promptly uses a high heel shoe to smash the bug right on the refrigerator!

In the next scene, Jenna is at a coffee shop when she overhears two women discussing one of their favorite bloggers, a woman who is chronicling her journey as a celibate single woman. Obviously, Jenna thinks the women are discussing her until she continues to listen to them and realizes that another blogger actually had the same idea that she had. Finally, Jenna cannot stand the suspense of waiting for them to reveal the identity of the other celibate blogger and crashes their conversation, asking the identity of the celibate blogger. When the women oblige and show her the celibate blogger’s website Chaste & Chill with Chelsea, she is shocked because she realizes that she knows Chelsea and had even discussed the idea of her blog with her when they worked together at a life and style magazine!

Meanwhile, Tara, the actress, is excited about auditioning for a new part as a teenager, particularly a “promiscuous  young woman with Daddy issues” hence wearing a blonde wig styled into two ponytails. However, her ego is hurt when she discovers the director actually wants her to portray a mother in the production. That transition from being seen as a carefree, sexy single lady to being thought of as old enough to be someone’s mother when you are not is pretty scary. This realization happened to me when I started watching Empire…Check out my post “Why ‘Empire’ is Causing Me to Have a Midlife Crisis…” if you are interested in the specifics…

Kelly, the pr exec, is elated when she lands a huge account until her boss simultaneously praises and denigrates her! He tells her he is glad she is not married so that she can focus on her career and reveals that one of his fears is that someone will marry her and “put a baby in you” thereby decreasing her commitment to her job. Wow, the struggle is real for a woman who dares to have it all: a successful career, marriage and motherhood. Now, Kelly can no longer focus on her score at her job and instead focuses on the fact she has not scored so to speak in her personal life.

So what do single ladies do when suicide is not option and the “rainbow is enuf?” (My shout out to for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf  by  Ntozake Shange) Head to the club of course because as we all know a deejay can save your life (My shout out to the song Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life) Yes, as a woman of a particular age, my pop culture references go back to the ’70s and ’80s…hence my midlife crisis mentioned above…

tankWhile at the club, Jenna, who mistakenly took one of Tara’s valium pills instead of an aspirin she intended to take for her headache, is a complete mess. That mess is exacerbated when she runs into Chelsea, her blogger copycat. Instead of confronting Chelsea, who seems to be high on something as well, the women end up dancing together and making out while taking pictures of themselves to post on her social media accounts. During the girl on girl action, Chelsea reveals that she is not actually celibate and her blog is actually a lie. Tara attempts to ignore texts she receives from the production director as he is trying to convince her to take on the role of the mother. Worst of all, Kelly runs into an old boyfriend Andre, whom she broke up with, at the club. And not only does she run into him, he introduces her to his fiancée. Ouch. She attempts to forget about the run-in by dancing with another dude at the club. Her moves are impressive until she runs of the dance floor in tears as she is unable to dance away her heartbreak.

How does it all end? Because the show is only 30 minutes and has to wrap it pretty quickly.

The next day, Jenna discovers she has the video evidence to blow up her blogger copycat’s spot as she videotaped Chelsea’s confession without intending to do so. However, she doesn’t do so because she wants her blog to blow up on its own merit rather than by her tearing down other bloggers. Her fear (yes, back to the premise of this show) is that the risks she has taken in her career opting to be a blogger rather than having a traditional career won’t pay off. Somebody pass the offering plate because church was had in that moment…at least for me…

After shutting down the director’s requests to take the role of mother instead of the daughter, Tara decides to take the role thereby confronting her fear: aging as an actress and being invisible altogether. She takes off her blonde wig to reveal her hair: an adorable close-cropped cut at least to me. Long hair is seen as more youthful, but I’ve always loved a jazzy short cut. I’m not an actress, but I will say this. Not being seen as attractive as you age is a very real fear, particularly after you have children. I don’t know this firsthand as I’m not a mother, but I like what Kerry Washington from Scandal recently had to say about going back to her pre-baby body in Self magazine after having her first baby about a year ago. “My body is the site of a miracle now. I don’t want to be pre-miracle.”

Finally, Kelly meets with college sweetheart Andre after he realizes his club introduction to his fiancée may not have been the best timed introduction. During their conversation, she asks him why she wasn’t the one after she thought he was the one. Deep.  He couldn’t give her a clear, definitive answer except to say that he wasn’t ready to be married when they were together because he didn’t have a good job and blah, blah, blah. When he met his fiancée, he was in a different mindset with a good job. Over my years of being single, I noticed that again and again with men. They can date a slew of wonderful women who are all marriage material, but baby, if they are not ready, it’s best to keep it moving. Then all of a sudden, those men wake up one day and decide they are ready…I swear the next woman they date, who may not even be as wonderful as the women they previously dated, ends up being the one…So after the conversation is over, Kelly has to confront her fear of not finding love again after “The One” got away.

So there you have it: my recap of Season 1 Episode 4 of “Born Again Virgin.”

I liked this episode better than last week’s episode, but I’m still not feeling the characters the way I want to feel them. When I really love characters, whether on television or on film or in books, they feel real to me, like I’ve met them before or want to know them. I still see them as actors. I love the premise of the show because it is so counter cultural, but I need more depth to really immerse myself in their world. On the plus side, the women look like friends and are adorable.

What do you think?

Any thoughts?

Seven Scriptures to Dispel F.E.A.R. About Ebola…

Hello World,  hazmat

It’s time to get back in the Word again…I live in metro Atlanta…yes, that’s right…Ground Zero for Ebola treatment in the entire United States of America…

I have started carrying hand sanitizer and every time someone sneezes or sniffles near by me, my mind starts spinning all kinds of dramatic scenarios…What if she has Ebola? What if he has been in contact with someone who has Ebola? What if she is a family member of the nurse who has been transported to Atlanta for care?

I have even considered walking around like this…

So when my F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) of anything starts getting bigger than my faith in Jesus…It’s time to get back in the Word and dispel it…Below are a few verses to help me and you when we are tempted to make our own hazmat suits, avoid the area of town where the CDC and Emory are located or stay home altogether…

  1. I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4…
  2. The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
  3. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3
  4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
  5. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
  6. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
  7. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “”Abba,” Father.” Romans 8:15

These verses help me to realize that my life and times are in God’s hands alone…God had an appointed time to bring me here and even though I don’t like to think about it, God has an appointed time for me to leave here…In the mean time, I will trust God and carry hand sanitizer…In other words, I trust God and I use the common sense that He gave me, but outside of that, that is all any of us can do…at least individually…

But here is something we can do collectively…let’s pray for those in West Africa who are suffering from Ebola, pray for those in the healthcare industry all over the world (my husband is in the healthcare industry), pray for those nurses here in the U.S. who are sick with Ebola and pray for the family of Thomas Eric Duncan (Read a touching article about his funeral in The New York Times )and all families who have lost members of their family due to the deadly virus…and sending some money to worthy and reputable organizations who are combating Ebola wouldn’t hurt either…

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

Holy, Holy, Holy…

Hello World, 

A week from today, we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ…and so today is the first day of Holy Week…And we are commanded in His Word to be holy…

1 Peter 1:15-19 (New International Version)

15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]

 17Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

As I go throughout the week in the hustle and bustle of daily living, I pray that I will pause and take time to thank God for His sacrifice for me…Sometimes I am stunned that I even call myself a Christian…Not because I don’t feel love for the Lord in my heart, but because I am a person that is ever so prone to anxiety and fear…You would think with all of the verses in the Bible about not having fear and anxiety, I would not be this way…but it is what it is sometimes…And yet as I type these words, I know that the Lord loves me — an anxious and fearful sinner…

And I so as I revel in His love for me, I have to offer my praise….And we are commanded to praise the Lord in His Word…

Psalm 150 (New International Version)

Psalm 150

 1 Praise the LORD. [a]
       Praise God in his sanctuary;
       praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power;
       praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
       praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
       praise him with the strings and flute, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
       praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
       Praise the LORD.

In Jesus’ name, amen, amen and amen…