Two Women

The Lovely Carla and I went to Spoon, last night, a nice, comfy Thai restuarant on Western. We spent the evening chatting with Rebecca the 'world traveler,' and Liz, Queen of the Windy City Rollers. Rebecca just came back from 14 months on the road: South Africa, China (teaching English) and Thailand. She's a photographer and she has hundreds of incredibly beautiful and revealing pictures. Faces and places from exotic and distant lands. She is the perfect traveller, she assumes a neutral demeanor, just passively recording her impressions of the incredible human story unfolding around the world. What is really refreshing (and also astonishing) about Rebecca is her ability to refrain from imposing her own will and viewpoint on those she meets. She is truly like a butterfly, floating from one flower, to another, touching down, tasting the nectar, and then moving on. She's a tiny, slip of a woman, with amazing heart and courage.

Liz too is a dynamo, although in a completely different package. She is building an incredible organization of women, dedicated to bringing the Roller Derby to Chicago. Liz has a vision of a vast sisterhood of Derby Dames, who are tough, sexy and committed to each other and the wacky sport of Roller Derby. It's a quest that has garnered incredible buzz in Chicago, they've been featured in the Reader, on various radio stations and TV too. Liz is a mother of two girls, she holds down a full time job, and in her 'free' time, she runs the Rollers. She is a remarkable woman, who wants to accomplish great things. It's inspiring to listen to her mad quest. I see her as a Derby Dame Don Quixote, but in her case I do think she will defeat all windmills.

Two women, so different, each extraordinary.