LA and plastic surgery...

I am feeling my age a bit more these days, having an issue with the finger that lets my husband know that he is Number One on occasion...trigger finger. The loss of estrogen is finally catching up with me now and there is not one thing that I am willing to do about it, cuz I am not going under the knife or having some obnoxious poisonous crud shot in my skin to stop wrinkles. Those lines are from living, laughing, loving and scowling.

I feel like I must write about this today because I happened to lie down on the couch with Mom's Maine Coon for a little rest. I turned on the tube and here was General Hospital, a soap that I have watched off and on since I was a teenager but had not tuned in for well over a year. There was quite a bit of reflection on the screen and normally this would help me to zonk out for a minute or ten, simply because I would be lulled to sleep by the sound of the talking and not the sight. I heard the voice and focused a bit, recognizing the sound as coming from Jackie Z, a long time actress on this soap and someone that I had seen many times in Santa Monica when we showed my work at the Contemporary Crafts Market. Well, the voice was there but where was Jackie? I just winced when I saw the person that the familiar voice came from because this was a strange version of the woman who had some character to her face. Jackie got mugged by a plastic surgeon. I am not saying this to be mean. I was truly shocked and would have loved to tackle her before she ever got near whatever butcher did this to her.

Why do we as women of a certain age, whether in the arts or just in a certain society feel that it is necessary to allow someone to cut, nip and tuck us into some sad version of ourselves, all in the hope of remaining "young enough" to compete with much younger actors. I blame Hollywood, once again. Jackie was a beautiful woman of a certain age, just like several other actors that are no longer the young ones. Who is telling these people that they are not worth anything if they don't paralyze their faces or plump every line and lip bit? I, for one, love to see a beautiful face with character...someone like Julie Christie or Jackie Bissett.

It just made me sad and mad, all at the same time.

Alright, I promise to step off of the soapbox and show pictures of color and fibery goodness tomorrow. Until then...keep yer chins up, girls.

Comments

[Allison]

It's not just women, Lisa. Have you seen a recent picture of Kenny Rogers? Like you, I'd like to have drop kicked the surgeon before that surgery.

[Linda Watson]

Hear, hear! And even that, my hearing, is changing. I call it creative hearing and thank God for the new insights that come my way through it. Now, as for those other signs of ageing - I earned them and I am grateful for my life. My main regret is that it's a lot harder to get up after tying up the treadles on a loom than it used to be!

[Paula D.]

Every time I see Suzanne Summers I cringe.

I tell you, I'd rather see all the signs of age, wrinkles, sliver hair, paunches, et al, than to see the "perfected" face. Gotta love Jaime Lee Curtis as a poster girl for aging gracefully.

P. S. You look pretty damn good too Lisa!

[CarolineF]

Yup, Joan Rivers face vs. Sally Field in her Boniva commercial. I was recently asked who would play me in "The Movie" and I said Sally Field. She looks like herself.

[Cara]

I've been watching GH for almost 30 yrs and I have to look away when Jackie Z is on the screen. Leslie C, who plays Monica, hasn't been kind to herself either.

But check out the actor who plays Tracey Q - aging GORGEOUSLY!

[Lisa S]

Yeah, Sally Field...Jaime Lee! I love those two. They are my kind of gals.

I missed seeing Leslie C. I was marveling at how great the actor who plays Tracey Q looked. I have always adored that character and the uncut face that portrays her. She has always been a "character actor" and being such, probably never felt the sting of no longer being the ingenue.
Tom has a dear friend in the soap industry who has reached a certain age and is gorgeous and a total diva character. No need for the knife, baby. No smoking, good moisturizer, not too much sun and lots of water.

[Carol]

I agree, what on earth are they thinking?

[melissa]

I've earned every wrinkle and white hair. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

It truly is sad that our culture is so obsessed with appearance and so vulnerable to popular culture as delivered by the media.

[nicole]

I see that Cara wrote what I was going to say! I have watched GH on and off my whole durn life. Tracy Q is the only woman of her age who is age appropriate.