A Few Good Men

Unfortunately so many d-bags make a girl think there's no good guys left in the world, and of course the same is true of whacky women making a bad name for those of us whose screws aren't loose. The fact is that there are still good men and women out there. It just takes some of us a little while to find them, that's all. 

There's this song, "Stand By Your Man" by Tammy Wynette that I absolutely loved as a little girl. I remember singing the chorus (that's all I knew) over and over. The other night I was in an old country kinda mood and found myself glued to Youtube for about three hours. I found this song again and listened to it on repeat for a good 30 minutes before I thought to myself:

1) Wow, I never really listened to the opening lyrics before. The line about a woman having bad times, while the man has good times, and then basically loving him through his mistakes. Tammy could have been referencing cheating or abuse, I'm not exactly sure, but this song did cause quite an uproar with feminists in the 70's because of the role that this song implies of a woman. I'm not a feminist by any means, but I can get why they were upset over the idea of women keeping their mouths shut and loving like a loyal puppy. While I do believe in looking past the fact that my husband sometimes leaves the toilet seat up, or that he puts empty boxes of cereal back in the pantry and it completely pisses me off, or when we go grocery shopping and he finishes the entire bag of Doritos when I haven't even put my hand in the bag, there is no way I'd put up with him talking down to me or cheating on me or any of that shit. <--Is that my first curse word on the blog? I've tried to make it a point to keep my potty mouth clean here. Oops. :) And Mikey will be the first to tell anyone that I've never been one to just "shut up and color." He calls me a firecracker for a reason. But he's a good man, so I'll forgive the empty pizza boxes that are still in the fridge long after they've been consumed. ;) I just wanted to make it absolutely clear that I'm not the type of woman that loves through undeniable nonsense and a total lack of disrespect. Not that I've never been in a similar situation. I think we all go through at least one unhealthy relationship in our time. It happens, but no one should 'stand by and take it'. 

There was also some discontent felt by men over the song, because of the line "after all he's just a man", the "just" being the part that upset them. Again, I don't know exactly what Tammy wanted to imply when she sang this, but I'm guessing she just meant not to hold men in general to such a higher tier, because they're not perfect; they will have flaws. And we're not perfect as women. We're all just human. :) 

2) I thought it would be a really cool idea to make a video montage showing pictures of some of my friends (Mikey & I included) that are in loving and healthy relationships with a man that they are proud to stand by! So that's what I did, and it made me love the song even more by associating it with such beautiful images that bring it to life in a brand new way. 

I hope you enjoy my 2nd little iMovie project! My first one was a friendship video (of me and my friend Natalie) to another old country favorite, "Deeper Than the Holler" by Randy Travis. If you want to see that vid, you can see it here. 

I'm not a professional video maker at all, so please don't judge my skills too harshly. This was purely for fun, and I personally like the finished product. Here it is:

It's fixed! You can watch the video now! As usual, click on where it says "youtube" at the bottom right and watch it (bigger) there. It's too small on my blog. Also, with this new version of the song there is a 5 second delay, so that stinks, but at least it finally works! :)

This is the disclaimer I put on the video before any morons even tried to run their mouths about us being women without a backbone: 

**Note: None of the women in this video are "shut up and put up with a man's mistakes" type of women. These are all strong, independent women who were blessed with a man that treats them with respect, is loyal, and loves and adores them. I just wanted to get that out there since the lyrics of this [beautiful] song caused so much controversy in the past. I have loved this song since I was a little girl and thought about making a video montage with pretty pictures showing some of my favorite, strong couples (to include me & my husband).
We all agree that standing by your man comes easy when he's a good man who also realizes that he is just as lucky for you coming into his life, as you are that he came into yours.
This one's for all the great men out there, and the spirited woman next to you that helps you hold it all together.
**Photog credits as follows**
Exposure Photography by Jason Talley (Las Vegas)
Modernlite Photography
Lisa Jackson Photography (Las Vegas)
Abi Martin Photography

Thank you to Lindsay, Alli, Jamie, Michelle, MeeMee, Emily, Laura, Jenny and Khalilah for letting me steal pictures of you and your hubbies off your facebook pages. :) I had so much fun picking favorites, and I especially hope you ladies are satisfied with how my little project turned out. I adore you all bunches!!

Love & hugs,

Roni