Buffy In Australia

Yes it is true, Buffy Saint-Marie is touring Australia next moth - well a couple of dates anyway. I first "met" her when she was on Sesame Street in the mid-70's (yay I do have some early childhood memories). Apart from being an incredible singer - and playing a mouth harp (the first - and probably only - one I had ever seen) she was my first real live Indian I had ever seen. Prior to that it had been white folks, or people from the Mediterranean who were dressed up like Indians.

I can't remember what she said or did but I realized that the Native American's were a living breathing people and not just a caricature. A couple of years later when I was visiting Howard and Bev (family friend's who lived near Albany), Bev had a pile of necklace's that we were allowed to choose one from. I chose the one that most looked like Buffy's. I still have it today.

At some point in my teenage years I realized that she was a singer - and what a singer. I have really only seen her on YouTube in the intervening years.

I won't be able to make it it her concerts, but I am so very, very pleased she is coming to Oz :-)

PS: Other things I learned from Sesame Street - how to count in Spanish up to 10 (and a few other words too); how to cook a tortilla from scratch; how to say Happy Birthday in American sign language (and I could spell my name and do a couple of other words too); classical music is not all dull and boring; and, it takes folks of all shapes and sizes and colors to make a neighborhood - and it doesn't matter whether you are people or bird or monster, you have something to offer (even Oscar).

The show is so very watered down these days from what it was in the 70's - 80's - I watched it at the right time :-)