Throw on your M.E.N.K.

It's not always easy being a Femme, let alone a Fantastik one. The day-to-day challenges of simply being a woman in this world run by men can get in the way of the very best of us. So trying to be a diva can be downright difficult. First, let's be clear about the label 'diva'...We're not talking about the egotistical, the world revolves around me, what have you done for me lately diva. We mean a woman who exudes confidence, good taste and the willpower and courage to go after her dreams. A woman who understands the importance and power of sisterly friendship, who isn't afraid to support another fine Diva because she's afraid that her light might be dimmed in the process. In a nutshell a Femme Fantastik. This tour was born over drinks in Atlanta, Georgia. Many of us were meeting for the first time and after a martini or two the idea to tour together became a plan and now eight months later, a reality. Now putting six, beautiful, accomplished, opinionated, talented and talkative sisters together to organize and administer a fete like this had disaster written all over it from the gitgo. And sure, we had a few initial bumps in the road, but when it came to crunch time the support, understanding, enthusiasm, and respect for each other was front and center. And through friendship, laughter, and the love of many supportive fans, the Femme Fantastik Tour is proving to be a rousing success. It is fast becoming a movement in the making. And as with every movement there is a cohesive motto that unites its followers with a common belief. Femme Fantastiks women operate with the M.E.N.K. mentality: We MELD intellect with compassion * ERASE fear with faith * NEVER confuse pride with power and * KNOW love will never fail. And while six Femme Fantastik divas may come to your city, we expect to meet many more like us and leave even more behind! So throw on a little M.E.N.K. today and wear it proudly...just like the Fantastik Femme you are!

Fort Sam Houston

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Femme Tour Trials

6 Women traveling together, who would've thought? I have to admit that I was really worried about six females together in close proximity and getting along enough to survive it for 48 hours. By the end of our trip I was pleasantly surprised.

Carmen came in the night before and after working all day and then traveling in the afternoon, she was up for anything. She even went grocery shopping with me with no questions asked and sat down while my young one interrogated the strange woman that was about to stay in her room.

The rest of the Femmes joined us the next day, right on time. It was a VERY energetic bunch as we were joined by our male guest author, Victor MGlothin. He had been dubbed, "Man Child" by the store manager. Victor was very gracious and seemed to understand that us women, we were the ones running the show.

And the things we talked about in the car. I can't write them here, you see, we all agreed that what was discussed in the car remained in the car, but we learned a lot of things about one another.

We shared.

It was a good thing. Remove men from the equation and pass a few dried pineapple snacks and everyone became very forthcoming. And the fact that I refused to stop to let anyone go to the bathroom or even eat helped. They were my prisoners. We talked and crossed our legs to take our minds off the need to relieve ourselves and our hunger.

The thing that will stick with me most though was the gratefulness of the soldiers that we talked to, even the ones who had just returned from Iraq the day before. They were out there the past few months laying their lives on the line for us, and they were so surprised and glad that we would visit them and sign our names to books that they paid for. The time in the car was a small sacrifice. The only bullets flying at my head were friendly jests from friends.