Midlife Madness: How Tom Petty, My Whining Guitar and a Local Wizard Saved the Day!

Once upon a time, I made a promise to myself.  I would never be one of those women thrust into the madness of a midlife crisis.  I thought I had it all figured out.

Then a few summers ago, it hit me out of nowhere.  I dropped 75 cents into the slot of a newspaper machine.  I pulled a USA Today out from the stacks.  And there appeared Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  I couldn't believe it!  The guy on the cover resembled nothing of the skinny kid who stopped me dead in my tracks, singing Refugee on Saturday Night Live.  He looked great, but obviously time had passed.  Petty's face and figure were a little fuller. His hair was slightly shorter and not so blonde.  Nonetheless, he was smiling and aging with all the grace a fifty-something year old man can muster.

What's ol' Tom up to these days?  Where's he been?  I thought to myself.

However, by the time I'd finished reading the article, I was pretty shaken up and asking myself a different question ...