by Beth Goodman

Disclaimers: None whatsoever. Oh, maybe a spew alert.

Feedback is always welcome: bethgoodman@e-scribblers.com

Copyright © 2004 by Beth Goodman. All Rights Reserved.

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One of my poorly kept secrets is that I am a dedicated fan of a television show called Xena: Warrior Princess. In a nutshell, the show takes place in Ancient Greece and tells the story of two women who travel together and go to great lengths to promote the greater good. Xena, the title character, is a fearsome warrior, and a reformed warlord, who is struggling to use her daunting martial skills for good, but she must constantly struggle with the dark deeds of her past. Gabrielle, Xena's steadfast friend and companion, is a naive and idealistic village girl when the series begins, but over time she blossoms into a talented bard and skillful warrior in her own right. The crux of the relationship between these two powerful women is their love for one another which makes whole of their partnership so much more than the sum of its parts.

What does this have to do with Granny, you ask? Be patient, all will be revealed in due time.

The show has a very devoted fan following, much like Star Trek, and as a result there are tons of stories known as "fan fiction" written about the show and its characters. There is even an entire sub-division of Xena fan fiction known as "Uber" fiction. The idea in Uber stories is that you take the essential characteristics of the two heroines and place them in situations other than Ancient Greece. For example, there are Uber westerns, science fiction, historical fiction, trashy romance novels, and grand sweeping epics, all of which have a tall, dark, and deadly blue-eyed heroine accompanied by a smaller, less world weary, blond, green-eyed heroine.

Now for my point (and yes, I do have one.)

While pondering the nature of the Xenaverse, and trying to come up with an idea for a story, I had a startling (and rather silly) realization: Granny and I are real-life Ubers!

Just think about it:

Me:
A lost little lamb in the woods. My mother was going through an unbelieveably wild time of her life, having had me at the age of 42 when she was divorced and had 3 teenagers at home to begin with. My father only participated in the biology and was never heard from again. Mom was having lots of problems that would finally have her forcibly committed. If Granny hadn't looked after me, there's a good chance I would never have survived to adulthood. She was my guardian angel, without a doubt, even if she did need her horns to hold up her halo. Over time, I did indeed become her protégé, and we had a fairly equal partnership where we took on the challenges and adventures of life side by side.

So you see, the idea of Granny: Warrior Princess isn't nearly as far-fetched as it may seem. It does make me think though, seeing as how Xena and Gabrielle are really just archetypes in the first place, I wonder how many real life Ubers there are!

Take me to Life With Granny 12...

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