#making a poll about who is the most edible someone help me

[thevoiceofdesertbluffs]

mmmmmmmm food yummy yummy (someone fucking stop me)

[shadowthrone-ammanas]

that’s it : prompt request, someone adopts mu, maybe cooking cat, good food for mu, mu’s hunting skills being used to help cc get ingredients and share with towns people, that’s my request because let mu have some happiness please

Thank you for the request!!!! Mama Cooking Cat is so good! Also this isn’t exactly Mu being happy, just events that lead to her eventually being happy because I really needed to write the moment Cooking Cat decided to take Mu in.

Food

Ever since Mu’s Time Piece power trip had been put to a very abrupt halt, food had become even harder to get than before. Almost everyone, Mafia or not, recognized her and chased her away the moment they saw her. Rare was the day she could even get close to the food stalls anymore. Stealing something from them was nigh on impossible because with a personal grudge now, the owners of the stalls no longer gave up as easily.

Compounding on that the crows didn’t even try to fight her anymore, they just ran, making killing them for food nigh on impossible. Thankfully the rats were easy prey though but growing ever scarcer due to the Mafia’s eradication efforts as well as Mu’s hunting of them. Fishing was nearly impossible without a boat or at least the right equipment but even with a poll and bait it would’ve left her too out in the open, easily caught and killed. Which left garbage to be her main source of food now.

It sucked and was no fair! And people still chased her away if they caught her going through their garbage or someone else’s or even a public waste bin. Why couldn’t people just give her a pecking break already? She couldn’t even find time to sabotage the Mafia as much anymore because she was constantly on the run or looking through garbage praying to find something at least semi-edible. … She was getting desperate.

Which is what drove her to Cooking Cat’s Studio. Normally she wouldn’t dare break into such a place solely for food; it was way too easy to get cornered indoors and before the whole thing with the Time Pieces, the risk hadn’t been worth it because stealing and hunting had been much easier. Now though, just eating garbage and the occasional gaunt rat, she could feel herself growing weaker, putting her in more danger of getting caught and murdered. She refused to die to the Mafia, her hatred for them was the only thing that kept her going.

She was minimizing the risk though; according to word on the street Cooking Cat was supposedly out of town right now. It could be wrong but hopefully not.

The door to the studio was locked of course. But thankfully, it wasn’t the kind of lock that required a large key, meaning Mu could pick it.

Inside, it was even darker than it was outside. There were windows but they were dirty and not very big, not letting in much moonlight at all. There was nothing she could do about it though as she stepped in and pulled the door closed behind her.

She found the left wall and keeping her hand on it, walked along it until she found a door. She opened it and poked her head inside. It was pitch black. Which meant there weren’t any windows, or if there were, they were thoroughly covered and thus turning on a light wouldn’t be seen from outside.

Keeping one had on the door, she stepped in to grope at the wall for the light switch. Hopefully it was on this side, if not… Ah! There it was! She flipped it, flooding the room with light and blinding herself.

Unable to see, she stood frozen, listening for any indication for anyone else reacting to the light. All was silent though. And when at long last she could open her eyes she had to hold back the need to vocalize her excitement and triumph. She’d found the kitchen set! Now hopefully they kept all the food for the show stored here. They had to, right? There was no way they stocked and unstocked the cupboards and fridge every time they filmed, right?

Mu sprinted over to the nearest cupboard. Inside was bowls various shapes and sizes, some clearly meant for mixing, others for serving. With a growl, she slammed it shut. The next housed cups. She kicked it closed this time and skipped straight to the fridge, food that needed to be refrigerated was better anyway. And… it was stocked! Yes! Jackpot!

She grabbed the first thing that caught her eye; a bag of shredded cheese. How long had it been since she’d had cheese that wasn’t expired? … Didn’t matter. She tore it open and started stuffing her face with it.

***

Having just come back from visiting the Metro for a special string of episodes for the show, Cooking Cat’s internal clock was still set to Metro time. Meaning she was wide awake at 3am. There was nothing she could do about it though and staying in bed was about as appealing trying to make a meal out of roadkill so… she might as well head to the Kitchen Studio. She would probably regret it later and she wasn’t even set to film today but she was bored and needed to check and make sure the kitchen set was fully stocked before it was time to start filming anyway so why not do it now?

When she arrived, she went around to the back door; it was closer to the kitchen set. … It was unlocked. Which should not have been the case, it was literally part of someone’s job to make sure all the doors were locked when everyone left. Someone had picked it.

With a growl, she pulled out her rolling pin. If anyone thought they could get away with sneaking into her studio to steal something, they had something else coming.

Fur bristling, she pushed the door open, letting it bang against the wall and announce her presence. She stepped inside, rolling pin raised should anyone jump out and attack her. No one did though. Turning on the light revealed that no one was there either. But… the door leading to the kitchen set was ajar and the light was on in there too. She marched over and kicked that door open too.

No one was there but they had been. The fridge hung open and was noticeably less full now. Food packaging littered the floor around it. It was possible the culprit was gone by now, unlikely though. Most robbers would’ve covered up the evidence of their crime, leaving discovery of it until the last possible moment. Whoever it was had most likely heard the backdoor slam open and hid somewhere in the room because there were no other exits.

“I know you’re still here,” Cooking Cat said as she closed the fridge. “Come out and maybe I won’t whack you with my rolling pin.”

No response.

Well, that left her no choice, didn’t it? She’d find the intruder’s hiding spot and whoop them for breaking in and stealing from her. She’d start with the cupboards, an unlikely hiding spot due to how small they were but it was always a good idea to cover all of one’s bases.

The bowl cupboard was undisturbed so was the cup cupboard. The cupboard by the fridge, that usually held the mixing stand that now temporarily resided in her own kitchen was not empty as it should’ve been. It now housed a mustached girl. The same mustached girl who’d used the stolen Time Pieces to temporarily take over the world before Hat Kid had defeated her.

Cooking Cat opened her mouth to say something mean but… Mustache Girl – as Hat Kid had called her when Cooking Cat had later asked – was a child. A small child, cowering in a cupboard, fear etched on her face.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she begged, pressed as far back into the cupboard and away from Cooking Cat as was physically. “I’m sorry, I-I’ll just go and never come back, I promise. Just don’t hurt me please or… or turn me into the Mafia or… anything like that. Please.”

Cooking Cat let out a sigh, slipping her rolling pin back into chef’s cook. She almost asked what Mu was doing here but… it was obvious from the mess she’d made on the floor and of her front. She was here for the food and had clearly gone at it rather ravenously. She was skinny, her clothes ragged and baggier than they should be on her. She’d probably been starving.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Cooking Cat said in what she hoped was a soothing voice. She didn’t want to move back away from the cupboard though lest Mu run away.

“Y-you’re not?” Mu didn’t sound like she believed that.

“No, I’m not. I’d never hurt a child. Now uh… you can come out now.” She reached a paw in, offering to help Mu out. “Please don’t run though, I want to talk.”

Mu flinched at he offered contact so Cooking Cat withdrew her paw. She stepped back though, allowing Mu to exit. Thankfully she didn’t run even if she did cast a furtive glance towards the exit.

“What do you want?” she asked, glaring in an obvious attempt to appear unafraid.

“I… want to help. Where are you parents?”

Mu let out a single sarcastic laugh. “Where do you think?”

“Uh… I don’t know.”

“They’re dead, you idiot. The Mafia killed them.”

Cooking Cat tried not to grimace at her own stupidity. Of course Mu’s parents were dead, she wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. And of course, they’d been killed by the Mafia, more than half the island’s population had been. Which left Mu an orphan, probably living on the streets and starving so when an opportunity to raid a cooking show’s set had arisen, she’d taken it. So…

“Well… in that case, can you can stay with me for a while,” Cooking Cat said.

“What?”

“I mean, you clearly don’t have anywhere else to go. My apartment’s not the best but it does have a guest room. I’ll have to clean it up some but it should do.”

Mu gave her a look that was half disbelief and half desperate hope. “Are you… offering me a place to stay? Really?! Or… or is this a trick? You’re going to lure me to your house and then call the Mafia over and get your reward for turning me in, aren’t you?” Now she looked mad.

“Hon, do I look like the kind of person who’s friends with the Mafia? I’ve been trying to get them shut down too.”

“Really? How?”

“Exposing their wretched cooking habits to the world with my show. I’ve already caused two of their kitchens to go out of business. It’s not much but… it’s only thing I can do. So no, I’m not going to turn you into them. I’m offering to help you.”

“Why?” … The fact that she felt the need to ask, especially with so much disbelief in her tone, was heartbreaking. How long had it been since anyone had offered her kindness? How long had she been living on the street, hunted by the Mafia for causing trouble? No wonder she’d gone mad with power when she’d obtained it, she was mad at her circumstances and rightfully so. How had Cooking Cat and everyone else missed that?

“Because you’re a child and you’re hurting and probably slowly starving to death on the streets, am I right? I have food, a warm bed, and a safe place to stay if you want it. So… what do you say?” Cooking Cat wasn’t going to force her to do anything. All she could do was hope her offer of help would be accepted.

“You’re… being serious, really?” Mu asked, her tone suggesting she was possibly holding back tears now.

Cooking Cat nodded.

“I uh… okay, I’ll go. … But if it’s a trick I’m going to escape and… and… start sabotaging you too.”

“Of course sweetie. Let’s uh… go now. It’s late and I’m sure you need some sleep.” Cooking Cat was feeling like she might need a nap now too actually.

Mu grunted as she started following Cooking Cat out. She still didn’t look like she trusted her but that was okay and understandable. After a while she’d see that Cooking Cat meant her no harm and only wanted to help. She probably wasn’t fit to be in charge of a child, especially one so clearly traumatized but she didn’t have much choice. She’d just have to find a way to make it work.

For this drabble request. Even if this one isn’t actually a drabble.

[blankdblank]

Anaticula Pt 47

Pt 1 - Pt 2 - Pt 3 - Pt 4 - Pt 5 - Pt 6 - Pt 7 - Pt 8 - Pt 9 - Pt 10 - Pt 11 - Pt 12 - Pt 13 - Pt 14 - Pt 15 - Pt 16 - Pt 17 - Pt 18 - Pt 19 - Pt 20 - Pt 21 - Pt 21b - Pt 22 - Pt 23 - Pt 24 - Pt 25 - Pt 26 -  Pt 27 - Pt 28 - Pt 29 - Pt 30 - Pt 31 - Pt 33 - Pt 34 - Pt 35 - Pt 36 - Pt 37 - Pt 38 - Pt 39 - Pt 40 - Pt 41 - Pt 42 - Pt 43 - Pt 44 - Pt 45 - Pt 46 -

Signage hung and walls painted the furniture left behind was next, a few pieces being painted or like the remaining cabinets you would remove the doors to fill them with extra shelves for the displays. The biggest change being the Phoenix you built around a trio of them joined together along the wall on the first floor for your healing candies along with the pink flower display shelf for the Valentines prank products you had tested in school.

Glitter bombs complete with toffees to shift the glitter to smoke birds, swarms of paper birds that would keep flying around the heads of those opening the fake gift boxes, Pixie Petals, fake flower pins given to students who then smell flowers nonstop with hourly petal flurries and puffs of pollen while their hair and eyes turn bright pink remaining so even after removing the pins. All those joined with the typical enamoring potions complete with repulsion potions and Pygmy puff habitats for the corner letting the little fluff balls bounce around to their hearts delights to greet the future customers on opening day.

In total the first floor held the sweets, game sets you offered along with your health, Wonderwitch and other potion sections that would go alongside your future book selection on the third floor for rare and believed to have been destroyed books copied from your enchanted library already set to house copies of Dumbledore’s yet to be published notes on Tales of the Beetle Bard.

.

Proudly in your bustling trips through your enchanted door with trunks of your prepped goods to form the displays your fathers continued to set up the hidden safes and log books kept in the shelves behind the register counter they added pens and other various possibly needed supplies to. Soon enough you had the first floor packed with spares up in the store room to move onto the second floor you knew to possibly be the biggest draw.

The full selection would be your supplies of Communication - Dummies, Toy Persons - Attacking Toys, Items - Defense Objects – Accessories - Enchanted Clothes section – Explosions. One or two were set up in each section to get a gauge for the proper spacing with more to be added later to fill them out.

By the end of the day the shop had seemed to come to life before you, nearly ready to give it your first soft opening to see how it would fare. A full list of goods you were compiled and mailed off to Hogwarts in a sort of poll to see what they might be interested in trying for themselves, a first sign that you weren’t just sitting around.

*

In the bustle of the students headed off for the new imposed earlier curfew two hours before dinner to help reign in the students still upset after you had left, upon entering the common rooms grins spread at the floating notes in a joined trio of W’s that burst into a flurry of listed products for each of the students they eagerly accepted.

‘On behalf of Weasley Wizard Wheezes if you would not mind participating in this survey on interest in our possible list of goods, Please and Thank you. This is to gauge what might possibly be the most popular of our products so we can prepare accordingly for future orders. If you find a product on the list of interest to you kindly circle the name and write an estimate of how many you might be tempted to buy at a time.’

Sweets

Candy In A Can         "This product contains candy"

Custard Pies  

Ton-Tongue Toffee    when eaten, they cause the tongue to rapidly swell and turn purple.

Canary Creams          temporarily transfigures the user into a canary.

Edible Dark Marks    "They'll make anyone sick!"

Patented Daydream Candy Charms virtually undetectable highly realistic thirty-minute daydreams. (side-effects can be: slight drooling and a dazed expression, Not for sale for wizards under 16.)

Skiving Snackbox      Range of sweets to make the user ill. The user develops strange symptoms depending on the type of snack eaten. To make a student appear unable to stay in class. Most came in two colour-coded parts: one that would cause the malady, and one that would heal

U-No-Poo       a causative product with a name meant to parody "You-Know-Who" (causes constipation).

Shimmering Silver Salt Drops          

Lucky/Unlucky Dip Box        Box with candies that change your luck -- "Slip someone the Best or Worst day of their life, or keep them all for yourself!!"

Miraphorus Magic Set          Box with candies that change your hair, eye, skin color/hair length, texture - each candy wears off after 4 hours.

Everlast Jawbreakers            Jawbreakers that change colors and flavors and never get any smaller

Chocolate Midas Bars           "No Honey it tastes amazing! Could I have seconds?" One bite of this bar will have you tasting chocolate at every meal -- Lasts 24 hours

Flaming Cinnamon Toffees  Eating these causes eyes to water and cinnamon flavored smoke come out of their nose and mouth -- Burns for 5 minutes -- Drinking water makes it worse -- Sold with Muting Gummies

When Life Gives You Lemons          A Bag of Lemon seeds and a pot of soil. Seed grows overnight into miniature Lemon tree -- Each bite of the Lemon tastes like a different fruit.

I Smell A Rat Candies that you give to people who gossip. The more secrets they tell the more they turn into a rat.

White Chocolate Webs, Black Cherry Licorice Spiders      White Chocolate Webs that you can enchant to fall from the ceiling, then they morph into Black Cherry Licorice flavoured Spiders that chase you around until you eat them - like Chocolate frogs

Health Disappearing Burn    1-3 drops once a day put on burns for about 2-4 days - really burns at first, makes skin impossibly soft

Disappearing Scar     put on scars once a day for about 2-4 days - really cold at first, makes skin impossibly soft

..

Game Sets      

Reusable Hangman   "Spell It Or He'll Swing."

Miniature Quidditch Pitch    Miniature Dummies that fly around a medium sized quidditch pitch - Pitch/Players shrink when done into a small bag resembling a metal coinpurse - Players morph into anyone and their brooms turn into any type of broom using enchanted playing cards with player's stats and broom info that are placed square trays on each side of the pitch ---- Can be used to broadcast or view any previous Quidditch Match by purchasing enchanted coins with Match info enchanted in them, place them in the round slot in the center of the Pitch

Quidditch Player Cards         Enchanted Playing Cards with player's stats and broom info that are placed square trays on each side of the pitch

Quidditch Match Coins         Enchanted Coins with Match info enchanted in them - Enchanted with exact details from memories of matches, play-by-play references, stats, videos and pictures taken during matches --- place them in the round slot in the center of the Pitch, Players, Brooms and Pitch will change to fit the Match details and then the match will start shortly

Death Eaters vs. Aurors        Wizards chess sets with pieces that resemble actual Death Eaters and Aurors.

Knights and Soldiers             2 armies of toy soldiers and knights on horses; enchanted to fight in small battles whenever you take them out. Stand still around muggles

Dueling Sets   Witches, Wizards and other creatures duel each other - Characters range from generic stats of races to specific legendary characters. Duel on a playing board that resembles a chess board that can morph into any environment - comes set with five basic locations, Card and coins can be purchased to modify the locations. Cards are placed in tray in the center of each side, enchanted coins can be placed in round slots for locations, weapons, armour, and enchanted items to be given to any chosen character.

Dueling Sets Cards    Cards can be used to choose Characters and locations. Characters range from generic stats of races to specific legendary characters. Card and coins can be purchased to modify the locations. Cards are placed in tray in the center of each side, enchanted coins can be placed in round slots for locations, weapons, armour, and enchanted items to be given to any chosen character.

Dueling Sets Coins    Coins can be used to choose items, powers for Characters and locations. Cards are placed in tray in the center of each side, enchanted coins can be placed in round slots for locations, weapons, armour, and enchanted items to be given to any chosen character.

..

Acessories      

Anti Gravity Hats      "Ruin a gentleman's day by making his hat fly away!"

           Headless Hats make the wearer's head invisible (along with the hat itself).

Out to Lunch Fake Moustache         Disguise you can wear to hide from your boss when you sneak out for lunch

Singing Parrot Pendant        A Pendant shaped like a parrot that repeats everything it hears through songs -- Parrots range from Soprano to Barritone and come in genres Opera to Rock 'N' Roll

Befuddling Bags        Bags that are enchanted so you can put anything in them and they won't get larger or heavier

Confusing Coinpurse Coinpurses that are enchanted so you can put thousands of Galleons, Sickles or Knutts in them and they won't get larger or heavier

..

Communication          

Quills  Smart Answer, Self Inking and Spell Checking varieties.

Extendable Ears        used to hear voices at the other end of the ear.

For the Owls  A set of enchanted diary sized books - letters written in one appears in the other - book turns blue when there is a new message - Only the owners can read the letters

Diary   The pages go blank when anyone but the owner tries to read it - If revealing charms are used on it the book starts to scream loudly and bite the person who charmed it.

Little Birdie Told Me Miniature Birds that fly around, spread gossip and eavesdrops - hides behind something near a crowd and repeats the message it is given or listens in on conversations

Dummies, Toy Persons          

Jumping Snakes        Fake snakes that jump at people that you don't like

Rubby O' Chicken      

Relax House-Elf, Come Here Dear Enemy of Mine           "Fetch my Shoes! Clean my House!" Dummies that can morph into whoever you want, usually people you hate - They follow simple tasks, They cannot think or say no - They shrink and store easily

Who is Guiding Me? Miniature Thestrals that help guide you to your destinations - Only people who have witnessed death can see them

Follow the Tiny Dragon        Miniature Dragons that help guide you to your destinations - Not real dragons, enchanted dummies - They can glow in the Dark, and stay within 5 feet of owner.

Tickle Me, Hug Me, Love Me -- Voldemort, Death Eaters laughs and shakes when tickled - programmed to say certain phrases and walk around and hug people - the size of a person's hand

Tickle Me, Hug Me, Love Me -- Umbridge  laughs and shakes when tickled - programmed to say certain phrases and walk around and hug people - the size of a person's hand

…

Enchanted Toys          

Aviatomobile  a flying toy car.

Weasleys Wonderous Wands - Trick wands turn into a variety of unexpected things when waved.

Screaming Yo-yos      

Fanged Frisbees        

Ever-Bashing Boomerangs  

..

Attacking Toys, Items

Punching telescopes  when squeezed, gives the user a black eye which is almost impossible to remove.

Pandora's Box           Open the box and tiny demons fly out and attack the person who oppened it.

Cotton Candy Birthday          The person that opens the can gets covered with pink powder that tastes like Cotton Candy and "Birthday Girl/Boy" written on forehead - wears off in 24 hours or comes off if you lick it

Spectrum Pestrum    

Sticky Trainers          

..

Misc.  

Muggle magic tricks/pranks for "freaks like dad", not a real money spinner.

Portable Swamp         creates a swamp when used.

Magical Moustache Miracle Stubble Grow Makes facial hair grow in minutes.

Frame of Desire         Shows a picture of the person you love the most

..

Defence Objects        

Decoy Detonators      when dropped they run away and explode out of sight, giving the person a diversion if necessary.

Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder  When thrown into the air, this powder covers everything around it in darkness, which cannot be penetrated by spells like Lumos or Incendio, although the Hand of Glory can be used to see through it.

Shield Hats, Cloaks and Gloves        used by the Ministry of Magic for defence against enemy forces, using a Shield Charm.

Soldiers On Parade    Fake soldiers used for diversions and create crowds to vanish into

Fire-proof Clothes     Hats/Helmets, Gloves, Shirts/Coats, Pants, Shoes -- Mostly shipped to people working with Dragons -- Hat looks like a beanie, with mask that covers the head when flames fly at it

Fire-proof Spray        Spray onto clothes, skin, hair, objects and they become fireproof -- Lasts up to 24 hours -- Water-Proof and Sweat-Proof

Water-proof Clothes  Clothes that will protect the wearer from getting wet -- used mostly for Quidditch in the rain

..

Explosions      

Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs        unstoppable fireworks that violently explode when hit by a stunning spell and multiply by ten at any attempt to vanish them. These include a shocking pink-wheel, fire-breathing dragons, sparklers that spell out profanity, rockets with long tails of silver

Box 'O' Rockets        

Wet Starting Sparklers          Don't start with a match, just one drop of water starts this batch.

..

Wonderwitch products          

Love Potions  When drunk, will give the drinker an obsession with the one who bought the drink (love being impossible to manufacture). Works for up to 24 hours at a time, depending on the weight of the boy and attractiveness of the girl. Like all love potions the effects are temporary

Glitter bombs             Coat everyone within 30 yards or enclosed space with bright pink glitter, complete with toffees to shift the glitter to smoke birds

Pocket Love Birds      swarms of paper birds that would keep flying around the heads singing to the opener of those opening the boxes

Pixie Petals,   Fake pixie bops out of the box throwing petals down at you for four hours

fake flower pins         given to students who then smell flowers nonstop with hourly petal flurries and puffs of pollen while their hair and eyes turn bright pink remaining so even after removing the pins.

Pygmy Puffs   miniature puffskeins with pink or purple fur. They have small, beady eyes.

Ten-Second Pimple Vanisher           excellent on everything from boils to blackheads.

Health

Phoenix Phables        a supply of Pheonix based healing candies of various effect and strength

Bruise Creams

Energy Boost potions

Weight Boosters         potions to restore lost weight and help you healthily restore your body after draining health issues, also enriches bone strength, skin, muscle and organ health

..

Together all through the enforced enclosure in their dorms each product was discussed with varying reviews leading to each student writing out several pages of comments and detailed lists of what they would want with several more asking if there would be a catalog sent out to the school to order by mail. All the items giving them a burst of hope for distraction when all trips to Hogsmeade had been canceled for the rest of the year knowing fully you’d get them their goods no matter what Umbridge or Fudge said.

Harry especially needing his link to you as after sneaking a peek into Snape’s Pensieve to get a good look at his father’s true behavior his lessons had been cancelled, and even without any bad dreams of late he could sense something big was coming. Something he needed his big sister for.

**

December began and with it came a cool chill in the air, your store had grown and after a few mail orders to the school you opened your doors for the few browsing adults curious as to what you were offering. Surprisingly your supply of Quidditch pitches were the fastest to go along with a wide selection of famous matches, lists of pre orders for copies of specific games were offered to be sent to their homes instead of keeping the supplies in store to save space and keep traffic down.

Enchanted clothes were next with a great deal of your health products too. All the Death Eater related products were greatly whispered over with a few asking for mail order catalogs for more timid buyers you had anticipated. Overall it was a success and took off rather quickly and for once it seemed you were getting a decent amount of sleep without the pressures from Umbridge, at least for a short time.

.

Mid pant you shot up in bed, your hair pitch black after seeing your father being tortured in the Department of Mysteries for one of the Prophecies inside. Panting at the sight you knew to be false at Riddle having accepted your terms of guarding your father and Neville from attack to be his spy.

Under your trembling breath you whispered, “Harry…” On your feet you sprinted across your bed to your closet shoving your shorts down to tug on jeans black socks and your boots, ignoring a sweater to cover your mostly sheer elephant coated tank top you raced out to the hall rushing into the twins’ rooms finding them dressing after your mental warning in a stumbling path to the door you left.

Turning away you rushed for Percy’s room finding him shoot up at the door swinging open and your landing on your knees at his side. A firm grip on his shirt had you saying, “I need you to watch Dad.”

His lips parted and he nodded, “For what?”

“He cannot leave this house! Riddle’s luring Harry to the Ministry. Do not let him leave!”

Percy nodded as you turned and leapt off his bed to hurry into the hall and he jumped up to get dressed and keep watch for Sirius in the hall. Regulus already was fumbling into his clothes at the burning of his mark and mental order to await further orders. At the commotion of the twins collapsing in the hall he peeked out asking, “Jaqi? You felt it too? He wouldn’t have called you.”

In a defeated exhale you said, “He’s luring Harry to the Ministry.”

At that his mouth fell open seeing the worry in your eyes, “I’m coming with you.” Tugging on his coat that flew to him he joined you out to the sitting room where you grabbed your pouch for your pocket beside your wand sheath you clipped onto your waistband. In a rush out the Grimmauld door through the muggle streets into the cold you hastened to head for the subway for the Ministry guest entrance. “How is he luring him?”

Your eyes met his and you answered in a weak tone, “A vision where he’s torturing Dad.” In the darkening of his eyes and deep inhale you said, “I put Percy on watch, to keep him at home.”

Regulus nodded, “That should do it.”

A swipe of your cards later and through the gates you hurried to the arriving train for the quickest path. Across from a band of muggles you strolled inside as calmly as you could and took up a row of seating folding your hands on your lap in your relaxing exhale at the whisper in your ear that Neville, still up and studying, had gotten your warning to keep an eye on the now soundly sleeping Harry in the bed across him. Another short message on a slip of paper appeared in your palms read that he’d send word if Harry did anything more unusual that normal.

Pocketing the note the twins both stole a glance at beforehand and you all inhaled ready to stand at your approach to your stop. Fidgeting your fingers over your wrist you folded a finger under your hair tie you called from home and pulled it over your lowest knuckles and lifted your arms to pull back your hair into a ponytail you released halfway through in a looped dangling bun. Up on your feet you sprung and led the others in a hurried trot feeling the cold air making you wish you had remembered a sweater or something more forgiving.

The emptying streets freed you to a smooth path for the red phone box Fred opened you all squeezed into with Regulus reaching over to hit the right buttons and lift the receiver. A simple drop and you held tightly together to keep from falling out of the box when the door opened.

Tentatively you stepped out of the doorway and made your way through the empty entrance hall sending a gust of air making the giant banner of Fudge block the view of the tower of offices still holding people working inside to enter unnoticed. A raised finger to your lips had the heads of the golden statues in the fountain glancing away to miss your path past them to avoid sounding any alarms.

The closer you grew the worse your nerves did feeling something creeping up on you. Turn by turn you avoided passing guards and hidden trackers charmed to shift or lose focus for a few moments to allow you past. Until you found it. A black door from your dreams was opened by Regulus marked as the one you needed and through a series of supposedly distracting pathways you led the true path ending in a near endless hall of mist filled orbs. The twins muttered, “Wicked.”

In what should have been a move forward a whisper turned your head drawing their eyes to you in your silver eyed stare, every curl tied back shifted to the same shade gradually in the silent force luring you off to your left. Around you they inspected the room slowly following after.

Up to the end nearly you strolled then turned blinking out of your trance before looking upwards as the row began to sink into the ground until orb number 48 was in front of you, the label on the stand reading ‘JSAPB, ERU’ softly you read the initials, “E, R, U? Who could that be?” Glancing between the guys that shrugged you reached out taking the orb you pocketed into your pouch saying, “I can listen to it later.”

Back into the main aisle you hurried and Regulus said, “Row 95, that’s the one we want.”

Quickly at the sound of another entering the hall you found the aisle and followed the numbers until you froze in front of the orb marked with Harry’s name and Riddle’s. George reached for it only to bite back a hiss at the shock he got before you drew your wand to circle it over your head for a mirroring bubble to reflect the space behind you for the Auror to pass by none the wiser.

Wetting your lips when he was gone you whispered, “So I suppose we just wait then?”

Regulus nodded and you all lowered to the ground crossing your legs in a circle to keep watch out in each direction with wands drawn resting in your palms on your laps.

**

Riddle, “I need that prophecy.”

Sirius writhing on the floor growled out, “You'll have to kill me.”

Riddle, “Oh, I will. But first, you will fetch it for me.” A flick of his wand was seen, “Crucio.” Then another after Sirius panted in a gasp from being released, “Crucio.”

Shooting up from his seat in Professor Binns’ class Harry whispered, “Sirius.” Professor Binns turned and Harry dropped his book off the side feigning a need to walk around his desk to fetch it flashing a grin at the Professor continuing his lesson with a nod to him at his move to sit again. Until the class was over he tried not to doze off again, though with his racing heart that was no trouble at all.

Quietly behind him Neville pulled out a pocket journal he opened and warned you about Harry’s possible dream catching the eye of Draco and even Hermione in her reach for another jar of ink when hers was nearly empty. With parted lips she glanced between Neville and Harry then caught on to the clear signs something was wrong with Harry taking it that possibly Neville had been warned of something.

*

Out of bed Sirius entered the hall finding Percy standing there with a flash of a grin, “Morning.”

Sirius nodded, “Morning Percy. Any specific reason why you were staring at my door?”

Percy wet his lips, “Can’t tell you.”

Sirius nodded then asked as Remus joined them in the hall walking to your open door to peer inside, “Any specific reason why you can’t tell me?” His eyes turning to Remus in his turn to inspect the Twins’ room also sitting open.

Percy, “Can’t tell you.”

Remus moved a door over looking in Regulus’ door asking, “Where is everyone?” He turned and they both eyed Percy shifting on his feet, “Can’t tell us?”

Sirius, “Percy,” inching closer he said, “We can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on.” Percy shook his head and they both nodded.

Remus sighed, “We best eat then and head off to work.”

In their step away Percy drew his wand saying, “You can’t!” They both looked from him to his raised wand shifting between them stopping on Sirius, “You specifically cannot go to the Ministry!”

Sirius softly asked, “Me? I can’t go?” Percy nodded wetting his lips and he nodded, “Jaqi had a vision then, about me, another attack?”

Percy nodded, “He’s going to use you, to lure Harry there.”

Remus nodded and reached out slowly, “Percy, you can lower your wand.” Gently tapping the stem of it seeing Percy working himself up, “We understand.”

Sirius, “Did Jaqi and the boys go, with Regulus?” Percy nodded and they nodded, “You do realize this could be a trap.”

Percy, “I gave her my word.”

Remus and Sirius said, “I know.”

Sirius, “Ghouls,” glancing at Remus he said, “We send ghouls of ourselves, we need to go protect them, and you will have kept your word in protecting us. We send the Ghouls and sound the alarm for the Order. Just in case.”

Percy nodded, “Alright.”

Sirius nodded and said, “Up a few floors, we still have those Ghouls up there in the silver room.” Guiding the others to find them and cut their hands to send their doubles off to the Ministry.

Pt 48

[videoranch]

The View from the Side of the Stage

Words and photos by Melodie Akers

Embarking on a 12-date tour seemed like the last thing Nez should have done a month ago. Before the New York show on September 20, I told him how proud I was of him. I had feared he would either decide to go home after three dates or complete the tour without the energy to play or sing his best. The Mike & Micky Show had been far from fun; apart from the shows -- which were incredible -- it had been full of sleepless nights on a shaky tour bus and empty-stomached afternoons in emergency rooms, clutching my copy of Science & Health, while Nez joked with the nurses. I dreaded a repeat of that awful month.

The September FNBR tour had all the opportunities to be grueling. It kicked off with three dates in a row, and there was another block of three in the middle. Days off were singular and rare. Despite having little time for rest, Nez organized his team and resources so that he made it through the journey feeling better by the end than at the beginning.

Nez has been expressing a desire for a jet since before the January tour. In late August, he decided it would be a perfect “ambulance” to shuttle him through the tour. At first it didn’t work how he intended. The driver who was taking us to the airport -- or FBO as I learned to call it -- would be late, or Jonathan and Susan wouldn’t be ready to leave so Nez and I were sitting in the car alone. Or the plane would not be ready, or worse -- broken. The food provided by the jet company turned out to not be up to Nez’s standard. By the time we left Texas, Dan, our tour manager, and I figured out how to use the jet to its full benefit. I started having the jet bring in outside catering from Jewish delis or we’d have a runner grab Popeye’s during the show. Dan started ordering the car earlier, so it was ready and waiting for luggage while Nez fulfilled his Meet & Greet duties. I worked out an organization system of Nez’s luggage that allowed me to pack up quickly and easily after the shows -- something I had finally worked out after struggling all through the Mike & Micky Show. Nez instructed me to call the pilots once we were rolling, providing them our ETA so our plane would be ready and waiting just like the car had been. Once we got it down to this science, a quick flight -- usually less than an hour -- and we’d be touched down with full bellies and headed to the hotel, tucked in bed by 2am.

Jet rides were a welcome time to decompress after the hard work of shows. We’d laugh while discussing the show’s high points and how it was developing. Nez always polled us on what was his funniest joke of the night. As fans have pointed out, no show was the same; Nez did this intentionally. He didn’t wear his hat on stage in Virginia because he had started to feel like it was a cliche! His between-song-banter appeared in the moment each night, and he adjusted the set list as the tour progressed. After the first shows, he cut four songs, then added them back in and even introduced Marie’s Theme as he visibly gained strength and confidence with each performance. His ability to continuously spontaneously create not only reflected his live career as a whole, but showed his developing connection with the Redux band’s interpretation of his work. We listened to a lot of his early ‘70s albums in Sparky just before leaving for rehearsals -- and our listening sessions brought forward some of the ideas he thought were unexpressed in January. Last month, rather than simply “play the album”, he introduced Redux to new ideas and then expressed them onstage. Many of those ideas appeared first within the safety and comfort of the jet.

This was my third tour working as Nez’s handler. “Handler” essentially means I am responsible for getting Nez where he needs to be when he needs to be there with all of his luggage, prepare his costume, make sure he has clean underwear, gets enough rest, and eats at meal times. Nez has told me repeatedly that it is not my job to make sure he is happy, but I still try my best to achieve that, too. In addition to handler, during the tour I kept my positions as his assistant, running his social media, and sending these newsletters. I tried to share shows from the side of the stage through Facebook Live, but many comments from fans complained about the sound. The sound of a show changes depending on where you are stood. From the side of the stage, all you’re hearing is the musician’s monitors and a little bleed of the “front of house mix” -- what the crowd hears. Therefore, stage left was heavily Christian and stage right was heavily Alex and Pete; neither are a great place to hear Nez’s vocal. Nez became frustrated with me because I didn’t have much to say after shows. Even though I stood there waiting to be needed while broadcasting live, I couldn’t hear the real show. For several shows, I stubbornly refused to move from my spot out of fear of not being there when he needed me.

During the Mike & Micky Show, I stood by in case Nez needed more water, a towel, someone to hold his guitar, someone to unlock his iPad… whatever. Every show was a struggle the second he stepped off stage -- and I was half of the team there to hold him up. Dan and I supported him until he’d walk back on stage and perform beautifully. His abilities in June were incredible and confusing to me. However, a wise man once wrote: The devil has no access to the singing man.

The end of the first show in Houston was a massive achievement: It proved he could do the show, which was the principal concern on my mind. As his healing became more apparent, I felt more confident that it was not irresponsible to abandon my side of stage post. I started to complete my packing in the dressing room during the show while enjoying the front of house mix through the venue’s playback pumped into the room, and once I even had the guts to leave the venue to grab Popeye’s for the jet. By New York, I completed my packing backstage then sat in the audience most of the show and was able to give Nez a full review afterwards without neglecting any of my handling responsibilities.

The key elements of a hotel while handling a principal on tour are: blackout shades so he can sleep late, edible room service meals, and close proximity to Starbucks. Our hotel in Dallas had a Starbucks inside but it was closed -- the disappointment took away from Nez’s room having an actual breakfast nook. Nashville’s blackout shades were the best of the tour, even though the room was otherwise unremarkable, making it a standout; Susan called it “womblike”. Nez’s favorite hotel of the tour was the Peninsula in Chicago. When we walked into his room, he announced he was moving. Everything was high-tech: the TV remote was an iPad and even the light switches were touchscreen. But the room’s tech did not take away from its design’s classic beauty achieved through golden accents, dark wood, and deep navy bedding -- like sleeping in the night sky. And they somehow avoided the hotel restaurant curse by having wonderful meals.

The most bizarre hotel was in Detroit. Nez and I are 95% sure it was haunted. Nez’s room had a ballroom with a grand piano. Okay, not exactly -- but it had a mostly empty room bigger than my apartment with a grand piano in the corner. I asked him if he could play piano. “No, why do you ask?” “I’ve seen pictures of you sitting at pianos.” “Oh yeah, I can sit at pianos.” The entire suite (ballroom, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, vanity room, walk-in closet, and bathroom) was 60% empty -- its rooms’ sizes dwarfing their furniture. The bathroom and its vanity room were green marble blocks. Nez said the place was a perfect analogy for the automotive industry of a century ago -- uselessly ginormous. It was also filled with the craziest art -- including a piece in the lobby that made me ask Nez, “Why do they have a painting of Kate Bush?” The green marble vanity and bathroom still backdrop my nightmares.

Recently a friend asked me what touring is like because she is writing a novel about a touring band in the ‘60s. I responded with Nez’s first lesson: laundry and food. Those are the hardest things. I have no concept of how they pulled it off in the ‘60s, though, because they didn’t have Google Maps or Uber. Google Maps is my answer to everything on the road: finding laundromats who do fluff-and-fold, finding the nearest Starbucks, finding restaurants, finding a manicurist two hours before the show, etc.. The main function I wish Google Maps had was a sketch-meter. The number of times I’ve chosen a laundromat that’s 10 minutes away because of its high Google rating to find out that it’s in a “bad” part of town upon arrival... I was grateful to always have an Uber driver there with me, at least.

Uber is the best and worst part of touring in 2018. Depending on the town, it takes either 2 minutes or 20 for your driver to arrive -- and that is usually a good indicator of the arriving driver’s helpfulness. As an introvert, by the end of the tour I dreaded running errands, because being trapped in a car with a stranger whom I felt I was inconveniencing in some insane way took a special toll on my mental energy. But in comparison to ordering black cars and limos, Uber makes transporting a rock star beyond simple -- until you consider seatbelts. Seatbelts in stranger’s cars are somehow always hidden. Nez is terrible about wearing his seatbelt anyway, so I’ve taken to pouncing on him the second he sits down in any vehicle to make sure he is buckled in. I’ve asked him how he survived being a race car driver when he struggles to put on his seatbelt; he has no answer.

I half-joke with Nez that he only tours the east coast to have lobster. After seven shows of only talking about lobster, he finally got his cherished crustacean at lunch in Boston before the Somerville show. That was also my first lobster; Nez says west coast lobsters aren’t real lobster. It was delicious; I fully understand his quest now. We also had the best fried chicken in Nashville, while Nez made up songs at the table like, “Why am I standing in the garage? I know I came in here for something important,” after I shared his habit of making up incredible songs on afternoon drives to Jonathan and Susan. But the best aspect of meals on the road was our company and official tour drink. Most dinners were spent with Jonathan, Susan, and Hennessy sidecars -- Nez’s favorite cocktail! It started during rehearsals at our hotel in Burbank, and continued through the last shows on the east coast. We had a slight hiccup in Nashville when we got into a battle with our waitress as to whether it was salt or sugar on the rim of our glasses, and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere in a Chicago restaurant where our table was INSIDE a train car. These evenings were one of the first things Nez and I chased down upon returning home… but were disappointed to discover that Jonathan and Susan’s laughter could not be conjured by the sidecars alone.

Restaurants are usually the closest Nez and I got to sightseeing while on the road. Our tunnel of hotel-car-venue-car-plane-car-hotel didn’t offer much light. Most of my “days off” (HA!!) were spent running errands while Nez recuperated (i.e. slept and watched MSNBC in his hotel room). While returning to the hotel from the laundromat in Nashville, I was grateful my Uber driver took a wrong turn: I got to see 6th St from the backseat after Nez had broken his promise to take me the night before. He came through for me in Boston, though. Despite the rain, he felt well enough to happily venture out in an Uber so he could show me the Mother Church. Disappointingly the church was closed due to construction -- and the visit took an incredible turn away from my expectations into modern art. Nez led me into the Mapparium at the Mary Baker Eddy Library, a three-story stained glass globe created just before the Second World War. We stood and pointed out cities and countries to each other -- Rio, Australia, Carmel. Given the state of politics, it was comforting to stand surrounded by an illuminated world. As proven through this tour, art is healing.

[newssplashy]

Strategy: Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards on stepping down this year, battling Congress, and why she's a 'troublemaker' who's never looking for a fight

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards on how she brought her activist background to the organization, and why she considers herself a "troublemaker."

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards has a new memoir called "Make Trouble."

Richards brought Planned Parenthood back to its movement roots and has defended it from members of Congress throughout her tenure.

Planned Parenthood provides a wide variety of women's health services across the United States, but its abortion services have made it one of the most controversial organizations in the country.

Richards told Business Insider that she's been inspired throughout her career by her late mother, Texas Governor Ann Richards, and her upbringing in an activist family.

Cecile Richards has never shied away from controversy. Back in seventh grade, she got sent to the principal's office for protesting the Vietnam War. More recently, as president of Planned Parenthood, she defended the organization in a heated 2015 congressional hearing.

For Richards, it's all worth it to be able to do the work she loves.

"You can go a lot of places or make a lot of money, but there's nothing quite like having a job where people actually say to you, 'Thanks for making my life better,'" she told us on an episode of Business Insider's podcast "Success! How I Did It."

Richards' parents were liberal activists in the conservative state of Texas — a state that Richards' mother, Governor Ann Richards, led in the early 1990s.

It was Ann who inspired her to take the job as Planned Parenthood president in 2006, a job she's leaving this year.

Planned Parenthood is a healthcare provider that's partially funded by the government. It offers a long list of services, including cancer screenings and STI treatment. It also provides abortions and birth control, which has made it one of the most controversial institutions in the US.

She has a new memoir called "Make Trouble." I started our conversation by asking her where the title came from.

Listen to the full episode here:

Subscribe to "Success! How I Did It" on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. Check out previous episodes with:

Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud

Edible Arrangements founder and CEO Tariq Farid

Astronaut Scott Kelly

Flatiron Health founder and CEO Nat Turner

The following transcript has been edited for clarity.

Cecile Richards: Well I think it's because, I think trouble-making has actually led to a lot of the progress we've made in this country. You know, I think about even a hundred years ago, when Planned Parenthood started, women couldn't even vote, right? We didn't have the right to anything. And it really was because people made trouble and women went to jail and they challenged the laws and defied convention that women made progress. And so, I think it's as my friend Congressman John Lewis would say, it's about making good trouble. And I think when you do, and really stand up for things you believe, that's how we make progress.

Richard Feloni: Yeah, and you've never been afraid to be polarizing. Like, for example, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, she's called you, quote, "the best teacher on Earth — someone you trust." Then you have the National Review's editor, Rich Lowry, saying "a skilled defender of the indefensible." How have you dealt with such extreme perceptions of yourself?

Richards: Well, I think if you meet me, that's not really what I'm like and I'm like everyone else. I mean, I don't want to intentionally cause trouble — I really just want to make sure that we stand up for the values that we believe in.

And I've had really good fortune. I've led a very privileged life. You know, I've gotten to choose the work I do and I hope every job I've had has been a little bit about trying to push the ball forward, particularly for folks who may not have the same opportunities that I've had. Sometimes that's women, sometimes that's working people, sometimes that's immigrants. And, as my mom said, you can go a lot of places, you can be successful or make a lot of money, but there's nothing quite like having a job where people actually say to you, "Thanks for making my life better." And I've been real privileged to do that.

Feloni: So is that what drives you? Hearing from those people?

Richards: Well it really does, I think, in the sense of, like, why are we on this Earth? And, you know, I've worked with a lot of people who didn't have any choice in what they did. I worked with women who were nurses and workers, women who worked in hotels, janitors who basically cleaned buildings, worked two jobs just to support their family. And, it really taught me a lot about how much opportunity I had to do anything I wanted to with my life. And so, when you do have that chance, I think it's on all of us to make the decisions about how we want to use our time on this Earth.

Feloni: Yeah. So it's like a really fundamental drive, like, what are we even here for? Let's do something about it.

Richards: Yeah and, you know, it's funny when I started my first nonprofit, this little dinky nonprofit in Texas, and I had no idea what I was doing, but I just —

Feloni: When was that?

Richards: Oh, my God, that was years ago, although it's now been operating for decades. So, it was right after my mom lost her re-election. And I just felt like, wow, someone needed to do something about public education and standing up for some basic civil liberties. I really didn't know what I was doing, but I did it anyway.

And, it was funny, during the time older men would come and say, "Can I just come volunteer with you guys?" Because, I think they were at a point in their life where they thought, "Wow what is it all about?"

And so I've always kind of tried to keep that in mind. This is the only life you have, so you've got to make the most of it.

Growing up the daughter of Governor Ann Richards

Feloni: And did you have this, like this kind of streak in you, when you were a kid?

Richards: Well my parents, of course, were complete troublemakers. We lived in Dallas, Texas, and it was pretty conservative and my parents were very liberal. My dad was a civil rights lawyer and he was actually defending conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War. My mother, she was just a rabble-rouser. I mean, she was a housewife but she was fighting for the farm workers and she was, when the women's movement came to town, she just jumped head first. And, so I think as a kid, and I have siblings, all of just saw our parents and saw politics as — it wasn't drudgery or it wasn't dirty; it was actually where all the action was. And so I think it was logical that I chose this path.

Feloni: Yeah, and even like, as you were saying, growing up in Dallas, controversy wasn't a problem. It was something you were comfortable with, right?

Richards: Well, it was something you had to do. I mean, again, that was a time in which everything was segregated. The schools were segregated. The pools were segregated. I mean, people of color in Dallas had very few options. And, I know, we've made progress, but not enough. And women — I mean, none of the women and none of the moms I knew had the chance to work outside the home. So there's just a lot of things where people had to really fight to say, "You know what? We need more opportunity." And, of course, my mom began to take her own path, and finally kinda left that life as a housewife, which was rewarding but not enough for her. And eventually ran for office herself.

Feloni: Yeah, so your mom, governor Ann Richards, served as governor from '91 to '95. And, when you got to see this transformation throughout your childhood of her ascent through politics, what was that like, even when you started to join her as a kid with this activism?

Richards: Well, it was kind of amazing and I think, one of the things I learned from it is that no one ever thought she could do what she thought she could do. I mean, there would never have been a woman elected in her own right in Texas as governor. And my mother was like completely the wrong profile. I mean she was a liberal, she was divorced, she was a recovering alcoholic and we never had a poll showing that she could win. And the fact is, she just did it anyway because she thought it needed doing.

And I think like a lot of women who run for office or maybe get into business, they look at who's in the job and think, "Well, I think I can do a better job." And that really was what motivated her. And, of course, we did win that election and what we're seeing today is women winning elections that no one thinks they can win. So I think it's a lesson for us to, you know — don't ever let your practicality step on your idealism, or what you really think you need to do and want to do. Because that's the only way things happen.

Figuring out who she wanted to be

Feloni: And even before that, when you were a teenager, for example, were you like joining her in her political activism?

Richards: Well, you know what, it's interesting, I went away to college. I kind of escaped Texas. I never lived outside of the state and I went pretty much as far as you can go. I went to Rhode Island and —

Feloni: To Brown?

Richards: To Brown, and that was the first time my mother had run for anything. She was running for county commissioner. And so it was all very different. And then, of course, whenever she ran for something else we'd all come home and help her out. And so it was really very late, you know, in my life, that she became this feminist icon. Before she had just been Mom. I think it's another lesson that I hope that she showed and that women are seeing, which is it's never too late to have a great life or to do what you're destined to do.

Feloni: Yeah. And when you were at Brown, sophomore year, you dropped out actually, right?

Richards: I did, yeah.

Feloni: Why'd you make that decision?

Richards: There was a labor strike, actually. The janitors at Brown went on strike and I had never been involved in anything like that but I got very deeply involved, because my own janitor, who had been cleaning our dormitory, was now out on the picket line and I was somewhat disillusioned. I thought, "Wow, are these the values of my university?" I think I probably just needed to get out and get my head clear.

So I went to Washington and worked for a nonprofit. And then I eventually came back to Brown, and made a lot of trouble, but also got my degree. But it was a really great education. I think it was, for me, a lot of the education we get in life is not necessarily what is being taught in the classroom, it's the experiences we get outside of that and that was absolutely true at Brown.

Feloni: What was it like returning to Brown? How was it different after you had this experience?

Richards: I think one is I just had the confidence to question authority and stand up for the things I believed in. I got very involved in the divestment movement. It seems like ancient history now — but it's relevant because of what young people are doing on campus now — but one of the international movements to support folks in South Africa that were trying to overthrow the apartheid government, or at least change and have a democracy, was to get universities to divest their holdings in South Africa. And believe me, at the time people said students were crazy, it would never happen, it was disruptive, you know, fill in the blank. And we did it anyway. And it was really a great experience. I learned so much. I learned a lot about Africa, I learned a lot about organizing, and, eventually, Brown did divest and then several universities divested. I've learned, as others have, just how critical that global movement was. And years later, in an interesting twist of fate, they gave Nelson Mandela an honorary degree at Brown.

Feloni: When do you think you first realized that you have to not let things get you down, that you have to take a long-term perspective?

Richards: Well, probably, an unsuccessful thing I did at Brown, I was involved in the anti-nuclear movement to try to keep the Seabrook nuclear plant from being built and I think it's now been operating for decades. So sometimes you just lose and you just have to keep going on.

When I left Brown — probably an unlikely path for a Brown graduate — I became a union organizer. I worked for garment workers in the southern United States and in Texas and along the Rio Grande border. And I realized this was going to be a long haul. These are women who had been working at minimum wage for decades, you know. And, to make a change in their life was going to take a long, long time. It helped me be a tad more patient than I was in college, realizing that this is work that you have to be committed to for your life, and so I have been.

Fighting for Planned Parenthood

Feloni: When you were offered the role at Planned Parenthood in 2006, you called your mom for some advice. What was that call like?

Richards: Well the truth was — and I think this is relevant for women who are trying to think about what to do next — I didn't think I was skilled enough to take the job. I mean, I had run smaller nonprofits, but I had never raised that much money, been responsible for a huge national organization with this almost hundred-year history, and so I was afraid of failing. And so I called my mom and she said, you know, "Get over yourself. You never know unless you try and the things you really regret in life are the chances that you didn't take." And so I went for the job interview. And then, lo and behold, you know 12 years later I've had the honor or being the president of Planned Parenthood and really having a window into some of the most important work happening for women in the country.

Feloni: I'm sure that she was always a go-to person for advice, right?

Richards: Well, and she had a lot of advice. Yes.

Feloni: Even if you didn't want it.

Richards: That was something everyone would agree on! Yes.

Feloni: What do you think maybe is the single best piece of advice that she gave you in your life?

Richards: She spent a lot of years just doing what society expected her. She was just to raise kids, be a perfect wife, throw the perfect dinner party, and she did that for several years. And it wasn't until she had the chance to break out and do what she wanted to do for her — I think she was always regretful that she, you know, missed some time. You know, she let social convention get in the way. So her best advice was, "This is the only life you have, so do it." And whatever it is, never turn down a new opportunity. And, you know, she used to say when I was worried about taking a new job — or to other women who would say, "You know, I'm not sure if I'm qualified" — she said, "Look. What's the worst thing that could happen?" And I think that's really good advice when you're thinking about starting a new business or changing jobs. It's just, "what's the worst thing that can happen," because usually, once you can imagine that, it's not that bad.

Feloni: And so what ultimately drew you to the Planned Parenthood job?

Richards: Well, like a lot of women — like one in five women in the country — I had been a Planned Parenthood patient. When I was at Brown, that's where I got my birth control. And so I knew about the organization, had been a supporter, and, to me, it was one of the most important organizations in the country in terms of helping women live out their lives and have opportunity to finish school, and start a career, and support a family. So, to me, there was no question that if this was something I could do, it would be such an honor. And the job has been big and challenging, but I never even imagined how great it would be. So I'm so glad that I did go for that interview and, obviously, glad they chose me.

Feloni: And you were tasked with kind of making it more political, right? Bringing it back to its activist roots in a sense?

Richards: Well, I think one of the challenges that Planned Parenthood had was we were an excellent healthcare provider. We provide healthcare to about 2.5 million people every year, but politics was getting in the way. More and more laws were being passed, and restrictions, and so I think it was not necessarily to be more political, but just to really rebuild our movement roots.

But then there were other things that we figured out, too, like we needed to use technology more and invest in new ways of getting care to people — which I'm proud to say we really have done. And investing in young people. Investing in a whole new generation of young people as patients, because they want different things than young people when Planned Parenthood was started, or even when I went to college at Brown. So that has been part of the exciting thing, is just thinking about healthcare delivery in a new way, as well as bringing in another generation of activists.

Feloni: And what was the biggest challenge that you faced as the head of it?

Richards: The biggest challenge is the disruption in the healthcare world. And we specialize in serving folks that don't have a lot of options, often. Sometimes they're uninsured, they're younger, they may be more mobile. And the healthcare system hasn't always been an easy place to navigate, and so one of the most exciting things was the fight for the Affordable Care Act. Because we made a lot of progress and that has fundamentally changed life not only for women that come to Planned Parenthood but millions of others.

You know, the most successful moment I think of my life was the day that President Obama called me, and said he was about to announce that now all women that get insurance would get birth control covered at no cost. That has been revolutionary for women. And we're now at like a 30-year low for unintended pregnancy in this country and I'm really really proud of that.

Feloni: Can you tell me a little bit more about what that fight was like?

Richards: Yeah, I think it was a good lesson in that sometimes you have to fight with your friends, not just people who are your opponents, because getting this done was a big lift —

Feloni: Within the Democratic Party?

Richards: Yeah, within Congress, within the White House. We really did have to mobilize young people on college campuses — dressed up in giant pill packs, go to Congress, write to the White House, and so it did take a lot. And, you may even remember, there was a moment in which Congress was holding a hearing about whether birth control should be covered where they refused to let a Georgetown law student testify because they said they needed experts. And when we saw the panel of experts there was one thing they had in common: They never used birth control because they were all men.

So we really had some pretty big obstacles, but I think the exciting thing is now, and, of course, unfortunately this administration is trying to unravel this birth control benefit, but once you win something that big, it's much harder to take it away. Women in this country are very aware of what that means for them. They'll be able to have that economic freedom and access to care.

Feloni: So are you worried about the future of Planned Parenthood and any of the accomplishments that you made with it?

Richards: Well, nothing's ever finished, so we always have more progress to make. But one of the reasons I felt like I could leave after 12 years is the organization is as strong as it's ever been. We have more than 11 million supporters, we're delivering healthcare all across the country, we're delivering healthcare in some states online. Birth control is getting better. I feel really hopeful. And, most importantly, we have a generation of young people who are their own advocates, and, you marry that with the excellent healthcare we provide — I feel good about the future, even though I'm sure there are going to be battles ahead.

Feloni: Yeah and you explained in the book this meeting that you had with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump where they invited you to talk. What was that about? That was shortly after Trump's inauguration.

Richards: Basically, they wanted to meet about Planned Parenthood because I think they knew this was going to be — Paul Ryan had already declared they were going to defund Planned Parenthood. And so, even though I was, frankly, a little anxious about having that meeting, because I didn't know what to expect, I felt like I owed it to our patients to try. But, in the end, I really believe, certainly, what Jared Kushner expressed was that he wanted us to quit providing abortion services to women in this country in exchange for keeping our public funding. And I just said we really stand for the right of women to get the reproductive healthcare they need and that's a legal service, and that it's really important that women can get it and we're not going to trade that off for money.

So, it didn't go that well, but at the end of the day we were able to mount a campaign with hundreds of thousands of people around the country that supported Planned Parenthood and were able to keep our public funding, and I hope we continue to do so. Because it makes a big difference. A lot of women have come to us. We're their only healthcare provider.

Feloni: Yeah. So when you were having that conversation, what was going through your head when this proposal was made?

Richards: I thought this was my chance to educate the two of them about who we see, what we do, and of course reeducate them if they needed to know that federal funding doesn't go to abortion services so, in fact, the money that they were talking about cutting off from Planned Parenthood provides access to breast cancer screenings and birth control and STI testing and treatment. And, again, for a lot of the women and young people that come to us, there's no one else in town to do that work. So even though they understood that, I felt like they were trying to make a political deal and that's just not who we are at Planned Parenthood.

Feloni: Was this an example of how you have always had to kind of balance politics with your personal ideals, as well as leading an organization?

Richards: Well, you know, it's interesting, because I have been through congressional hearings. I've done a lot of other things in this 12 years at Planned Parenthood. I think the things that's important to me is that we always keep women at the center of everything we do, decisions we make and positions we take. And so for me it isn't hard. It's not a political game. It's actually about women whose health and sometimes lives are at stake. And I think if we can continue to lift up their stories and create more empathy in this country for what women need, which is basically access to affordable healthcare no matter where they live, no matter their immigration status, their geography, their income, then we'll have done the right thing. So I just try to keep that in mind.

Feloni: When did you decide that you were going to step down from Planned Parenthood?

Richards: Well, after we beat back this effort to defund Planned Parenthood, I felt like we sort of got — and that was with the help of two really important Republican senators, Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska. They are national heroines to me in terms of really standing up for women in their caucus. But once that happened, I had really made a commitment to invest in a new generation of leaders, and even though it's really hard to leave an organization that you love, I think it's important to demonstrate sometimes that you can step aside and let someone else take the reins and so we'll have a really smooth transition at Planned Parenthood. A lot of women are interested, and probably some men are interested in this job, and that's great and I will tell them I'll be cheering on the sidelines every step of the way for what they do next.

Feloni: So what's next for you?

Richards: I don't know, and that's kind of exciting, too. I've been a little bit of an entrepreneur in the past. I've started nonprofits and I've been always involved in movements. There's a lot of work that needs to be done in this country. And one of the things I'm most focused on right now is making sure that every single person is registered to vote and that they vote this November. I really think we need to restore democracy in the sense of having people not only have the right to vote, but then exercising that right. And I think if we do, we can change the direction of some of the areas that I'm concerned about.

Feloni: Are you going to run for office at some point?

Richards: It's not really in my plan, but you never want to say never! That's one thing my mother told me, right? Never turn down a new opportunity. But, I am excited about all of the women running for office — twice as many women running for Congress as two years ago, up and down the ticket. I mean there's all kinds of women running and so I'd love to do everything I can to help them, support them, and again just change the face of who's in office a bit.

What she's learned

Feloni: So throughout your career, whether you were with unions, or even with the Democratic Party, or with Planned Parenthood, you've gravitated towards jobs that have had lots of intense opposition, sometimes even violent threats. Do you seek out jobs that have that type of thing?

Richards: You think I'm just like a magnet for controversy?

Feloni: Well, yeah — there's a struggle involved.

Richards: Well, I guess, I think that you really should stand up. I believe, if you can, if you have the privilege that I have, you should really stand up for the things that you believe in and fight hard for hard stuff. I think if it's easy, someone else has probably already done it. And so, it's not that I'm a glutton for controversy, but I do think when it comes to LGBTQ rights, when it comes to women's rights, when it comes to the right of everyone to have equal pay and a fair chance, those are hard fights. And I know we've learned people don't give up power without a fight.

If I think about all the time I've spent in Congress fighting for women's access to affordable healthcare and just access to be able to make their own decisions about their healthcare, I feel like I'd love to be still alive to see the day when half of Congress can get pregnant, and then I think we'd finally quit fighting about birth control and reproductive healthcare. So that may be inciting controversy, but I think it really more is just hoping for a world that can be a little bit better than it is now.

Feloni: It's like these are fights worth having, you're not seeking out opposition.

Richards: Yeah, definitely not seeking trouble just for the sake of it. And again, I think some of the most important things that we've been able to do at Planned Parenthood have been to just continue to push the envelope. Not sit back and rest on our laurels and say, "Well, it's good that birth control is legal." It doesn't matter if it's legal if not everyone can get it. And again, I think we're making huge progress, and we're at a record low for teenage pregnancy in the US — that's something I'm very proud of — but I will also say it's not equal, that rates of teenage pregnancy are still too high among young women who have low incomes, young women of color, young women in the southern United States, and so there's just work left to do.

Feloni: What advice would you give to someone who wants to have a career like yours?

Richards: If you're really young and just getting started, sometimes it's hard to get into big nonprofits. I think volunteering, finding a cause you care about — one of my first jobs, I remember I volunteered for someone running for city council in Austin and like two days later I was in charge of the phone bank. They were just so excited to have a volunteer and I learned a ton of skills that way. So I think it is important sometimes to just get on a board of an organization that you care about. Throw a fundraiser for them. Those are the kinds of things that help you begin to know if this is the organization that you want to be with either as a job or just as something you do in your volunteer time. But there are so many opportunities now and I think there's never been, frankly, a better time to be a volunteer and to stand up for something that you really, really do care about.

Feloni: And when you've been part of all of these different organizations, what would you say is the common thread among all of them?

Richards: I think it's to try to get people just a better shake and really I hope, whether it's economic activity, whether it's women having equal chance, we're doing better but we're still not doing near enough. And one of the things I learned from this, being at Planned Parenthood all these years, is just literally the difference it can make, the fork in the road that someone can be in. And whether they can't get a breast cancer screening, or they did and Planned Parenthood was able to actually get them the treatment that saved their life, or what it means for a young woman to be able to get affordable healthcare and get birth control that gets her through college, that can mean the difference about what her opportunities are. And so getting to be part of a movement like that is unbelievably rewarding. I realize it's a huge privilege. And so I always feel like every day I need to pay back it some way.

Feloni: Was there ever a moment in your life where you questioned this burden that you had?

Richards: Well it's never really felt like a burden. But I've never tried to take a straight job, that's true.

I had the good fortune when I was young to meet Kirk, my husband, who was also an organizer. Finding someone that actually has the same ideas and dreams and idealism that you do makes it a lot easier. It was easier to have three kids and raise them with someone who understood that sometimes I needed to be off on a picket line or had to be traveling and doing this. Wwe both tried to balance that. But it's meant building a life that really has had great meaning for us and now, of course, all three of our kids, I think they're all activists in their own right. And that's the best reward for any parent.

Feloni: It's like the family business.

Richards: Well, except it's not a business so much, but yeah.

Feloni: I know, of course.

Richards: But it is. It's a family passion. It's a family passion and look, I'll say there have been some great moments with my kids, but nothing better than all five of us being at the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States because all of them had had a role in that. Even though the twins weren't even old enough to vote, they volunteered, they door-knocked, and it felt like a huge accomplishment.

Feloni: When you're looking at the entirety of your career so far, what do you think would be a big time you failed and it taught you something?

Richards: There's been so many. One was I went to work on Capitol Hill, and actually it was a great job.

Feloni: When was this?

Richards: We had moved to Washington and I can't even remember the year, but actually it was when Nancy Pelosi first became the Democratic Whip. She was the highest-ranking woman ever in Congress. And I'd never worked on Capitol Hill. I had no idea how things worked there, but I spent about a year and a half on the Hill and then left to start a new nonprofit. But it was one of these things where even though I always felt like a failure because there were people there who knew everything about every rule and how Congress worked and all this — I don't feel like I was successful — I learned so much from Nancy Pelosi and from the people who had built their entire career working in government. So even though I realized it wasn't the job for me, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

And I think that's also one of the things to learn, is that you can try something and it's OK to say it didn't work out. But you almost get something from every single job or new adventure that you take, even if it doesn't work out in the long run. And Nancy Pelosi is still a really good friend and we worked together on passing the Affordable Care Act and a lot of other things, so those relationships have become some of the most important in my life.

Feloni: And what did that experience teach you specifically going forward?

Richards: Well, one was that I wasn't cut out to work in government. I was impatient and I really wanted to be out making things happen, and right then it was really, really difficult. But it reminded me of a lesson that I feel like I've learned and had to relearn, which is any time you can take a job with someone who can teach you something, go for it. And again, I learned a lot from Nancy, I learned a lot from the people on the Hill, and so just soaking that up, it was like taking a graduate course on Capitol Hill.

I advise young women in particular to always look for someone who can be a mentor to you or who can teach you about something that you don't know about. Because you never know when that's going to come in handy.

Feloni: Well, thank you so much, Cecile.

Richards: Hey, thanks for having me. Great to be here.

source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/04/strategy-planned-parenthoods-cecile.html