Inspiring Others Through Written Words, Music and Art

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

     My given name is Elizabeth.  Growing up everyone called me Liz except my dad who called

me Betty Bee.   In high school I performed comedy dance routines with a friend for about four

years. During this time, I created two stage names for myself....Lydia Lovely on stage and

Graffita when I sang.   Graffita being the feminine form of graffiti and my group....Graffita and

the Bathroom Walls.   Over the years I’ve found uses for both names.   When raising my boys,

Lydia became my evil twin who I could blame for any wrongdoing I might have been involved in.

  Graffita is a longer story.   While unknown to myself at the time, I was severely depressed

throughout my childhood until I worked for a woman when I was 28 who told me I seemed

unhappy, and I didn’t have to be.   She got me an appointment with her therapist and thus

began my journey into Recovery.   I moved back to my family home and began therapy. I was

in and out of the psych ward three times and kept falling into the pit of depression.

 

Then one day I fell, broke my wrist while drunk and the depression evaporated.   Surprise!

Then while in therapy I kept getting sick.... bronchitis, infected cut, pneumonia and on and

on repeatedly.   A few years earlier when living in a hippy house in Berkeley, I was introduced

to Adele Davis, a nutritionist.   I bought her book Let’s Get Well and took all her advice.   I

eliminated everything from my diet that didn’t build my health and the result was amazing.

For the first time in my life, I felt totally alive.   For the next two years with therapy and diet I

was accidentally sober.   I wasn’t trying to be sober; I was trying to avoid being ill.

 

During this time, I began dating a man named Kevin who had just broken up with a woman

named Lizbeth with whom he had a son.   I told him the story of my stage name Graffita.   He

was tired of living with women named E/Lizabeth and started calling me Fita.   I was going

through such profound change at the time that it felt like a new name for a new me.   My

spiritual name I suppose.   I have since changed the spelling to Feeta because I can and it’s

easier to understand and pronounce.   The Bee in FeetaBee was added to honor my dad who

always called me Betty Bee.