Intro to Robin 101

Not exactly where it all began...

...but this is where my story begins.  Peggy Ann Underwood and Robert Lee Chambless married on December 10, 1957 in Jackson, MS.  This was a second marriage for both and my brother, Billy, and I were the 'ours' of 'yours, mine, and ours'...with me bringing up the rear.  

I often say I am the baby of seven, but am an only child.  I hope to share with you here what these words mean.  Speaking of words, mine often hold multilayered thoughts and meaning, so please...bear with me.  Thoughts and words may come flying at you from every direction, but do make sense...hopefully...at some point.

Please...open your heart and your mind for this ride...or simply do not come along.

I am not for the faint of heart, but I am real.  If anything...I am real...

Family Dynamics, Addiction, Abuse, Mental Illness, even Genius play a part in who I am today.

I was once INVISIBLE due to the above pieces of me, but I have found my VOICE.  What I share with you here is not to be heard as whining or a cry for attention, but simply my story with no agenda.  I wake up each day, thinking what a phenomenal life I live...no matter how difficult, no matter how joyous.  I am blessed.  Life is good.  

"What Had Happened Was..." is not only about me and the above mentioned pieces of me, but the many journeys I have found myself experiencing.  You will surely be peppered with anecdotes from my life in the New Orleans music community...which has certainly been the family who loves me unconditionally, warts and all.  Differences should be embraced and explored, not judged and ignored.  

Today's installment (hell...the entire blog) is dedicated to my mama...who against all odds, judgment, and even hatred...always forgave, understood, held compassion, and loved unconditionally.  She instilled in me compassion to learn and understand others.  She had no idea about bipolar disorder, yet was the only one who took the time to understand what my mind was up to.  She did the best she could to protect her own from the evils this world offered.  

If I become half the woman, the human being, the amazing soul Peggy Ann Underwood Chambless was...