Proud of My Happiness Icon

That's Anthony Rizzo's happy face you've seen here every day during August. As the month comes to an end, it's time to celebrate him.

He's the Cubs All-Star first baseman, a hitting machine and a reliable performer with his glove. He made the last out in the 2016 World Series, ending our 108 year drought and delivering the championship. It makes me especially happy that he was the one to make history, because he's a stellar young man.

During the playoffs, Cub fans heard him -- when he didn't realize he was mic'd -- first apologize to an umpire and later confess to being nervous. How great for kids, especially boys, to see good manners and honest emotions embraced!

And he's a cancer survivor, who hasn't forgotten how his battle with disease affected his family.  Look what he did off the field  this week, and you'll see why he's my favorite Cub.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 30

Rizz likes money

On Day 30, the gesture counted. My boss called my art director and me in to his office and closed the door. He told us that he spoke to our department head about getting us raises before year-end.

While I would desperately love to see a little more in each paycheck, I'm not counting on it happening. Instead, I'm going to concentrate on my boss extending himself and being supportive. He isn't always. It was nice to hear.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AugustHappiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

1. What are you currently reading? Helter Skelter, The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi. I don't recall learning about Charles Manson. He's just always been part of our collective consciousness. An ugly, evil part, but his presence has been ongoing for 48 years. People who weren't born in 1969 are familiar with what he did.

Yet there's a great deal about his crimes that I never knew. I trust Bugliosi's version of these events. First of all, he prosecuted Manson back in the day. If that doesn't give him cred, what does? And secondly, I really appreciated his book about the JFK assassination, Reclaiming History. I knew from that massive tome that this author could handle graphic material without sensationalizing it.

A prosecutor at heart, Bugliosi is all about justice for the victims. And so I've learned a great deal about those murdered back in the summer of 1969. For example, Abigail Folger, the coffee heiress whose body was left on sprawled on the front lawn, was so much more than a rich party girl. She worked with the underprivileged and battled depression, in no small part because she felt that society's ills were so big that she could never do enough to cure them. "The suffering gets under my skin," she said. In therapy to get control of her emotions and her life, she was seriously thinking of breaking up and breaking away from her boyfriend, Roman Polanski's friend, Wojciech Frykowski. If only she'd taken that decisive action a week, or even a day, earlier, perhaps she wouldn't have died with Frykowski at Sharon Tate's home. And Rosemary LaBianca, who was murdered the next night, was a woman of substance whose story is often lost. I've learned that after escaping a bad marriage, she started a dress shop that grew into a boutique. Women entrepreneurs were not that common in the late 1950s, but her independent business was successful enough to support her two children, and then she made savvy investments with the rest, growing her portfolio until she was a self-made millionaire. She married Leno LaBianca, a man who was very good to her and her children. Instead of being able to enjoy the happy ending she worked for, she was slaughtered in her own home.

Bugliosi doesn't let these two women remain footnotes in the "Sharon Tate murders." He doesn't allow them to be overshadowed by The Manson Family. And for that reason, I really applaud this book. 

2. What did you recently finish reading? Mrs. Jeffries Learns the Trade by Emily Brightwell. OK, I didn't finish this book. I merely put it down. I'm sad to report it didn't really engage me, and I always feel guilty when I abandon a book.
 

I don't know why it didn't hold me. The author creates a lovely Victorian atmosphere (imagine Jessica Fletcher at Downton Abbey) and the interplay between the two main characters -- Scotland Yard's Inspector Witherspoon and his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries -- is sweet. But the mystery at heart of the story just didn't grab me. Every time I picked up the book and put it in my bag, I inwardly groaned a little, thinking of my TBR pile and all the other books vying for my attention.

Oh well. This volume is a three-story anthology. Perhaps after time passes, I'll pick it up again and give mystery #2 a shot.

3.  What will you read next? Definitely something light! As completely as I'm drawn into Helter Skelter, I'm going to need a break from ugly reality when I'm done.
 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 29

On Day 29, I was happy for the fountains. The office building where I toil Monday-Friday has a plaza out front and it's filled with fountains. Because of renovations to that entrance, I've been coming in and out through the side door. It's just more convenient that way.

Ah, but taking the easy route keeps me from seeing the fountains. Today I went out of my way to check them out for the first time in weeks. They really are lovely. I'm glad I got to see them before they're turned off for the year.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AugustHappiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

August Happiness Challenge: Day 28

Rizz looks forward to seeing me

On Day 28, I was happy because I was surprised.  I don't know how, but my friend Kathy got a pair of free tickets to the Cubs/Mets game on September 14. In her invitation text, she said nothing would make her happier than to share them with a true fan ... and that's me.

I'd been blue. Barb's husband's passing ... Hurricane Harvey ... the world felt like a sad place. I was happy that an old friend and a lifelong obsession came through to lift my spirits.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AugustHappiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 27

Rizz is proud of my $14

On Day 27, I was happy because there's cash in my wallet. I paid cash for my hair cut and color. I paid cash for the movie with my movie group. I paid cash for my prickly pear margarita and shrimp tapas with Joanna afterward. I paid cash for my groceries.

And yet I still have $14 left. I feel like a very good girl.

My finances on a macro level are still a mess. My property taxes have gone up and I'm still not saving enough for retirement.

But for the weekend of August 26-27, I'm under budget. And I insist on being happy about that.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AugustHappiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Do you look forward to the spring? Now? No. I'm looking forward to October and the MLB play offs. Go, Cubs, Go!

2. Which area of the sciences do you enjoy the most? Biology, I suppose. I like reading how different meds effect different parts of the body. But to be honest, I'm not very good at math/science.

3. If you could own a classical statue in the form of any figure from myth, religion, or even modern fiction, who would you choose? Jo March, cutting her hair to raise money. She did what needed to be done, with imagination and courage. 

4. Do you have a good relationship with your mother? My mom has been gone for years now.

5. What is your favorite mythological story? I don't have one. I do have a favorite joke, though, and I feel it's a metaphor for life. Here goes:


Imagine twin boys of five or six. Worried that the boys had developed extreme personalities – one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist – their parents took them to a psychiatrist.

First the psychiatrist treated the pessimist. Trying to brighten his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with brand-new toys. But instead of yelping with delight, the little boy burst into tears. 'What's the matter?' the psychiatrist asked, baffled. 'Don't you want to play with any of the toys?' 'Yes,' the little boy bawled, 'but if I did I'd only break them.'

Next the psychiatrist treated the optimist. Trying to dampen his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure. But instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the optimist emitted just the yelp of delight the psychiatrist had been hoping to hear from his brother, the pessimist. Then he clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to his knees, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands. 'What do you think you're doing?' the psychiatrist asked, just as baffled by the optimist as he had been by the pessimist. 'With all this manure,' the little boy replied, beaming, 'there must be a pony in here somewhere!'
 
6. If you put on a big feast, what would you serve? What's the occasion? Unless it's Thanksgiving or Christmas, the main course would be manicotti with lots of garlic bread. The appetizer would be your choice of shrimp cocktail or garden salad (because not everyone likes shellfish). Dessert would be a tray of cookies, so you can choose what and how many you want. By the way, I don't know how to prepare any of these things.

7. How do you have fun? (What is your favorite 'Earthly Delight'?) I like movies and books.

8. Do you often look for hidden messages and meanings? In what?

9. Have you ever received an award or special position? Yes.

10. If a revolution was about to happen in your country, would you be part of it? Probably not. I'm a big fan of our Constitution. I believe we can resist the Trump Presidency using the systems our forefathers put in place. It's almost as if they saw DJT coming.

11. Have you ever planned an act of revenge? Yes.

12. What is the most dramatic thing you have ever done? I ended an argument by ending the relationship. I still regret what I did that night, and how I did it.

13. Do you care about your weight? Yes.

14. Is your life moving too slowly or too fast? Too fast.

15. Do you prefer to stay in the shade? Yes. I burn easily.

16. If you could have any mural on your ceiling, what would it look like? Chicago's skyline and Lake Michigan always take my breath.

17. Do you enjoy the countryside? Sure

18. Are you a romantic? Yes.

19. What is your favorite historic subject? The 60s (the 1860s and the 1960s).

20. Do you prefer landscape paintings? Not especially.

21. Are you interested in social issues? Yes.

It didn't happen to me

This isn't about me, it's about Barb. After 11 months of battling two different cancers, her husband has died.

I found out though a pair of emails last night. I don't know how she's disposing of his remains, but we're celebrating his life with a memorial service at their favorite restaurant in mid-September.

She describes herself as "heartbroken" and "adrift." I am overwhelmed ... I don't know why. After all:

1) We've all known this was coming for a long time. It is not a shock.

2)  He suffered so -- in an out of the hospital like a yo-yo, reduced to a pin cushion for IVs. I truly believe this is a blessing for him.

I think it's because their love story was so inspiring to me. Barb waited until she was over 50 to get married, and it was delightful to see her so happy. To many, Barb is viewed as a tough and successful career woman. Her husband tapped into a sense of fun that not everyone gets to see. He encouraged her to play. I remember her delight when she came up with an elaborate scheme to give him a Fender guitar for his Christmas. (Read it here.)

And now it's over. So while Barb and her husband are certainly in my prayers, I can't deny the loss I feel, too. I'm worried about my friend, of course, and angry that the world has been cheated of their happy ending.

August Happiness Challenge: Day 26

Rizz loves a reunion

On Day 26, I was happy that we got the band back together. The community center where my movie group meets was renovated this summer, so we had nowhere to watch films for more than a month.

Last night found us altogether again! Our moderator, Will. Joanna and Betty and me. All enjoying Meet John Doe on the big screen, all participating -- with some newbies -- in the conversation afterward. This experience of getting my geek on with fellow geeks made me happy. Afterward, Joanna and I stopped for some apps and a catch up about our personal lives.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AuSaturgust Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: I Wish It Would Rain (1968)
... because Janelle recommended the Temptations

1) This week's song focuses on rain. Ombrophobia -- the fear of rain -- is fairly common in children. How do you feel about rainy days? I take them as they come. They don't intrigue me but they don't bother me, either. Since I don't drive, rain does have an impact on when I do my grocery shopping.

 

2) Lead singer David Ruffin always wore corrective lenses. Are you wearing glasses or contact lenses as you answer these questions? Yes. Nice, thick Coke bottle glasses. I only wear these around the house because they remind me of Judith Light in Who's the Boss. 

3) Those thick-rimmed glasses were David's trademark. When he custom-ordered a luxury car, he had the image of those glasses painted on the door. Tell us something that makes your vehicle distinctive.  I share it with more than 391,000 other Chicagoans, since my car is on the CTA Green Line train.

4) David also had a penchant for mink. Rumor has it that he wore a mink-lined hat and even had that car upholstered in mink. If you could really splurge on anything right now, what would it be? Car? Travel? Clothes? Jewelry? (NO responsible answers allowed.) I'd take my nephew to Washington DC. He so wants to go and I'd love to share it with him.

5) He sings that he badly wants to go outside. What are your plans for today? Will you be outdoors very much? On Saturday I'm getting my hair cut and colored and then I'm off to meet up with my movie group. I'll be outside during the commutes to and fro.

6) The Temptations originally called themselves The Elgins because in 1960, Elgin watches were the high-end timepiece of choice. Today, in the age of cellphones and FitBits, wristwatches aren't that popular anymore. Do you often wear a watch? Yes. It's more for comfort these days, as I usually check the clock in the right hand corner of my computer screen when I want the time. The other day, I didn't even notice until afternoon that I had my watch on upside down.
 

7) This sad song was inspired by a real-life event. Motown songwriter Rodger Penzabene discovered his wife was cheating on him. Much to his own surprise, he didn't want to divorce or even separate from her; he just wanted her to love him and only him again. Tell us about a time when you didn't react as you thought you would. (Your story doesn't have to be as dramatic as Rodger's.) The Cubs winning the World Series was more important to me than I thought it would be. After all, I've been a loyal and loving fan of losing teams as well as winning ones for more than half a century. I knew that when the 2017 season opened, I'd be rooting for them, no matter how that final series with the Indians turned out. And yet it sure as shit did matter. It was glorious! It made me feel connected to relatives -- my grandparents, my dad, my uncle -- who weren't here to see it. It also helped bond me tighter to both of my nephews, who thought of me instantly when Rizz made that last out. 

In the immortal words of Roy Hobbs:

8) In 1968, when this song was popular, a Pittsburgh McDonald's sold the first Big Mac (two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickle and onion on a sesame seed bun). Describe your perfect hamburger. Lettuce, cheese, mayo and barbecue sauce.

9) Random question: When you catch a cold, do you soldier through it? Or are you a big baby? I used to tough it out, but now I stay home if I can. We all share the same space at work now, and if one person gets a cold, soon we all have it. It seems more considerate to isolate myself if I can.

August Happiness Challenge: Day 25

Rizz loves love

On Day 25, I was happy for a few minutes with Napoleon. Back on Day 9, I introduced all of you to Grey and White Kitten. I look for him and the homeless person who adopted him every morning en route to work. I've given them some canned food and change and dollar bills and ... here's the thing. That cat is so calm, such a little purr box that I know the couple that care for him must be gentle and attentive. I support that. There's good in people who are good to critters.

Since Day 9, I've learned that the kitten's name is Napoleon. This morning he was curled up tight as a little fur shrimp, sleeping soundly even as traffic raced by and commuters and even dogs filed past him. He absent-mindedly purred as I stroked his head, though he didn't seem particularly interested in me. He was too sleepy.

His human told me that they pitched their tent last night near the Chicago River. He reports that it's a good thing Napoleon was tethered to a leash, because the frogs were out in force and Napoleon was out after them. That's why he was so tired this morning. And it occurred to me that, while being homeless and sleeping in a tent by the river is not necessarily desirable for humans, it's undoubtedly heaven for Napoleon.

I worry about them when it gets cold. There are shelters that allow pets, but I doubt the dogs and cats Napoleon will come in contact with have been immunized. Still, he's certainly loved and comfortable, and that makes me happy.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AuSaturgust Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

August Happiness Challenge: Day 24

Rizz loves teamwork

On Day 24, I'm happy for support. I've been so stressed about internal politics. As I've worked on this latest project, my efforts haven't been about what's right for the client -- whom I admire -- and moving their business forward. It's been about whether or not I can get past our 27-year-old account exec, who is harder to get past than Cerberus, and just about as pleasant.

My skin's a mess. I blame her.

I showed my efforts to my boss, who focused where I needed him to focus and made valuable contributions. I ran everything by an exceptional designer here on staff, who also pitched in.

Even better, both my boss and the other designer volunteered to be present when I finally show account exec everything. I feel so much better knowing they're with me on this. They have faith in my efforts, they appreciate how hard I've worked, and they have my back.

Now maybe my skin will start to heal.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AuSaturgust Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

Now I'm a believer

I always love the Cubs, no matter what. But I've had my heart broken so often that I'm afraid to hope for much. After all, 2016 was a magic season. Shouldn't I just be grateful for that and not greedily hope for a repeat?

HA! My guys have more faith in themselves than I have had in them.

Willson Contreras is out ... Addison Russell is out ... Jon Lester is out ... Kris Bryant is hurt ... and yet they have been winning.

I am now looking forward to October. Another play-off run. Yea!

August Happiness Challenge: Day 23

Rizz is happy about saving money.

On Day 23, I'm happy for a fan in the window. For the first time in weeks, I've gone without running my home AC for more than 24 hours. After seeing Thursday's weather report, I'm going for 48. Less air conditioning is better for the environment, and my electric bill.

If you want to play along, just come back here (meaning to this blog, not this individual post) each day in August, looking for the Happy Cub. Every day I will try to have a post with the headline: August Happiness Challenge: Day [X]. Leave a comment and then post your own daily happiness, with AuSaturgust Happiness Challenge in the title to make it easy to find.

When Van Met Liz: The Van Johnson Blogathon

This Technicolor romance is the first Van Johnson movie I ever saw, and I saw it all the time. It seems the local TV stations could not show this romance enough. After school, while doing my homework ... after midnight, while babysitting ... Van Johnson/Charles Willis kept me company. Now it's frequently on cable, and whenever I happen on it, I stop to watch. I suspect these regular showings are because The Last Time I Saw Paris has been in the public domain for decades, not because of its quality or enduring popularity.

I don't care. I always enjoy it.

In a movie filled with Hollywood star power and European glamor, Van Johnson instantly feels familiar. He represents us, the average Americans. 

Early in the film, his character, Charles Willis, is a correspondent for Stars and Stripes, reporting on World War II from his post in Paris. On VE Day, Paris erupts in joy and relief. Charles and his buddies are swept up in the excitement and the parties that have spilled onto the streets. An impulsive, beautiful girl takes a look at Charles, likes what she sees, and plants a celebratory kiss on him. Then she disappears into the crowd.

Charles and his roving band of Yankee soldiers and journalists move the party to a cafe, where he finds himself chatting amiably with an American named Marion (Donna Reed). Smart, sensible and pretty Marion likes Charles immediately and invites him home to meet her father and join her family for a more formal celebration.

Americans in Paris

He meets, and is charmed by, Marion's louche father (Walter Pidgeon), a WWI veteran who fell in love with Paris and never left. Charles also meets, and is mesmerized by, Marion's kid sister, Helen (Elizabeth Taylor). Turns out that Helen is the girl who kissed him in the street. The attraction between them is immediate and irresistible. They begin a romance, and Marion is left on the outside, looking in.

Helen and Charles begin their life together in post-war Paris. They marry, and her father moves in with them. Marion tries to move on and marries a staid, decent Parisian lawyer named Claude. Neither daughter has much money, but both seem happy (or in Marion's case, as happy as she can be, with her kid sister married to the man she really wants). Charles is a journalist by day and a novelist by night, and Claude is slowly moving up the ladder in the French justice system. Helen is still a wild child, but Charles finds her enchanting, and clearly enjoys his wife and their daughter, Vickie (Sandy Descher).

Daddy's girl

Those are my favorite scenes, the domestic ones between Charles and Vickie. There's a naturalness between father and daughter that adds poignancy to the plot as it unfolds. In fact, I find greater chemistry between Johnson and Descher than between Van and Liz.

Then our expatriates receive some surprising news from home. It seems that decades ago, Helen's and Marion's father came into possession of some "worthless" Texas oil leases. Suddenly those "worthless" leases are anything but, and as wells gush oil, our characters find themselves awash in cash.

At first, everything is delightful. Charles can quit his job at the newspaper and concentrate on his novels! Helen is convinced that he has the talent to write something that can be both a critical and financial success, if he sticks to it. The money raises Claude's and Marion's profile in Paris and Claude lands an important job as a prosecutor.

Helen tries to reach a boozy Charles

But as the bank balances go up, the guardrails come down. When Charles' manuscripts are rejected, he drinks ... a lot. (Why not? He no longer has a day job.) As her husband becomes moodier and more withdrawn, Helen amps up her party girl ways. (Why not? There's always someone to run her home, even when she's not there.)

And there are his-and-hers affairs. Charles takes up with a glamorous European widow (Eva Gabor) he once interviewed back when he had a job, and Helen allows herself to be seduced by a handsome British tennis player who has landed in Paris (an impossibly young Roger Moore in his first film role). These affairs feel strangely antiseptic -- perhaps because Charles and Helen are still in love with each other and are using these extramarital adventures to try to recapture supremacy in one another's lives. I shall end my synopsis here, to avoid spoiling the tragic ending of The Last Time I Saw Paris for anyone who hasn't seen it.

Instead I'll close with some film facts:

•  While today, The Last Time I Saw Paris is dismissed as soapy, at the time it was a prestige project. Taken from an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story and filmed on location in Paris and Monte Carlo, it boasted the current "hot" director (Richard Brooks) and wardrobe by Helen Rose.

•  Van Johnson took this role when Gregory Peck had conflicting commitments. I think that's all for the best. Charles tells much of this story in flashback, and therefore is with us almost every moment. Johnson had a lighter touch than Peck, and that made him very comfortable company over the movie's nearly two-hour running time.

•  It was Van's last role for MGM, and he went out with a bang. Not only was The Last Time I Saw Paris a success at the box office, it's one of the only two hits MGM had that year. (The other was The Long, Long Trailer.)

•  The Last Time I Saw Paris will be shown on August 31 as part of TCM's Summer Under the Stars Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor.

Want more Van Johnson? 

Fortunately, there's a blogathon going on! 

Check it out at Love Letters to Old Hollywood.