These are the thoughts and observations of me — a woman of a certain age. (Oh, my, God, I'm 65!) I'm single. I'm successful enough (independent, self supporting). I live just outside Chicago, the best city in the world. I'm an aunt and a friend. I feel that voices like mine are rather underrepresented online or in print. So here I am. If my musings resonate with you, please visit my blog again sometime.
I got this from survey the Girl with the White Parasol, who found it at Frankly My Dear. If you play along, let me know so I can check out your answers. (And if you love old movies, I recommend you visit those ladies' impressive blogs.)
Now I have answered these without checking out anyone else's answers. For the record, I define "classic" as anything before 1970 (making it 40 or more years old).
1. Favorite classic Disney?Mary Poppins. First of all, because it was the first movie I ever saw in the theater.
I remember everything about it … once the coming attractions ended,
the heavy red curtains closed, then reopened, and there they were, the
rooftops of London! Magic! I have loved going to the movies ever since. Secondly, because for once, old Walt wasn't a sadist. I'll never forgive him for Bambi's mother, or Simba cuddling up to a dead Mufasa, or worst of all, that poor Old Yeller Dog. There's no tragedy in Mary Poppins. And lastly, she really was Practically Perfect in Every Way.
2. Favorite film from the year 1939? I wish I could honestly say Dark Victory or Love Affair, because naming those under-appreciated jewels would help establish my bona fides as a serious film buff. But in truth, my favorite is Gone with the Wind. Which, I guess, just makes me a movie fan.
3. Favorite Carole Lombard Screwball role? I loved her. So beautiful, so elegant, so freakin' funny. I have seen My Man Godfrey most often, but I'm gonna go with Nothing Sacred because I loved her overwhelming hunger to get out of that small town and never, ever go back. Also because the whole movie is so refreshingly irreverent.
4. Favorite off screen couple? (It’s ok if it ended in divorce.) Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. I loved the idea of their off screen life together more than I enjoyed any of their onscreen pairings.
5. Favorite pair of best friends?(i.e: Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford) I didn't know Stanwyck and Crawford were friends! But I have always thought the lifelong friendship of Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowell was adorable.
6. Favorite actor with a mustache? Gable. Because he looks like he knows what I would look like without my shimmy.
7. Favorite blonde actress? Marilyn Monroe.
8. Favorite pre-code? Sorry. I got nothin'.
9. Which studio would you have liked to join? MGM. More stars than heaven! I love the stories like how, on Gable's birthday, young Judy Garland came to sing "You Made Me Love You" directly to him. Of course, since I lean to pudgy, Mr. Mayer would probably limit me to chicken soup in the commissary like he did poor Judy.
10. Favorite common on screen pairing that SHOULD have gotten married? Myrna Loy and William Powell.
11. Favorite I Love Lucy episode? When Lucy and Ethel can't stand Ricky and Fred anymore and escape from Hollywood for a weekend in Palm Springs and end up sharing their troubles with Rock Hudson. Aside from the unintended humor that comes from the girls getting marital advice from the screen's ultimate "confirmed bachelor," I love Rock's sweet sincerity and tuneless whistle.
12.
Out of these actresses which one do you like best: Lucille Ball, Ingrid
Bergman, Natalie Wood, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Greer Garson, Grace
Kelly, or Katharine Hepburn? Lately I am appreciating Natalie Wood more and more, but no one can ever approach the Great Kate in my book.
13. Shadowy film noir from the 1940’s or splashy colorful musicals from the 1950’s? All singing! All dancing! All color for this gal.
14. Actor or actress with the best autograph (photo preferred). Judy Garland, because you can make out every single letter. For a woman with such a chaotic life, she had a remarkably controlled signature.
15. A baby (or childhood or teenage) photo of either your favorite actress or actor (or both if you'd like.) Here's the Sundance Kid's graduation photo.
I picked up Sir Paul's latest, Kisses on the Bottom, and look what came along with it! As a special promotion, a Valentine with Macca on the front, holding a bouquet, was included with the CD.
After all these years, my one true love came through on Valentine's Day!
I like this CD. Especially this one. It's one of the new ones among the standards, written for the new Mrs.
I called and left a message for the White House today. It was in praise of the President's support for equal access to affordable birth control. But it doesn't really matter why I called. It's the fact that I could call.
I realize that there are women in other parts of the world who can't just sit at their desks, pick up the phone and call the President and make their feelings known.
As we wait to see who will be named Best Actress of 2011, let's
look back on the lady who owns the category, the incomparable Katharine Hepburn.
1) She won four Oscars in the lead category, more than any other actor or actress ... ever. Meryl Streep is unlikely to top her, since of the two Oscars she currently has, the first was for Best Supporting Actress.
2) She had twelve Oscar nominations, spanning the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 80s.
3) She tied with Barbra Streisand for Best Actress of 1968. Babs won for Funny Girl, Kate for The Lion in Winter. This was only the second, and most recent, tie in Oscar history.
4) Streisand accepted her Oscar in person, but Kate did not. She never showed up for the ceremonies as a nominee, saying that sitting through the broadcast, waiting to hear if she won, would give her "dyspepsia."
5) She also never sent anyone to accept "on her behalf." Though all of her Oscars were sent to her home in Connecticut.
6) She did show up for one Oscar ceremony, in the late 1960s. But that year she was not a nominee. She presented the Irving Thalberg Award to her friend, Lawrence Weingarten. She avoided the red carpet and, instead of couture, wore a white turtleneck with black jacket and slacks. Wonder what Joan Rivers and Guiliana Rancic would have made of that?
7) Cate Blanchette won an Oscar simply for playing Kate. I thought she was a lovely Hepburn to Leo's Howard Hughes in The Aviator.
8) Hepburn won her first Oscar playing a struggling actress in Morning Glory. That was back in 1933. It was only her third movie. She was 26 years old.
9) There were only two other actresses nominated back then -- May Robson and Dana Wyland. I have no idea who either of those ladies were.
10) She won her other three Oscars playing mothers. Even though she was childless in real life.
11) Jane Fonda and Anthony Hopkins were among her children in those Oscar-winning turns. Fonda was her daughter in On Golden Pond, Hopkins was her son in The Lion in Winter. Her real-life niece and namesake, Katharine Houghton, played her daughter in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
12) Two actors won Oscars for playing opposite her: Henry Fonda in On Golden Pond and James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story. These were the only Oscars those screen legends ever won.
13) According to TCM, her most popular movie is not an Oscar winner. They get consistently very high ratings whenever they broadcast her screwball classic, Bringing Up Baby. When that movie was first released in 1938, it was a box office bomb.
I want my friends to not have such worrisome career issues! My friend in the Keys is faced with selling his home (which won't be easy) and moving. But I have no confidence whatsoever that his lover is on board with this and I worry about their relationship. The hospital my oldest friend moved to Beverly Hills to work for finally canned her, and now she's going to make another ill-advised, poorly thought-out move.
I am fighting the impulse to just say to both of them, "Move over and let me drive." I am losing that battle. But I must engage again, for I want to be supportive, not bossy or insensitive.
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions… 1. What are you currently reading? 2. What did you recently finish reading? 3. What do you think you’ll read next?
1. MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a Best Friend. It's just what it says it is -- a writer's chronicle of trying to make good girlfriends in a new city (Chicago). It's funny and sweet and, so far, feels very true to life about how hard it is to make deep, platonic connections with new people once we grow older and away from school. (Though to be honest, I've been very lucky in this regard.)
2. The Beatles: The Biography.Incredibly readable! I came away thinking again of two important supporting characters in the Beatles saga: Brian Epstein and Yoko Ono. Brian, the manager who helped catapult them to fame, was at heart a fan who served and loved the lads well, if not wisely. It was so sad to watch him rendered obsolete by their success. Yoko comes off as the other side of that coin. She didn't care about the Beatles except as her entree to fame and tool to advance her own career. Would they have eventually broken up without her? Probably. Would it have been as acrimonious? I doubt it.
3. Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America. Warren Beatty has made comparatively few films but some of my favorite movies. Yet, the author opines, he's unknown to anyone under 30 and a joke to moviegoers under 40. How did he achieve so much so fast, and why isn't he now respected as an elder statesman of cinema, like his contemporaries Eastwood and Redford? The answers are what this exhaustive (600+ pages) biography promises to deliver.
So today, after about a half hour of cardio, I dropped down and did fireplugs* again for the first time in ages. Why? Because I dreamed about doing them, and in the dream I was very satisfied by this adventure in physical exertion.
It felt better in my dream. I have a ways to go before my flesh-and-blood body catches up to my sleepy-time ideal.
*You know -- you're down on all fours. Keeping your right knee bent, you lift it a
little off the floor and then lift it to the right without straightening
it or changing the level of your hips. Then bring it down slooooowly.
This is a writing meme! I love the idea of getting a writing assignment that doesn't involve selling shit (which, as a copywriter, is my day job).
Here are the rules, and they are ruled by 3's. I am given one word but must use its third definition. I must use more than 33 words but less than 333. And I am required to construct more than three sentences.
To the casual observer, our national pasttime is really pretty simple. Gentle and lighthearted. Associated with peanuts and Cracker Jack, sunshine and good times.
Yet the more closely you follow major league baseball, the more you see that it's really nine innings of drama -- sometimes more because there's no such thing as a tie -- played out more than 160 times a season, sometimes more, if your team gets into the play-offs. There's the power struggle between pitcher and catcher. The face-off between pitcher and batter. The race to the bag between the base runner and the infielder. The tricks the sun and the shadows play on the outfielder. Observe more closely and it's no languid summer entertainment. Baseball is as fraught with danger and suspense as the best Hitchcock movie.
And the history! I am a Cub fan because my parents and both sets of grandparents were Cub fans. I no longer worship in the same church they did, but I religiously pay my respects to that enduring tabernacle of baseball, Wrigley Field. I am thrilled it was I who took my young nephew to his first game. From the stands I pointed out the pennants that represent the retired jerseys of Cub greats. It was by showing him #23 Ryne Sandberg that I brought his great-grandmother to life, explaining how she was loyal to the Cubs and loved her Ryno beyond all. It made him happy to think of how proud his great-grandparents would be to know he was following in their Cub fan footsteps.
Soon it starts again. In just 11 days, the Cubs' pitchers and catchers report for spring training and an exciting new chapter begins. My heart is racing, my hopes are high. For baseball -- like ice cream and some of the best people I know -- is more enduring, engaging and deep than it appears at first glance and I cannot wait to immerse myself in the 2012 season.
Some of my most productive thinking seems to be happening while I'm asleep these days.
First I had a kick-ass, inspirational conversation with my imaginary best friend, Elizabeth Edwards, who shared her secret to resilience -- forgive yourself your past, accept it, and then concentrate on the present. She convinced me that my happy future will come from a focused present.
Then last night I dreamed, strangely enough, of doing floor exercises. Fireplugs*, to be exact. Because of a client conference call I missed my lunchtime workout. But I felt so good in the dream that I made healthier choices at lunch -- egg salad with lots of lettuce from the buffet rather than eggs benedict from the pancake house -- and I have no doubt it will inspire me to work out tonight in front of the TV. I want to feel good again, like I used to, before I became such a moo-cow.
*You know -- you're down on all fours Keeping your right knee bent, you lift it a
little off the floor and then lift it to the right without straightening
it or changing the level of your hips. Then bring it down slooooowly.
1) What format did you start listening to music on? Vinyl
2) When was the last time you called in sick to work? Were you actually sick? Friday, January 13. I had a doctor's appointment. Since it was scheduled, I was technically supposed to take it as a personal or vacation day. But that doesn't make sense to me, since if it was a sudden trip it would qualify as a sick day. So I felt completely justified in lying.
3) Would you rather be poor and work at a job you love or be rich and work at a job you hate? I know I should say the former but I think, at this late stage in my career, I'd go for the latter. I'd like to make a lot and then retire.
4) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one. It looks humid, which means my hair probably looks like hell.
26) Are you happy with the person you've become? Often.
27) What's a sound you hate; sound you love? Hate: the sound of cardboard against cardboard (think: assembling moving boxes); Love: a cat's pur.
28) What's your biggest "what if"? What if I'd told him I loved him when I had the chance.
29) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Ghosts -- not in the Caspar sense. Aliens -- yes, because my grandpa was an alien when he immigrated from Germany.
30) Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm. Right: my cat Charlotte. Left: the remote control (I'm watching Jurassic Park -- the poor goat is about to meet a very sad fate).
31) Smell the air. What do you smell? Nothing in particular.
32) What's the worst place you have ever been to? A porta-potty at Taste of Chicago. Take my advice: Avoid sharing facilities with more than 3 million sweaty and beer-sodden neighbors.
33) Choose: East Coast or West Coast? East coast. Especially Boston.
34) Most attractive singer of your opposite gender? The Cute One.
35) To you, what is the meaning of life? To enjoy the ride.
38) Patriots or Giants? Or, who gives a rat's ass? I'll go with the rodent's tush.
39) Will you watch the game? If yes, with who? I won't watch the game. I work for an advertising agency. You have no idea how freaking sick I am of everything Super Bowl related by the time the game finally airs.
40) Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? I don't drive anymore. But back in the olden days when I did, I scraped up against a street lamp while parking. (I was an awful parker.)
45) What's the worst injury you've ever had? When I was a little girl I broke my clavicle. I have only the faintest memory of it.
46) Have you ever caught a butterfly? No.
47) Do you have any obsessions right now? Same old, same old: The Cute One and The Cubs. (Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in less than two weeks!)
48) What's your sexual orientation? Hetero
49) Ever had a rumor spread about you? Oh, yes! I believe one of the more recent ones is that I may not be hetero after all.
She is a heroine of mine. Her books touched me deeply, and I mourned her death. I selfishly miss her because I think she still had things to teach me. There was something about her unsparing candor and inherent dignity that got through to me and made me hear her. I think that's why I dreamed of her.
An ex has been on my mind after a decades-long respite. He contacted me out of the blue in 2008 and has continued to do so with regularity -- through a friend, through Facebook, through my work email (that really freaked me out). He wants to talk to me, to apologize, even visit me in person to gain my forgiveness.
I don't forgive and I don't trust him. The cruelty he was capable of (both physical and emotional) was breathtaking. The insensitivity he shows by continuing to approach me, even though I have given him no encouragement whatsoever, indicates he's still narcissistic and heedless of my feelings.
I came upon his name and photos of him this Thursday because a national newspaper did a front page human interest story about him. At first it awakened my inner cynic -- I wondered how many asses he kissed, how many he had to dazzle with his obviously still-potent superficial charm, to get that kind of exposure.
Then I kept returning to it. The same way you can't keep your tongue out of a cavity. Staring at his picture, remembering his voice.
And last night I heard from my buddy Elizabeth. We were sitting together in in her Chapel Hill home, and she was telling me to just let it go. That the past is pfft! gone. That I have to live in the here and now, and he has no place in my here and now. That I have to accept the scars -- visible and invisible -- forgive myself for falling for him, and concentrate on my own life.
How wise of her! And how resilient of me to call upon her.
I went to the endodontist this morning ... and was there until late into the afternoon. The root canal my dentist thought I needed is a definite. Ooooh. Ick. There goes another $800* on top of the $600 I knew I'd be spending for the porcelain crown.
Normally I'd be pissed about this.
Except that the endodontist initially warned me that she was afraid the tooth might need to be pulled and I'd need a bridge. THAT IS SO NOT GOOD!
So, while I'm unhappy about the unexpected expense of the root canal, I am relieved the doc believes the tooth can be saved.
*That's an estimate. I'm so confused at this point about what my dental insurance will and won't pay for that I'm trying to just let it go.
1. I read that Bud Weiser & Kathy moved into their new house! When was the last time you moved? Where to? This condo. 10 years ago. I hate moving and hope to never do so again.
2. If they were making a Hall of Fame for the blogosphere, name a blogger or two who you think should make the list. Why? I'm not answering this. I'm a Cub fan who prayed for Ron Santo to make the HoF every year and the bastards turned him down at every opportunity -- until after he died! So, to safeguard the health and welfare of the bloggers I would nominate, I'm keeping their names to myself.
3. What are couple
of funny things you remember your parents saying? (Like, “They're
starving there in China, so finish what you've got.” - John Lennon) Do
you say them to your kids? "I'll give you something to cry about," was my dad's mantra. I don't have kids, so I can't mess them up.
4. What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle? Last September I had two biopsies -- one for ovarian cancer, one for uterine cancer -- and they both came back benign. I know so many people whose lives have been touched by cancer that I now ask, "Why NOT me?"
5. What is it too late for? "Goodbyes." (My nod to John's eldest.)
6. What do you try to stay away from? Second-hand smoke. It smells bad and it's bad for the lungs and complexion.
7. When you get into a disagreement or fight, how often are you the first to apologize? Depends on who it's with.
8. Tell us about a current issue that you’re unhappy with. How nasty and disrespectful my fellow liberals are being to Mitt Romney. After the Clinton and Obama Presidencies, after John Kerry was "swiftboated," I expect this kind of bullshit from the right wing nut jobs, but I'm disappointed by those who should know how corrosive this ugly talk is. It's one thing to disagree with Mitt Romney's economic and domestic policies (I do, and you should, too). It's positive political discourse to bring up his attitude toward the tax code, or gay rights, or a woman's right to choose. It's not helpful to dismiss him as "Willard" or "Mittens," to knock him for his faith or appearance or other extraneous personal issues. If it's bad when "they" do it to "our guy," it's just as bad when "we" do it to "their guy." I expect better from my progressive brothers and sisters. THIS IN NO WAY APPLIES TO NEWT GINGRICH, who had made personal behavior an issue when he actually tried to unseat a sitting President over a blow job.
9. How often do you update your blog/site and why? Every day. Because I want it to be an accurate journal of who I am and what's going on in my life, and that changes day-to-day.
Liberated this from The Girl with the White Parasol. If you choose to play along, let me know so I can check out your answers. Here are the rules:
Absolutely no costumes from an Alfred Hitchcock film.
No costumes worn by Grace Kelly.
No costumes worn by Audrey Hepburn.
Mine are all from the 1960s because it's the decade that had the greatest influence on my sensibility, and because I can't believe these movies are nearly 50 years old.
Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass. The outfit in her last scene provides the perfect visual coda. It's clean and white and fresh, indicating her rebirth and escape from the drab, repressive surroundings that caused her so much pain. (Anna Hill Johnstone)
Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. "Martha's Sunday chapel" pantsuit. It's so perfectly dreadful that it's perfect. It screams visually what she hollers literally, "I'm loud and I'm vulgar and I wear the pants in the house because somebody's got to." (Irene Sharaff)
Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins. La Liz' contemporary, Julie Andrews was her complete opposite number, as the costumes in their iconic roles reveal. Mary's wardrobe reveals that she reveals nothing. Buttoned up perfection. I doubt that scarf really added much warmth, but she wouldn't have felt dressed without it. (Tony Walton: costume consultant for Miss Andrews)
Katharine Hepburn in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Hey! You said "no Audrey Hepburn;" Kate wasn't mentioned in the rules at all! The pantsuit she wore said everything about the woman (both character and actress). It's casual, multi-layered, more about comfort than fashion ... and obviously of quality. (Jean Louise: Costume supervisor for women -- though it wouldn't surprise me if this came from Kate's closet.)
Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie's beret was so cool it's almost a character in the film. Idealized versions of the hat Bonnie Parker wore in real life, the berets are an inspired touch. The jauntiness they convey makes the inevitable carnage even more jarring. (Theoni Aldredge.)
Today at lunch I walked past a street musician who was playing "Here Comes the Sun" on the guitar. Two Asian businessmen in front of me were speaking animatedly in their native tongue until they picked up on the song. Then one said, in heavily accented English, "Here Comes the Sun." Together they sang a bit, "Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter ..." It was a lovely moment.
How satisfying it must be for Paul and Ringo to know how much joy they have brought generations, all around the world.
Yes, I know it's a George song, but I bet to these gentlemen it was simply, "The Beatles."
My ex, the really bad one, is front page news. He was mentioned prominently and favorably in a feature story on the front page of a national newspaper. Happy to see that he can still be superficially charming when it suits him.
I hate how much space he still takes up in my life. Must battle to let this go. Feeling this way does no good.
The movie, not the ship. As we wait to see which film will be named Best Picture of 2011, let's look back on the new classic that was named Best Picture of 1997. (14 years ago! Suddenly I feel quite old.)
1) The movie had been scheduled for release in Summer of 1997, but it was nowhere near ready. Industry buzz was that it would be an expensive flop when it was released that Christmas.
2) Titanic is the most successful movie to ever win The Best Picture Oscar. Movie goers bought approximately 390 million tickets to see it at the theater. That doesn't count sales/rentals of the DVD or subsequent viewings on TV. It's impossible to guess how many people have seen it worldwide. (When you adjust for inflation, Gone with the Wind and The Sound of Music both made more money in the US, but those movies weren't as popular overseas as Titanic.)
3) The movie's massive popularity translated into TV ratings. The Oscar telecast in 1998 had a viewership of 87 million in the US alone, the largest ever.
4) It was nominated for 14 Oscars … Tying with All About Eveas the most nominated of all time.
5) … and won 11. Tying with Ben Hur as the most Oscared of all time. (I've seen Titanic more than once, but am somehow not remotely interested in Ben Hur.)
6) Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart have the distinction of being nominated the same year for playing the same character in the same movie. They both lost. Kate to Helen Hunt in As Good as It Gets, Gloria to Kim Bassinger for LA Confidential.
7) The movie studio pressured director James Cameron to hire Matthew McConaughey for the role of Jack, but he insisted on Leonardo DiCaprio.
8) Cameron trusted Winslet to ad lib. Memorable moments he credits to her were Rose spitting in
Cal's face and saying to Jack, as the ship sinks, "This is where we
met."
9) Obsessed with the real ship, Cameron has taken several dives down to the Titanic. Since
the ship was only afloat for four days, Cameron believes it's possible
that, over the years, he has spent more time with the ship than her
original passengers did.
10) Much of the stateroom is historically accurate, but not the famous staircase. Men were taller in the 1990s than they were in 1912 and if the staircase had been built to scale, the actors would have looked disproportionately big.
11) That beautiful staircase actually was destroyed when literally ten thousand gallons of water crashed down it. Obviously that scene was shot in one take.
12) The "ocean" that the extras "drown" in was really only 3 feet deep. They were, however, stuck in it all day long for several days.
13) Originally "My Heart Will Go On" was an instrumental. At first Cameron was adamant about not wanting a theme song. Composer James Horner went to lyricist Will Jennings himself and commissioned lyrics, and the two men had Celine Dion record a demo before presenting it to James Cameron. (And now I will have that damn song in my head all day.)
Liberated from Snarky Pants. If you answer as well, let me know. I'd love to check out your responses, too.
1. What is your dream job?
This job is close. I enjoy being a writer and I still get a lot of pleasure out of a job well done. My client is ethical, and not all financial services providers are. I have fantabulous benefits, and after the surgery last year, I appreciate that so much. BUT the politics get me down. If I could work from home two days a week, only showing up at the office three, I think that would be ideal. I'd have less face-to-face with people who get on my last nerve, and I'd have energy to do other things.
2. What fulfills you?
Helping, sharing, affection. Genuine exchanges. Ali Wentworth wrote in Glamour about knowing her husband (George Stephanopolous) was "the one." She said being around him is as comfortable as a quilt, that he "gets" her as though they had always been members of the same tribe, that she can confess the most intimate things to him and still feel safe. Spending time with a friend like that is the most fulfilling thing I can imagine. When I think back on the bestest moments in my life, it's these.
3. What’s your greatest fear?
Being helpless. Dependent. Completely vulnerable. Utterly unacceptable to me!
4. What do you want more of in life?
Resources. Time and money and energy.
5. What is your greatest accomplishment?
I am exceptionally good with animals. Part of it is natural, some of it has been learned over time. One of my greatest feline teachers was Tara. She bore the scars, both physical and emotional, of abuse when I first brought her home. Considering how she'd been treated, the dignity with which she carried herself was enormously touching. Helping her learn to trust humans again, giving her a second chance and a peaceful life through the end of her days, is one of my greatest accomplishments. As are the happy lives I've given every other animal entrusted in my care ever since.
6. What are you ashamed of?
My sloppiness/laziness. I don't just mean the paper that has a tendency to take over my dining room paper. My emotions can overflow sloppily all over the place. And I can be very lazy. I hate that.
7. What makes you sad?
That, while I love my family very much, I don't feel like I'm one of them. Family gatherings can be my loneliest, saddest times.
8. What’s the hardest thing you’ve experienced?
I feel like the woman in this scene. As a child and teen I was beaten by my older sister, once thrown so hard into the stove that the force of my body caused a gas leak. I was sexually molested and taunted by a relative. Then I wasted a decade with a very cruel man.
I used to think it was all my fault, that there was something wrong with me that attracted fists. But I learned that it wasn't my fault. I was just born into a really messed up family and there was no one emotionally available or equipped to protect me when I was young. I was unwittingly being groomed for that abusive "romance." Now that I understand all this, it's my life now. My past is not my destiny. I can make my own happy ending!
9. What’s great about you?
I'm smart. I think on my feet. I'm passionate. I'm loyal. And I can find the humor in just about everything.
10. Who are you?
As Wilbur the Pig eulogized Charlotte, I am a true friend and a good writer.
11. What/Who inspires you?
Strength and discipline. I've told this story before, and I'll tell it again here:
These
two photos take turns on my desktop, revolving from one into the other,
telling the story of the day in the life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Onassis that provides just one example why I admire her so.
These
photos were taken the same afternoon, moments apart, in autumn, 1971.
The photographer who took the first shot and appears in the second shot is Ron Gallela. He hounded Jackie on a daily basis, dressing up as Santa Claus to shoot
her while shopping at Christmastime, hiding in coat racks for photos of
her dining and sometimes even smoking (gasp!) with friends, chasing her
in a speed boat while she water skied, following her into movie
theaters, etc. When her children were young they still had Secret
Service protection
and she would ask the agents to, "Please smash his camera," and usually
they would. It got so bad that in 1972, just months after this
incident, she actually took him to court and got a restraining order. I
often wonder what would have happened if Princess Diana had been as
ballsy as JBKO; perhaps she'd still be with us.
Anyway, Jackie
was running a quick errand, crossing Fifth Avenue in front of her
apartment building, when Galella sidled up near her and called her name.
She reflexively turned and smiled. When she saw who it was, and that
this time he had an accomplice with a camera, she simply slipped the
dark glasses on (thereby making the subsequent photos he shot worth a
little less), kept her face impassive and kept going.
She hated
Galella. He was a stalker and he frightened and enraged her. Yet look at
her control. Sure, she could have lost her temper with him (Marlon
Brando literally punched his teeth out), but that would have given
Galella a front-page shot he could have retired on. So she just withdrew
into herself and kept going.
I wear my heart on my sleeve. I have a difficult time with my temper, which often hurts no one else as much as it does me.
I
hope if I gaze at her long enough and remember the story, some of it
will rub off on me. "Remember, Gal, just put on your sunglasses and keep
going."
current time: 8:45 pm
I want my friends to not have such worrisome career issues! My friend in the Keys is faced with selling his home (which won't be easy) and moving. But I have no confidence whatsoever that his lover is on board with this and I worry about their relationship. The hospital my oldest friend moved to Beverly Hills to work for finally canned her, and now she's going to make another ill-advised, poorly thought-out move.
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
So today, after about a half hour of cardio, I dropped down and did fireplugs* again for the first time in ages. Why? Because I dreamed about doing them, and in the dream I was very satisfied by this adventure in physical exertion.
This is a writing meme! I love the idea of getting a writing assignment that doesn't involve selling shit (which, as a copywriter, is my day job).
I went to the endodontist this morning ... and was there until late into the afternoon. The root canal my dentist thought I needed is a definite. Ooooh. Ick. There goes another $800* on top of the $600 I knew I'd be spending for the porcelain crown. 
Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass. The outfit in her last scene provides the perfect visual coda. It's clean and white and fresh, indicating her rebirth and escape from the drab, repressive surroundings that caused her so much pain. (Anna Hill Johnstone)
Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie's beret was so cool it's almost a character in the film. Idealized versions of the hat Bonnie Parker wore in real life, the berets are an inspired touch. The jauntiness they convey makes the inevitable carnage even more jarring. (Theoni Aldredge.)
Today at lunch I walked past a street musician who was playing "Here Comes the Sun" on the guitar. Two Asian businessmen in front of me were speaking animatedly in their native tongue until they picked up on the song. Then one said, in heavily accented English, "Here Comes the Sun." Together they sang a bit, "Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter ..." It was a lovely moment.
My ex, the really bad one, is front page news. He was mentioned prominently and favorably in a feature story on the front page of a national newspaper. Happy to see that he can still be superficially charming when it suits him.
These
two photos take turns on my desktop, revolving from one into the other,
telling the story of the day in the life of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Onassis that provides just one example why I admire her so.
tion
and she would ask the agents to, "Please smash his camera," and usually
they would. It got so bad that in 1972, just months after this
incident, she actually took him to court and got a restraining order. I
often wonder what would have happened if Princess Diana had been as
ballsy as JBKO; perhaps she'd still be with us.
