Upside Down Cats

George Carlin and I share a birthday - well, the day, not the year. That fact has always made me feel a special kinship with him, as fellow members of the May 12th Club. It's silly, I know, but I feel the same connection to Emilio Estevez, Katherine Hepburn, Yogi Berra, Burt Bacharach, Tom Snyder, Stephen Baldwin, Bruce Boxleitner, Billy Squier, Gabriel Byrne, our dear friend Stacy and, of course, Florence Nightingale. It never ceases to amaze me how much I have in common with each and every one of these intelligent, charming and talented people!

George has been among my favorite comedians - and public people - all my life. What a multi-faceted talent! His blend of sharp, insightful and fearless comedy makes me laugh and think simultaneously. He is responsible for a large part of my sense of humor and world view. It should come as no surprise that he appears on the guest list for my fantasy dinner party along with a plethora of other fascinating people.

Continue reading "George On My Mind" »

Before we get any farther into the New Year, I would like to acknowledge some of the celebrities who passed away in 2007.

This is in no way a complete list of celebrity deaths...it is merely a list of those with whom I am familiar and will therefore miss at least a bit now that they are no longer here to entertain.

Since I am youngest in a large family, I was exposed to television and movies that were considerably before my time by my older siblings, parents and grandmother. I come from a family of TV and movie trivia buffs, too. These things must have rubbed off on me, explaining why so many of these older personalities are familiar to me.

I can't think of a better example to illustrate the depth of my trivial knowledge than the following list of deceased celebrities with whom I am familiar:

Continue reading "Farewell, Familiar Faces..." »

I am sad to be the bearer of this grim news, but the awful truth must be told...

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is dead.

Continue reading "Requiem For A Reindeer?" »

I'm writing about things for which I am thankful throughout November, also known as National Blog Posting Month. Today on day nineteen of NaBloPoMo, I am in a reflective mood. Looking through family photos earlier today brought back a flood of evocative memories. Many of the photos reminded me of my dad, who passed away ten years ago.

The photos have brought to the forefront of my mind that I am thankful for my dad.

Continue reading "Daddy's Little Girl" »

"Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all." - William Goldman, "The Princess Bride"

I guess no one ever promised this ride was going to be fair at the beginning, middle or the end...

 

Although I've never read The Princess Bride, it is one of my favorite movies! It's one of those movies I can watch again and again, or even pick up in the middle and watch the remainder without feeling I've had an incomplete experience!

In fact, we incorporated copies of the DVD into some very unique Christmas gifts we gave last year...We made "Family Movie Night" gift bags which included The Princess Bride DVD, several blanket throws (how many depended on the size of the family), and tubs of homemade flavored popcorn. We love to give different and meaningful gifts, and we felt really good about these!

In looking over William Goldman's biography, I have discovered that in the course of his writing career (which spans the last five decades) he has written 26 screenplays which have been produced into movies and 14 novels. I think that qualifies him as prolific! Check out his credits by clicking the Wikipedia link to his name above...it's like a list of some of the best movies ever made, and he wrote them all!

I love finding out surprising facts about someone...I only knew his name as the writer of The Princess Bride before I found the above quote. Now I know a bit more about a very talented man.

Why do spiders have this effect on me...?

Not that I'm unique in my abject disgust for these hideous creatures, but why do they affect me like this...? I certainly don't have any spider horror story about a masochistic brother's spider collection being let loose on my bed, or anything...

I just killed what I think is the biggest spider I have ever seen in person right here in the daycare playroom! We've had so many spiders in the house in the past two weeks...Considering all the rain we've had lately, I think they are coming inside in droves to find dry land. I am going to try not to let the fact that I am completely freaked out right now cause me to exaggerate my description of the size of this revolting thing...half-dollar size, maybe! I was putting away cots after nap time and there it was...just staring at me - nay - challenging me.

Continue reading "Arachnophobia In The Afternoon" »

What would I do without Michael Wade's Execupundit blog to cull thought-provoking material for me to consider and share? Today he pointed me to a poignant essay by author Mark Stevens, entitled, The Sun Never Shines At Night - The Moon Never Cries In The Morning. Please do yourself a favor and read this inspirational piece.

My favorite excerpt is this: "Probably the truest axiom is that the secret to life is enjoying the passage of time. That’s all you need to do… and it is endlessly wonderful. Because when the business dies, you can form another. When the job turns into a drudge, you can walk across the street. When the strategy or the campaign fails-and ultimately it will-you can rethink it and raise the curtain on ACT II."

Continue reading "It's Not The Destination But ... »

In honor of my theme, I dragged out the old photo album today and found some more upside down cat photos. Scanning them into the computer was a little bit emotional.

The pictures of my best gal pal Abbey when she was a wee one sure made me teary…”My, how much my baby has grown…!” She’s always been of the “upside down” persuasion, as you can see. Abbey has officially ‘adopted’ me as her favorite person in the whole entire world, and I must say that I have a particular soft spot for her as well. (Of course mothers can never pick favorites…)

Even more emotional were the photos of Penny… Continue reading "Ok, So I’m Going To Get ... »