Excuse the lack of spacing

I am not sure why on two of the three blogs I have posted thus far do not have proper spacing between paragraphs. I put the spaces in there while I was typing, I even tried to edit them, but alas it was not corrected. Sorry if reading my blogs is giving you a headache. :O(

The King of Hollywood

Photo: self portrait

"You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how." I think that is my favorite part of the movie. Don't recognize the quote? How about: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."?

Gone with the Wind is a classic American novel written by Margaret Mitchell (it is noted that it took her 10 years to write!). The setting is in Georgia during the Civil War and is about two main characters - Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.

There has since been the follow up to the story; Scarlett (written by a different author), however, I am still pining over if I will ever watch/read it (I kinda like my ending I made up in my mind.). And just last year, someone wrote Rhett Butler's People, a novel just about Rhett before the Gone with the Wind saga, but I haven't read that either (but my mom has!).

Back to Gone with the Wind.........it of coarse was made into a movie, and back when I was much younger, was played on the tv networks of the time (that would be CBS, NBC, and ABC) once a year. My mom was fanatical about watching this and my sister and I probably wanted to get out of homework so badly we sat and watched as well.

Turns out this is one of my all time favorite movies. I must admit, however, I don't really start to enjoy it until Rhett steadily stays in the storyline, which is nearly half way through. And like many, I ended up having a crush on Clark Gable who plays Rhett. Sadly, The King of Hollywood, which was one of his nicknames, died from a heart attack at the age of 59.

Recently it's been reported that another movie I consider a classic of its time, Footloose, is being remade and released in movie theaters. I am disappointed in this, and doubt I will ever willfully watch the remake. Some movies, in my opinion, should not be remade. This would also qualify Gone with the Wind. Although if this movie was to be remade, this is whom I came up with as far as the list of actors:

Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) - Angelina Jolie

Rhett Butler (Clark Gabel) - George Clooney - although I am open to other suggestions.

Ashley (Leslie Howard) - Josh Lucas

Melanie (Olivia de Havilland) - Charlize Theron

Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) - Oprah Winfrey

My top 10 movies of all times:

1. Gone with the Wind

2. Footloose

3. The Color Purple

4. Grease

5. Sweet Home Alabama

6. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

7. Walk the Line (Johnny Cash)

8. Thelma & Louise

9. Dirty Dancing

10. Sixteen Candles

B-

In the book, Learning from the Heart by Daniel Gottlieb, the author asks his terminally ill father if he could grade his life, what would it be. At first, the elder says "B" with little explanation. A few weeks later and closer to his death, he tells his son that he wants to change his "B" to an "A", again with very little explanation.

In thinking about this, I'd have to give my life thus far a B-. I say this because I have lived through a lot, I have accomplished even more, and I have certainly become a better person as the years get tacked on. (I certainly wouldn't say an "A" because I haven't lived that long!) Which brings me to another point in this book.

"An identity is just an illusion."

Why I wouldn't say a solid "B" is because I put far too much effort into my work career. I push and push myself until burnout (it's happened many times. HA!), I let off and regain my balance and go for it with my all once again. I felt that is what you do. I wanted to be looked up too. I wanted to be depended on. I wanted to succeed. I guess you could say; in the game of elementary school dodge ball, I wanted to be picked first.

This of coarse, pushes more important things, things that I enjoy, to the side. Traveling, taking vacations (I've been known to take a vacation to go work.), reading, and photography. I have said in the last couple of years, I wanted to take a trip to Norway to visit family, yet I had done nothing to make steps in that direction.

So here I am bashing my skull in trying to get ahead, when according to Mr. Gottlieb (a practicing psychologist and family therapist), the identity I am trying to achieve is just an illusion anyways. Bummer.

This is a learned behavior of coarse, and since it took me 34 years to get to this point, I am sure it will take some time to unlearn. But to take that first step, I purchased this cute ceramic piggy bank, I stumbled upon by accident actually. I put all my spare coins and bills I find in my pockets in this little piggy. It's called my Norway fund but it may just end up being the "It's My Time fund". I think I have $14.00 dollars so far. I have a long way to go, but the first step is an important one. Even if I never make it to the family farmstead, at least I allowed myself to dream.

Have a wonderful day everyone!!

P.S. The photo at the beginning of this blog: the 9y/o daughter of one of my patient's gave me this (the handwritten card). Amazing enough, it was one of the roughest days I had at work in a long while. Isn't life funny? :O)

Tipidy-Tap

That is the sound on my window pane at the moment along with the clacking of the keyboard. If I listened hard enough, I am sure I'd hear other sounds like the buzz from the alarm clock across the room or the ceiling fan swooshing the air around. But I don't. I just hear those two distinctly different "taps".

This is technically my first blog ever. So I must forewarn the reader, I am a horrific speller and I tend to over punctuate, so if this annoys you stop reading now...............

Today was unremarkable. It's my only day of the week off, so I tend to be lazy keeping my "to do's" to a minimum. Today was no different. I napped on and off, I vacuumed, and I finished a book. Something that was uncharacteristic of me, the day, was I went to the nearby convenience store and purchased a Diet Dr. Pepper and a lotto ticket. Come this time next week, I could be a millionaire! HA!

Last Sunday I worked on photos I took. One of them is cat you see at the top of this blog. I traveled to an area known for feral cats. Usually there are more then you can count, but that day was hot and I suppose most of them were hiding in the shade of nearby brush. I call this feral Princess. It had a noticeable injury to its' nose. As I crawled on my belly to get closer to it, it stood its' ground. Not moving. Not hissing. But there was an air about its' confidence and its' right to sit right there that I felt no need to get closer.

As I snapped photos of this beautiful creature, I wondered what had happened to its nose. What had Princess seen in its lifetime? Did it have a home with a warm lap to sleep on at one point? Or was it always homeless? Why didn't it run like the others when I exited my vehicle? Was it as curious about me as I was about it? The list of questions started to mount yet none would ever be answered.

Maybe I can related at some level? I tend to keep people at arms length. My personality, at times, commands attention. I am strongly independent. I have noticeable scars from cancer. Imperfect to some; a failure to others, but kind, loyal, trustful, and successful to the majority. Just like this feral to humans versus its' other feral family & friends.

Back to the tapping of the rain on my window. It is a little louder now and I think there was a thunderclap in there somewhere in the midst of my thoughts. I better bring this to a close. Goodnight Princess. I hope you are safe from the storm, but something tells me you are.