Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

It's fitting that I just finished this book this week as  this time period marks 40 years since the fall of Saigon .  PBS has a few programs this week , which I plan to watch and will probably report on later. I saw the adapted version of this book on the stage back in the 1990's, and it really spoke to me even before I had delved into my self-education of the Vietnam War.  The stories are so haunting that I had to walk away from the book at times and take breaks from my reading.  Most of the women sharing their stories were nurses (as you would expect) but there are quite a few that were members of the Red Cross, USO and various other specialty services that would have been needed at the time including a commercial flight attendant that only flew in and around Vietnam and Southeast Asia. I was most interested in what made the women choose to go and what their lives were like upon returning home.  The stories in this book were compiled in the early 1980's ...

Since I loved Tropper's This is Where I Leave You , it was a no-brainer when I spied this one in a used shop.  The thing I like about Tropper's writing is that he writes like a man thinks instead of like a man thinks a woman wants him to think (i.e. Nicholas Sparks).  And the title does pretty much tell you everything here: it is a book about a young kinda doofus guy faced with the unexpected trial of becoming a young widower and a reluctant stepfather.  It's kind of like what would happen to your dopey friend, Kent, who shockingly marries the woman of his dreams then loses her and has to figure out how to pick up his pot-smoking, I don't wanna grow up life when she dies.  Yeah, that's about the best description I can give. 

This is a heartbreakingly sweet love story of our time about two men who finally get married after nearly forty years of domestic bliss and find themselves having to live apart.  It really got me thinking about how comfortable and happy you become in your domestic life (if you're lucky) and how unsettled your life can become if it is suddenly blown to bits.  The thing I love about indie movies is that they don't always sew up the pieces at the end.......they leave you to figure out how you think it went......and this one is no exception. I couldn't find a pic of the last scene which is a beautiful view of two young people skateboarding down a New York City street, literally, into the sunset.  I did find these directoral stills, but they just don't give you the full effect of the final shot with the sun and the two kids.  It brought me to tears, honestly, thinking about how simple it all looks and how complicated it really all is.  At 15 or 55, I guess the...

  "Let us sleep outside tonight, Lay down in our Mother's arms. For here we will rest safely......"   ( One Sweet World, Dave Matthews Band)

 Hot male boss that may be chauvinistic but that's okay: Bridget Jones' Diary    Sad checker in discount store: The Good Girl     Critical but easy-going record store clerk: High Fidelity    Mean male boss who's ugly so chauvinism is not okay: Nine to Five     Mean and bossy male boss who talks waaaay too slowly: Office Space  Scary female boss with great style who doesn't like you: The Devil Wears Prada Banker/Accountant/Day Trader/Psychotic by night: American Psycho     Frustrated cook/server/hostess in crappy chain restaurant: Waiting   Boring accountant in otherwise exciting city: The Baxter Saddest (and probably most realistic) hooker ever: Leaving Las Vegas      Luckiest and best-looking hooker ever: Pretty Woman   

   

(I felt that this deserved reposting since it is getting a bit of attention now.  If it takes 100 years for a horrible event to get its due that's a shame, but it's also never too late to right a wrong.  Read this book for a fictional account, and then go further for more study and accounts.)   While it wasn't one of my favorites of one of my favorite authors, it was a very good book enlightening me to the Armenian Genocide in 1915.  It's sad that we really aren't taught all we should be in school.

  Okay, so I may have been too young to watch The Thorn Birds , but I do remember this one!  Re-watching it has been an interesting nostalgia for me.  It's funny how life and experience can make you understand things that made no sense at age 10.  (Actually it's not funny at all.  Why doesn't she just leave that awful man?) And as melodramatic as this miniseries may be (c'mon....it's 80's television) it's still pretty damn good!  And it has everything:   Buddies.  Mens.      Romance.      Sibling rivalry, also good girls vs. bad girls.      Bad men.      People you forgot used to be good actors.      More romance and "why can't they be together?" storylines.    Social activism.      War.  More buddies.  More war.      Patrick.     More Patrick...

Okay, so I friggin loved the movie Coal Miner's Daughter when I was a kid, and I think it must have started my life-long love affair with little miss Sissy Spacek (and maybe Levon Helm too).  I was too young to realize it was probably pretty wrong for a grown man in his 20's to go so hard after a 13 year-old, but let's not get bogged down in details, people!  The story of her struggle from poverty, her climb through the country music industry and growth from little girl to a woman is inspiring.  And then one day I realized I couldn't believe I hadn't actually read the book!  So the hubs gave it to me for my 40th birthday, and I dove right in.  The book is really lovely in that it tells the story in Loretta's "true" voice as in, it talks like she talks......hollar, not hollow.  After seeing the movie, I can't help but notice it glosses over some really ugly scenes in the movie (her wedding night would be the biggest example and maybe also an ...

Back and forth across the sea, I had to shake so many trees..... 

The 22nd annual House of Mercy Walk for AIDS will be on Saturay, April 18th in Belmont, North Carolina.  This walk, through beautiful downtown Belmont, supports the wonderful care facility that is House of Mercy and one that has held a place in my heart for many years.  Please make plans to walk, donate, and support this wonderful loving home for persons living with AIDS.

This true story film is one of those kind of stories that you probably never heard about, but then couldn't believe you'd never heard about it once you saw it.  (Did you get all that?) It tells the story of two Olympic wrestling brothers who are taken under the wing of millionaire eccentric John du Pont.  The personalities, family connections and dreams of Olympic Gold all unravel from there.  The movie is very dark and very slow-moving.  The hubby got bored, but I think the style of the film really lends itself to the lonely isolation of some of the characters.  It's a downer, for sure, but still interesting.  Afterward, I had to watch Good Fellas on cable just to perk up.  (Not even a joke.)

Well, I did NOT see that one coming, people! I thought I'd write my cute little story about getting my first mammogram, inspire my scaredy cat girlfriends to get theirs and then move on with life free to not think about my next mammogram until, well, next year probably. That is not what happened. I get a call 5 days after my first mammo.  A very perky lady on the other end tells me I need to have a second reading because "there is something on the scan of my left breast".  Hmmm.  I don't panic.  I know this happens.  I know it's usually nothing.  I make the appointment for the next day.  It's hard to be too worried when this nice lady sounds like she's my hairstylist, SueAnn, scheduling me for a trim.  I tell only my closest coworkers, because really, it's hard to keep secrets like that in a small room.  I tell my husband, who works in the same building, and I see the cloud go over his face.  I call my sister and luckil...