Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

"Do you think God knew what He was doing when He created woman? Huh? No shit. I really wanna know. Or do you think it was another one of His minor mistakes like tidal waves, earthquakes, FLOODS? You think women are like that? S'matter? You don't think God makes mistakes? Of course He does. We ALL make mistakes. Of course, when WE make mistakes they call it evil. When GOD makes mistakes, they call it... nature. So whaddya think? Women... a mistake... or DID HE DO IT TO US ON PURPOSE?"

Walking around outside this time of year always gets me nostalgic.  I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was sometime between late April and early May.  I know the year was 1997, and I was about to graduate from college.  I remember sitting on the outdoor green quad area with some friends from my major department.  I remember our books and composition notebooks spread out around us. (Way before laptops, you know.) We weren't really studying so much as taking it all in.....all of it.....the books, the campus, the friendships....knowing it was all about to end.  I can still to this day remember the sweet, delicious freedom of that moment.  We didn't know what was ahead, but we thought we did.  And that promise was our everything.  I look back on that time now with a lot of bittersweet joy and heartbreak.  Some of those friends went on to do everything they said they would.  Some of them had lives that turned out exactly as they expected.  I did not.  Nothing r

  "Look at it this way. Considering the type of people you are and the environment you're in, you have to admit the strong possibility this may be the only chance you ever have in your entire lives... to have sex!" 

"I hope that nobody has ever had to look at anybody they love through glass."

"Orion's arms are wide enough To hold us both together Although we're worlds apart I'd cross the stars for you "In the heart of a sleepless moon" "I'll be with you forever" "This is my destiny" "'Till my life is through" The arms of Orion that's where I want to be Since you've been gone I've been searching for a lover In the Sea of Tranquility I'm drowning without you here, my dear When I am lost and feeling alone I just look to heaven I find my comfort there God only knows where you are to night....." (Today on the 1 year anniversary of the death of Prince, I'm sure many people will share "Sometimes it Snows in April". It's a good one, but this was one of my big favorites back when I was all of 14.  RIP, Prince.) 

The proceeds from the 2017 Friends of the Gaston County Public Library Annual Book Sale will help fund building, technology and literary projects at the nine GCPL branches. Book Sale Dates/Times: -Wednesday, April 19, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm -Thursday, April 20, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm -Friday, April 21, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm -Saturday, April 22, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Open to the public! New items every day! Free admission!  *Cash & debit/credit cards are accepted. Checks will not be accepted.* The sale will be in the Main Library Auditorium at 1555 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28054. For more information, please call 704-868-2164, option 4.

"Do you realize what you've done? You've taken a woman who loves you, one of the great women in the world  and thrown her away. I lost her too, but I will get over it because I am shallow and self-centered. But you, you won't, because you are "complex". You will feel terrible anguish for the rest of your life. This is turning out to be a pretty good day...." 

Zelda Fitzgerald is so hot right now.  And it's about damn time!  According to this book and many historical accounts, she was the muse and sometimes the exact words behind the great works of her famous author husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald.  In her time, she was a Southern debutante, very possibly the first 1920's flapper , a wild woman who was full of spirit and then later a misdiagnosed schizophrenic who died tragically.  With this novel of historical fiction and a current show on Amazon Prime , I'm glad we're all finally getting the chance to decide for ourselves just who this incredible woman was.  This novel is just beautiful.  It really made me remember how much I loved The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night when I was a teenager.  It made me glad I'm a woman and mother today instead of in the early 20th Century.  It made me want to explore the Riviera.  It made me want to learn more about Ernest Hemingway.....and that's something I didn't th

"I can't get to sleep I think about the implications Of diving in too deep And possibly the complications Especially at night I worry over situations I know will be alright Perhaps it's just imagination Day after day it reappears Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear Ghosts appear and fade away....." 

In a world filled with disappointment and hardship, there is nothing wrong with a little feel-good tv.  Samurai Gourmet definitely brings you that with a little comfort food on the side.  Watch this show when you want to unwind and are ready to appreciate a simple man who appreciates simple pleasures.  We could all learn something from Takeshi. 

"But it was Saturday night I guess that makes it all right And you say what have I got to lose?"

Have we met?  If we have, you'll learn something quick about me.  I'm a romantic.  I love love.  I love wooing.  If you ask me, there's not enough of that kind of thing going on anymore. And even though I was born in 1975, I loved the music both of my time and before my time for it's strong game of wooing properties.  As I listen, I can't help but notice how music has changed over decades.  In the 60's it was all about courting the girl and then marrying the girl.  Sam Cooke, 60's soul singer.  Pretty much every song was about loving the girl and taking her to get married. From "Win Your Love": "If you'd only come to me This torch I wouldn't have to carry And if everything goes right To the church we will go to marry...."  Martha and The Vandellas sang in 1967: "Third Finger, Left Hand" My mom had this record on 45.  Okay, so maybe not every girl wanted to get married in 1967.  But most of them did.

Inspired by the book by Cleve Jones , this story is well-told and extensive in its recounting of the fight for civil and human rights by the LGBTQ community starting in the 1970's and going forward.  There's a lot to love about this minseries: the inclusion of real news footage of the time; the biographical sketches of real people involved like Del Martin and  Roma Guy ; and the sensitivity and accuracy of the issues at hand such as violence against the homosexual community, the AIDS crisis and the fight for equal protections under the law.  Every time a piece like this gets made I think about how much my late friend, Doug, would have loved it and how much it means to see his activism live on through the retelling of these events.  It also makes you realize how many great living heroes we have walking among us.  When I was kid, I always thought the Great Americans were mythical characters only found in historic texts that had long since left us.  I admired Clara Barton, S

My god the Vietnam War is the gift that keeps on giving......even a few generations later.  But somehow this novel manages to bring a little humility and humor to the story of a man still being tripped up by his time there decades later.  How a book can be so full of heartbreak and still make me laugh out loud, I'm still not sure.  But it is one of the best books I've read lately.  And it has it all: father/son issues, father/daughter issues, alcoholism, narcotic addiction, war, abandonment, and a healthy hatred for The Eagles and Frank Sinatra.  Did I mention that this book manages to be funny?  I guess because we all experience it at one time or another, the picture of human frailty is one we can all relate to.  We all want to know we're not alone and maybe sometimes we want to know we're not as bad as that other guy.