Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

  It's the Year of the Snake.  And believe me, they are everywhere.  Beware.  

 When it's cold outside, I wonder if you've zipped up your jacket.  I wonder if you're looking out of windows at the snow.  I wonder if you miss your mother. When someone our age dies, I wonder if you ever stopped drinking.  I wonder if you're living better.  I wonder if you're trying harder. When I see anime, I wonder if you went to school today.  I wonder if you're eating enough.  I wonder if the world will get wider for you. When I hear a Southern drawl, I wonder if you're driving.  I wonder if your smile is just as happy.  I wonder if I'll meet you in that same parking lot. When I see fireworks, I wonder if you remember that summer.  I wonder how my heart ever healed.  I wonder how I ever let you go. When I hear The Clash, I wonder if you're still fighting the man.  I wonder if you ever quit that shitty job.  I wonder if you ever left home. When I hear a baby cry, I wonder if his mother is okay.  I wonder if they'...

 Winter is the perfect time to snuggle in with some entertainment.  Even though I haven't been reading much lately, I have managed to binge some good shows and catch a few new films.  What are your thoughts on my hot takes? I saw "Wicked" the week it came out and I was in love!  Being a lover of the novel from way back, I was intrigued to see how this was adapted from the book to stage to theater and all of it is wonderful!  The songs are lovely and fun and even though the film is long, I never wanted it to end.   I caught "The Greatest Showman" at home on a streaming service and loved it too.  Just like Wicked, the songs and overarching story guide a principle of love and acceptance and in the creation of a world inhabited by creativity and brilliance.  And there's Zendaya!   I wish I could say I loved "Juror #2" but I just didn't.  The cast was wonderful, but the story felt plodding and ham-fisted.  And was I the only on...

 Interstate 485 is a huge loop that circles Charlotte.  It allows traffic to flow (sometimes) to nearly every side of the state.  I drive on I-485 nearly every day of my life.   This road takes me North to where I work and play, South to where I live.  I've driven it to the East to see the Love of my Life (my son) and to the West where Helene hurt so hard earlier this year.   If you Google I-485, you will see all kinds of pictures.  Pictures of annoying traffic back-ups, pictures of horrific traffic accidents, pictures of maps and plans for the future.   I remember when the road was being built and connected and how excited everyone was for it.  It was going to a fabulous connector to the thorough-fares around the state by looping the center of it all: the major city of Charlotte.   In the beginning, it was wonderful!  It DID help with congestion.  It DID cut down travel time and traffic.  It DID seem t...

Listen, Joe has been training us for all this current bullshit for years.  Don't lose your ground now, people.  "Let fury have the hour, anger can be power D'you know that you can use it?" 

  If you're a single lady late in life, at some point Garrett Breedlove will land in front of you.  And no matter how experienced and cynical you might be, you will not be ready.   If you fell in love with Ronny Cammareri when you were about 14, you never had a chance anyway. Or Johnny Castle.  (BTW, do you know this photo is called "Johnny beckoning"? It has been burned on my brain for over 30 years now......geez.) And I feel like I can even really speak on Lloyd Dobler, Jake Ryan or even Blaine and Ducky.  And don't get me started on Yuri Zhivago, Nickie Ferrante or Rhett Butler.  I can't even go there.  Us girls.....Hollywood never gave us a chance, did it?

 I know, I know.  Most people don't really dig winter.  And when I was a kid, I didn't either.  I thought winter was boring.  The cold temperatures limited my wardrobe, the early dark hours limited my fun times and there was never much going on outside the house. But that's kid stuff, y'all.  Winter as an adult ROCKS! First of all, there are TONS more activities than there used to be both inside and outside.  Those huge industrial heat lamps keep outdoor porches toasty even in January!  AND  a nice cocktail will always warm your dusty old bones! And if you live in the Southeastern US like I do, it never gets all that cold.  Throughout the winter months there are still plenty of activities indoors and out: breweries, festivals, music, skating, movies, etc.  You just throw on that cute scarf and go for it!   You can make yourself treats you may not have any other time of year!  Rich desserts, sugary coffee drinks and co...

 I have so many feelings about this memoir. Given that I was also a "Mommy Blogger" at the same time as the author, I well remember the "oh isn't it so fun being a tipsy mom" mentality of the time. And I didn't dig it.  Having been a social drinker since college, I have never felt (and never will feel) that being intoxicated or on drugs while caring for children is okay. With that said, I'm not trying to say I don't understand the following: post-partum depression child care stress loneliness as a stay-at-home parent pre-existent diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression addiction I appreciate the candor of Wilder-Taylor's story.  And I congratulate her on her sobriety.  However, I have a little trouble with her lackadaisical view of addiction including her own. (As a sufferer of migraines I feel like I can say this: going through 100 pills in a week is an addiction whether you are willing to call it that or not.) And I also continue to be annoyed b...

 

 The best thing about listening to this memoir as an audiobook is the mesmerizing, beautiful voice of Anjelica herself as she weaves the stories of her many loves, her beginnings of modeling and then acting and her life from young adulthood into mature age.  Her voice quavers in the parts of tragedy and loss, is quiet in the parts of fear and pain and is exuberant in triumph.   Listening to her stories made me want to watch her films that I hadn't seen and revisit the ones I had.  It made me want to look up old photos of her and bask in her cool 80's elegance.   Her stories of love and heartbreak gave me a feeling of power and resilience that I have needed after a hard year of my own disappointments.   Anjelica must have either kept really good journals and diaries or saved all of her old notes and calendars because her ability to remember details of people, places and events is nothing short of spectacular.  This memoir reads like a nam...