Movie Time

I was rummaging through Youtube yesterday while looking for Lionel Rickie songs and came across one that reminded me of a movie which did lead me down another path altogether.

In the early 1980s Debra Winger scored big in two movies.  In 1980 she danced her way into John Travolta's heart in Urban Cowboy.

I loved the music from this movie, especially Mickey Gilley's "Stand By Me."   I tried watching it a few years ago and realized that John's character was pretty much a hot mess in that movie.  At the time, there were mechanical bulls in some bars, but, no, I didn't ride any.  Now I wish I would have been more adventuresome and had given it a try. The music holds up well though.

The other movie where she won the guy was "An Officer and a Gentleman" with Richard Gere. Holy Smoly.... Richard Gere still melts my girly heart.  For instance "Nights in Rodanthe" with Diane Lane,  is a great chick flick

Richard was the first "Naval Aviator" that stole our hearts.  It wasn't until 1986 that Tom Cruise's Top Gun captured that spot and, as of yet, he still has the title.

Love Those Raisins

A couple of weeks ago I reminisced about the movie "The Big Chill".   I had DVR'd it and just watched it tonight.  Ahhh.. What a great soundtrack for our life we had. .  One of my all time favorite songs, of that era, is in that movie.  Heard It Through the Grapevine by Creedance Clearwater Revival.  Wikipedia says it came out in 1969 so I'll go with that because, being a girl, I can tell what I wore dancing to it, but not what year it was....exactly.

I remember what I wore because it was New Year's Eve and my boyfriend/would be ex-husband, had a party at his parents house, down in the finished basement.  This was back in the day of HiFi's and 33 & 1/3 albums.   If the stereo was your parents, you could stack 3 or 4 records to drop, but if it was the "sound system" of a music connoisseur, they owned a "turn table" and only one could be played at a time.  We were at the parents so the record player was loaded.  The thing with that CCR album was the long version of  Heard It Through The Grapevine  was 11 minutes long.   That's a long time to be dancing to one song.  Frankly, I am reminded more of the dress  more than who I was dancing with.  hmmmm.  Guess I really liked this dress and the silver shoes. ( Remember my mentioning how my mother cut out the "bad parts"?

Having said all of that, when that song comes on an Oldies station, what pops into my mind, first thing?

These guys.

They still make me smile.

Movie Time

I just set my DVR to record The Big Chill for me later tonight.  It's on now, but, of course, the big game will be starting soon so I have to watch.  My interest lies in the commercials mostly.  I have one daughter that is a big Tom Brady fan and he did go to University of Michigan, so we that bleed blue, will be cheering him on.

I had mentioned yesterday, that I thought I would make cabbage rolls for dinner Sunday.  Terry so sweetly said, " Nothing screams Super Bowl like Galumpkis."  So I changed that to home made pizza.  Goodness....
I thought of another movie that I liked that is rarely on TV.  I really can't say that I remember it being on, but it must have been.  I know I watched it first on VHS.

That movie is Sommersby with Richard Gere and Jodie Foster.

Jodie Foster's husband ( Richard Gere)  comes home from the Civil War changed in many ways.  She thought he was dead and is now engaged to another man.  Still, she takes him back.  Is he the man she married is the big question.  


This is such a chick flick.   I proudly say that in the most heartwarming, tear jerking, big sigh award wining way.

Bid Time Return

I was lying in bed with my MP3 player plugged into my ears, just watching the clock tick by when the theme from Somewhere in Time came on.   It is otherwise known as " Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" by Rachmaninoff.   No, I did not immediately know that.  I looked it up long ago when I first was mesmerized by that 1980's movie staring Jame Seymour and Christopher Reeve.

A struggling,  young writer is mystified when an old woman comes to his first play, places an antique pocket watch in his hand and says "Come back to me." Intrigued, Richard Collier investigates and learns that she was a famous stage actress from the early 1900's named Elise McKinna. Through self-hypnosis Richard travels back in time to find this woman and falls in love. 

 It was filmed on Michigan's Mackinac Island, accessible only by passenger ferry, which means, there are no car allowed.  For the filming of this movie Richard drives up in a car, which was the only time an automobile was allowed on the island.   Being from Michigan, I have walked these grounds many times.  I have walked the porch of this fabulous hotel.  Inside the lobby is a plain white door to a small room that still holds the photo of Elise McKinna.  Well, maybe.   Terry and I were last inside,  shortly after we were married in 1981, right after the movie came out.   It was there then.  Now the porch is off limits unless you are registered at the hotel, so maybe it's not there anymore.  I'm pretty sure it is though.    (That far different than when Terry was a teen and he and his friends would ride the ferry over and then go swimming in the hotel pool.  Something tells me they weren't supposed to be there then either.)

This haunting photo of Elise McKinna can be found in high end gift shops, all framed and ready to be loved.

                           The hotel has hosted a Somewhere in Time Weekend since 1991.

Somewhere in Time Weekend  at The Grand Hotel- from the hotel website........

Arrive: Friday, October 26, 2012
Depart: Sunday, October 28, 2012

Somewhere In Time was filmed at Grand Hotel and on Mackinac Island in 1979 and released in 1980. This special weekend includes a screening of the film, discussions of the movie’s production process, visit with cast and crew that are invited back, and hotel guests are invited to make a cameo appearance in costume at the cocktail receptions, costume promenade, and Grand Luncheon Buffet. A full breakfast and five-course dinner are included daily.

Package Includes:

• Accommodations (package room only)
• Breakfast and dinner daily
• Thursday evening Welcome Reception
• Friday evening reception
• Saturday Grand Luncheon Buffet
• Saturday evening reception
• Special showing of Somewhere in Time Thursday and Friday evenings
• Free golf green fees (cart fee required, subject to course availability)
• Special discount on ferry boat tickets
• No tipping within Grand Hotel

Package Price:

• $985 per couple
• $885 single
• $299 third and fourth adult

Thought I would give you the information to drool over like I do.  This has to be a stunning event with guests all in their period costumes.

The book on which this movie was based is called "Bid Time Return" by Richard Matheson.  You may know him from writing science fiction such as the Will Smith movie,  I Am Legend, which is as far from romance as you can get.  He was inspired to write the book after a visit to the Virginia City Opera house where he saw a photo of  Maud Adams.   She was real.  (1872-1953)

In the book, he uses the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego (which is fabulous)  as the location.  Otherwise, it follows it exactly.


This is my movie choice and as Paul Harvey would say, "and now you have  ....the rest of  the story."

Movie TIme Again

Every Sunday morning I watch the CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood.   I started watching it when Terry and I were first married and would go visit his parents.  They lived about 3 1/2 hours north of us so it was usually a long weekend, we'd spend with them.  Sunday morning at their house was homemade cinnamon rolls, coffee and that program with Charles Kuralt. 

This last Sunday morning had a feature on Glenn Close.  I am a huge fan of hers.  I love Damages that originated of FX and then moved to Direct-TV.  (Why do they do that.?)   Of course, she scared the  &%&#& out of  married men that were having affairs in the 80's with Fatal Attraction.    (Just between you and I, I coveted her hair in that movie. That was 1983 and big hair was just coming in.)

But the movie I always associate with her is  1983's  The Big Chill,  about 7 University of Michigan  friends, gathering for a weekend at a southern antebellum home, for the funeral of one of their group that had committed suicide.   (Do you remember the "friend" never had face time.  Only his hair was shown being combed and that it was Kevin Costner?)

What's not to love for us boomers.  We get to watch other boomers dance and reminisce about  their college days, all to the soundtrack of Motown music.  Well, there was that other issue that developed..... If you're a boomer and have not seen this movie, do.  I think you'll enjoy it.

If you're not a boomer, I think you would like it too, if only for the music.  It's a classic.

                                                                      Enjoy, I know I do.

In the News

I've gathered a few thought I've had during the news this last week.

1.  Downton Abby won a Golden Glob for Best Mini Series.   I adore that program.  I did read an article that called it "Costume crack" and I have to agree.  I am a romantic at heart so I look at those dresses won in the early 19 teens.  1914, etc (think Titanic) with the long dresses and the pearls and the hats.  Love it.  I am thoroughly enjoying the 2nd season.

2.  I also read that Leonardo Dicaprio is making or has made the remake of The Great Gatsby.     I'm sorry Leo.  You are a brilliant actor, but you are no Robert Redford.

I had to track down these photos on Google.  I'll let you decide.

                                              Robert Redford as Jay and Mia Farrow as Daisy.

            Leo as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy.  Release date in December 25, 2012.

 Will I see it. You bet.  It is one of my all time favorite books.  I am enthralled with the big mansions on the Gold Coast of Long Island.  Only recently was the home that "possibly" inspired this book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, torn down to make room for another home.  I know this one would cost more to rehab than to build a new one, but it is still a sad thing..... to me.

3.  Moving on...... Hostess Twinkies filed for bankruptcy because they owed $860 million dollars.  Really?  It took reaching that amount to decide a Twinkie was not going to pull you out of the mire.  $500 million didn't tell you that?  How do you get that far into debt at $3.99 a box.  ( I really have no idea how much they cost.)  I can honestly say I have never eaten a Twinkie.  Looks like a lot a people are not eating them if they are in debt this much.

4.  Did anyone else see on the news of the mother that parked her drug selling, lying 14 year old son out on the street corner, wearing a sign that said as much.   Down at the bottom it also stated " I don't follow the law."  He looked pretty sullen.  She was out there with him, making sure he stayed on that corner.  She said he had been caught numerous times selling drugs and lying about it.  The courts gave him a small "community service" that she did not believe was strict enough so her words were " "He wants attention.  We're getting him some attention."

 Of course someone drove by and reported her to the Police for abuse.  Give me a break.  She was saving his life, "in my opinion".   The police did decide she was not endangering him and was breaking no law so he was still standing with the sign hanging around his neck. Can we have a "oo rah" for that Mom please?  I'm sure she had other things she would rather be doing too, but she decided nothing was as important as saving her son.  Good for her!

These things tweaked my interest this week.  What tweaked yours?

Omar... Shame on You

I don't know how many people have seen this news clip of 79 year old,  Omar Sharif slapping a woman that wanted to get a picture taken with him.  He behaved abysmally.  This happened just last week.  Here is an example of violence against women that has to be stopped.   Dr. Zhivago was one of my all time favorites.  Now,   I won't be able to watch it anymore knowing what I know about this man.  You just know if he can do this on camera, in a public forum, he's done it before.  So far, nothing has been done to him about it.  An apology has been asked for by "a leading Arab organization"  ( which is nameless apparently) but so far, he has not responded.

All I can say is "Shame on you Omar."  Frankly, I think you are an ass.

First there is a woman, all smiles that stands next to him.  Then another lady walks up.  You can only see the back of her hard and then he lashes out and her hair goes flying and he starts lecturing her in Arabic.  She looks stunned and has a smile stuck on her face.  She then goes on to get the photo op.   Boy, oh boy.   All I can say is she probably not an American.

Here's Your Movie Ticket

A week or so ago, I recommended Eddie and the Cruisers  with Tom Berenger.  Today I'm choosing another movie of his.  Someone to Watch Over Me . (1987)  

In Queens, Mike Keegan( Tom Berenger)  is celebrating his promotion to detective, with his wife and his son.   Meanwhile, in a fancy club, the socialite Claire Gregory (Mimi Rogers /the first Mrs. Tom Cruise)  witnesses the murder of the owner of the place by the powerful mobster Joey Venza. Mike is assigned to protect her in the night shift in her apartment in Manhattan. Of course someone wants her dead and someone else just wants her.

The only movie trailer I could find was in French, so I thought this version of that classic song, by Renee Olstead will set the mood for a penthouse New York apartment, in the middle of the night.



The second of his movie's is Shattered, 1991.

Tom Berenger as Tom Merrick, who begins to suspect the auto accident that caused his memory loss may not have been accidental.  Judith Merrick (Greta Scacchi) is thrown clear of the crash and escapes without injury. Her husband, Tom, on the other hand, is trapped inside and when he is finally rescued, he is disfigured and in a coma. Judith helps him through his ensuing recovery and plastic surgery and the couple returns to their home in San Francisco. Tom, now suffering from selective amnesia, meets his old friends Jeb (Corbin Bernsen) and Jenny Scott (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer). After meeting them, he gathers hints that before the accident, he wasn't well liked by many people. The next day, when he returns to work, he begins to pick up more clues on his past life -- clues that indicate his marriage wasn't as idyllic as he presumed. To make matter worse, he keeps having flashbacks of shattered glass, ocean waves, and a gun.

This is a Double Feature day.  Grab your popcorn. 

Relax and Enjoy

I have errands to run, library books to pick up, groceries to buy, mail a Care package to my daughter and the grandsons, etc.   One of those days.  I'm in the "list making" phase of going on a road trip.  We leave Sunday for Charleston and  Savannah.  Can't wait!  Love the old south and want to see as much as possible since I am living here now.  Of couse I will walk a couple of cemetaries and take pictures.  These are two of the most haunted cities in the United States.  No, I didn't know that.  Daughter #2  informed me. 

So, enjoy Van Morrison while I'm gone... to run errands. I'll be back believe I leave on our trip. :)

This reminds me of the movie Bridget Jones,  but it is a very heartfelt song as well.  I don't know why it doesn't get the air time his "Brown Eyed Girl" gets.  I like this one better.

Sit back and relax.  Take time to remember your honey and why you fell in love.  This is the love we wish for our sons and daughters.  Do you remember the moment you "just knew"?   I do...  but I didn't act on it for a year.  I saw him the day he handed in his employment application and  thought he was cutie,  and then everyday at work.  After I asked him out for Birthday drinks,   I knew I had been looking for someone like him for a very long time.

Movie Time

This "favorite movie"  Eddie and the Cruisers  (1983)  may have never played at theaters.  I discovered it on VHS, back in the day,  and was hooked.  Despite it's lack of promotion, it still had a  VHS  following.  OK, I base that on the fact that all of my daughters and their friends as well as my friends, loved Eddie.    That's my scientific proof that he is still worth the watch today.

In the early 1960's, Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare) and his band The Cruisers enjoyed a brief moment success, but their career came to a halt when Eddie's badly damaged car was discovered smashed, after going off a bridge. Eddie's body was never found, and years later, a reissue of the group's only album ( very reminiscent of that other "Boss" of the 80's, Bruce Springsteen.)  sparks rumors that the mysterious Eddie might still be alive. Frank Ridgeway (Tom Berenger), Eddie's former piano player and lyricist, finds himself trailed by Maggie Foley (Ellen Barkin), a reporter trying to find out the truth about Eddie.

The soundtrack is great.  The music is actually performed by  The Beaver Brown Band.

Michael Pare' is one of those actors that is always working, but you don't know his name.  You may remember him as that no good, scum eating, cheating husband of Birdee's / Sandra Bullock in Hope Floats.    He was in  The Lincoln Lawyer , more lately with (heart be still) Mathew McConaughey.

They tried to recapture the magic in 1987 and did release a second Cruisers film, but, like so many follow ups, it wasn't nearly as good. 

I'm a Tom Berenger fan too, and have a couple of his movies to recommend next time.

Another Movie Favorite

I had another favorite movie cross my brainwaves  so I thought I'd share it with you.  It's one I forget about for a few years and then have to watch again.   Against All Odds with Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward and James Woods.

Terry Brogan/ Jeff Bridges,is  an aging football player in L.A., that was cut early in the season. He needs money, so he takes a job from a shady friend of his, Jake Wise/ James Woods, to track down Wise's girlfriend, Jessie/Rachel Ward, who's somewhere in Mexico.  Of course they fall in love or we wouldn't have much of a movie if he just went down to Cozumel and got the girl.

Thank goodness for the 80's  love songs.

Rachel Ward is gorgeous.  James Woods does a great bad guy and Jeff Bridges is looking pretty good too.  The theme song is one of Phil  Collin's best.   This couple is so "hot" that they will make you forget that being in  sticky heat, covered in sand, is really not that sexy.

I Feel The Need, The Need For Speed

Sound familiar? Goose and Maverick in Top Gun.


What's Your Favorite Movie Line? What movie is it from?

There are so many great lines from movies, starting with Clark Gable's "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" from Gone With the Wind to " Nobody puts Baby in a corner" in Dirty Dancing. We all have our favorites.


I asked my daughters, my LARC friends and my sister all to send me their favorite movie lines.


My sister (YFS) recently posted on facebook this one from Hope Floats.

Justin Matisse/ Harry Connick Jr. : Dancin's just a conversation between two people. Talk to me.

The Daughters shared one from Steel Magnolias

Ouiser/ Shirley McLaine: " I'm not crazy. I've just been in a bad mood for forty years."

One from The Usual Suspects:


Keyser Soze/ .: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."



And this one from America's Sweathearts
Kiki/Julia Robert's impersonating her sister Gwen/ Catherine Zeta Jones

"Kiki Kiki kins, Who's smoking? I smell smoke. Is someone smoking within a six mile radius of where I'm standing? Go stop them.

That one was too obscure for me, but she told me "Don't judge" so I'll go with it.



I heard "Do you feel lucky? " and "Go ahead, make my day." from Dirty Harry, from Terry along with a Godfather,    Michael Corleone/ Al Pacino  "Just when I think I get out they pull me back in."    as well as " Houston, we have a problem."   from Apollo 13.


"You'll put your eye out kid" from A Christmas Story and " You act like a man who's expecting
his wife back in town. " from Butterfield 8.


And one of my favorites is another from Hope Floats :

Birdee/Sandra Bullock "Beginnings are scary, Endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. Try to remember when you find yourself at a new beginning, just give hope a chance to float up and it will.


I'll end with a classic.

Cape Hatteras and Rodanthe Area After Irene

We are still in the recovery phase of Irene.  I know most of the country has moved on.  I was lucky.  These poor folks on the Outer Banks were not.

Terry and I took a weekend trip last fall  over to Ocracoke and traveled up the highway to Cape Hatteras and on to Rodanthe.  If any of my fellow reader have read Nights in Rodanthe  by Nichols Sparks, you will know what a romantic feel that movie gave the area.  It happened to be one of his I had read.  I learned when I arrived in North Carolina that he lives in New Bern,  about 30 minutes west of me and is required reading in this area.  So we traveled that road looking for "the house" only to learn that it was saved demolition due to it's unstable condition.  It was moved to an "undisclosed" area.

You may recognize it.

When I saw the movie, I knew this was not a good idea.  An anonymous buyer saved it.

When I started this post, I  hadn't even thought of that house.  I think I needed the good news to share first, because this is that road now.  

There are 5 breaches in Highway 12 along the banks.   These is from photoblog.msnbc.msn.

Supplies have been ferried out to the residents that stayed.  It cannot even begin to imagine how long it will take to get them connected again.

That shows how tenuous those homes are.  It takes a strong constitution to remain.  I'm glad we went when we did because no one is traveling there any time soon.

Happy Birthday Robert Redford

I didn't know that today was Robert's ( we're on a first name basis evidently) birthday until I saw it on World News just now.  Robert Redford is 75 today, Thursday, August 18th. Wow....Like his buddy Paul Newman, this man ages like fine wine.

I have previously posted on how much I liked  Jeremiah Johnson.     There are so many of his characters  that left us ladies a little weak in the knees. What woman didn't fall a little in  love with "Hubbell" in  The Way We Were,    " Jay Gatsby" in The Great Gatsby,  or  "Denys" in Out of Africa.    My husband has long said that if I were given the choice between him and Robert Red,  Indecent Proposal  style,   he would still be sitting on that bench and I would be dancing in that big house with Robert's "John Gage".  Yesterday I posted a question: What movies have made you cry?  My Daughter # 3 came up with one that I had forgotten.  Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer in  Up Close and Personal.   Oh, my gosh.  Pass the whole box of Kleenex please. 

                                                   "Hubbell" from The Way We Were.

This video is the Celine Dion theme " Because You Loved me".  There was only Spanish movie trailer available so here they are, more Celine than Robert.

So many great movies,  All the President's Men, Three Days of the Condor, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, The Sting, and  The Natural.    I can go on and on and I think I just did.



Thank you Mr. Redford for your amazing body of work and for being so darn handsome to watch as you  do that work.

"Summer of 42"

While I was writing my last post, I was thinking about World War II books I've read and movies I've seen and this one came to mind.  It was released in 1971. It is a small film that only had one real star, Jennifer O'Neill,  the rest were young men I didn't know, but did go on to do other work.

As the title says, it takes place, for three male teenage friends, that are thinking and talking about the things teenage boys hold dear,  over a summer vacation on Nantucket Island.  The war in Europe is ever present.  Throw into that mix a beautiful young woman, Jennifer O'Neill, that is married to a soldier off  in that war.  She waits for his letters and misses him beyond words. 

The theme song, "A Summer Knows"  is hauntingly beautiful.  This film raises a multitude of emotions.  You will laugh and you will cry but you won't forget "The Summer of 42".

You may be able to get it from Netflix but it looks like Youtube has all of it, broken into pieces, which may not be the best way to watch it but that is available.

Does anyone remember this one? 

The Cost of Convenience

This is me at 15 and this is pretty much where I spent my four years of high school.   On one side of the divider was the kitchen, as you can see, and on the other was the living room.  This was the only phone in the house so all those family members watching the only TV in the house were three feet from me.  There were no secrets.  No bad language.  I was free to talk until Mom got tired of listening to me or the TV watchers were bothered by the constant drone of conversation.

 My brother was once sitting on the living room side of that divider when my mother was washing dishes.  He said some smart comment to her so she took the glass she was washing, that was full of water, and soaked him good. 

We lived in a small town that had it's own phone system that made it impossible to call any other town without it being  long distance.     So, therefore, we did not call anywhere else unless you asked permission and it better be for a good reason.  Like someone died.   On Christmas my parents would call the grandparents and then pass the phone to us kids when they ran out of stuff to talk about.

Terry and I were talking yesterday about the high cost of living  we have now that our parents didn't have.  Things like cell phones are hugely expensive compared to their house phone bill.   We have not had a land line phone for about 8-10 years.   Our cell phones are more than double that land line charge. 

Then there is the cable and Internet bill.  Forget the Internet even.  Just go with your television cable bill.  Our parents had an antenna.  Do you remember when you could turn the dial and the thing would move?  That was high tech!    Once they bought the antenna, there was no other bill.

I would like to see the price comparison for an average date then and now, with allowance for today's dollar value.  The kind of date that teenage girl on the phone went on.  A regular go to a movie, get some popcorn and pop at the concession stand date.  I know Terry and I don't get refreshments at a movie unless there's a special of some sort.  My teenage dates were pumping gas or bagging groceries after school.  Some were working at the local orchard on weekends.  They didn't have much money.

It just costs more to live today.   There's gas....we know that's horrible.  Can you think of any other comparisons?

That Lady Can Sing

When I was writing about Jeremiah Johnson and Robert Redford the other day, I thought of another movie that touched me. 

I am a Motwon woman.  I was a Supremes fan, but I am not a big Diana Ross fan.  Way back in the day, she ditched the other ladies that helped make her great and off she and Barry Gordy went to make mad music together.  So, when "Miss Ross" made her acting debut, I was ready to not be impressed.  I was wrong.

She joined Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor for the roles of their lives, in my humble opinion, in the 1972 movie based on the life of Billie Holiday "Lady Sing the Blues" .       I  remember the moment that Billie Dee Williams appeared on screen there was a collective sigh from the women in the audience.  He was mesmerizing. ( If you watch this clip to the end, you'll see it.)  Richard Pryor was the king of comedy and in his prime back then, but this was a serious straight roll for him and he delivered. 

The movie transcends time.  I watched it a couple of years ago with my youngest daughter and it still is a showcase for the wonderful music of Billy Holiday and tells the sad story of her poor decisions. Diana Ross did an excellent job so I had to admit, while a Diva in every way, that woman can act as well as sing.  She had big shoes to fill in portraying Billie Holiday.

It's one of my all time favorites.  Maybe it's one of yours too.

The End of Harry

My youngest daughter, at age 26,  went to the 3AM showing of " Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" today.  The "Harry" party started after work with other Harry fans.  They met at a friends house to watch Harry on DVD and then went to the movie and then went to work this morning afterward.  She had posted on Facebook that being up for 31 hours was worth it.

Our Harry Potter experience started in 1999 when I read a small article in a magazine or a newspaper about the these books causing a big stir in Britain about this little boy that is a wizard.  They were hughly publicized here.  The third book had come out that year as well. So, for Christmas, my younger daughters got the first 3 books.  They were hooked. 

I'm not sure of the publish date, in 2000, of the 4th book, but in July,  Daughter #3 and Terry were interviewed by our local newspaper about Harry Potter fever. By then they girls were 15 and 17.  I thought they were on the older end of Harry fans, but I was wrong.

They convinced their Dad to read the books and soon he was hooked.  I needed more convincing but Harry soon grew on me too.  I became a fan because I saw children in lines at book stores and libraries.  I saw children in restaurants, in movie theaters and at ball games all reading Harry Potter. One of the Daughters took Harry with her to read, to the theater, before "Wicked" started and she was not alone.  There were other Harry books on laps there.  J.K. Rowling, single handily, got people, young and old reading in masses.  

A new book hitting the market caused book stores to hold Harry Potter parties, and to open at 12:01 am to sell books to the line of customers standing outside their doors.  I had never seen anything like it, since Daughter # 1 waited in line overnight to get a Garth Brooks wristband that would allow her to get in another line to get tickets fora concert.  (She did and we all went. Yeah!)  But, I digress.  I had never seen that happen for books.

Harry is not without controversy.  There was some protest concerning Harry being a Wizard and the books promoting witchcraft.  There are witches in Cinderella and Snow White.  I think the kids know Harry is not real.  ( Although, don't try to tell me that Camelot, King Arthur and Merlin weren't real.)  To me these books are very much like the Narnia books. Good vs. Evil is always a struggle.

One of my girlfriends  has a 16 year old son.  She posted on Facebook this morning that the two of them had gone to the midnight show, something they had shared since the first movie came out.  What a wonderful Mom and son adventure.

Somewhere after the newspaper article we "acquired" a male kitty that soon became Harry Potter. I can  truthfully say I  have reached Harry overload, but I still love that the books and the movies are fun, family entertainment.

I applaud J.K. Rowling.  Good job!

This Movie Haunts Me

Some movies just stick with you.  Out of nowhere today, I had the theme to Jeremiah Johnson spinning through my head. 

Jeremiah Johnson made his way into the mountains
Bettin' on forgettin' all the troubles that he knew
The trail was wide and narrow
And the eagle or the sparrow
Showed the path he was to follow as they flew.
A mountain man's a lonely man
And he leaves a life behind
It ought to have been different, but oftimes you will find,
That the story doesn't always go that way you had in mind.
Jeremiah's story was that kind. . .
Jeremiah's story was that kind.
The way that you wander is the way that you choose,
The day that you tarry is the day that you lose.
Sunshine or thunder, a man will always wonder.
Where the fair wind blows.
An Indian says you search in vain for what you cannot find.
He says you'll find a thousand ways for runnin' down your time.
An Indian didn't scream it, he said it in a song,
And he's never been known to be wrong.
He's never been known to be wrong.

Filmed in the winter Utah mountains, the scenery is breathtaking and Robert Redford was the man long Brad Pitt threw away his Binky.


 

This is a movie I have seen more times than Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, or Ghost.  

I really don't know what part of it speaks to me.  I think it's appeal is as haunting as it's theme song.  Peace and solitude were long desired, but rarely attainable for Mr. Johnson.

If you have seen it, I think you'd agree and if you haven't, find it and experience the mountains and Jeremiah's cast of characters he meets on his journey.  I think you'll enjoy them.

Things I Never Get Tired Of

1.  I hate commercials.  I think most people do.  They are at least 10  volume decimals higher than regular programing.  I don't know why they think they have to scream at us. One that I don't mind is the Dodge Ram truck commercials with Sam Elliot doing the voice over.  I confess, Sam could read the phone book and I would be there from A to Z. 

2.  Long gone are the "Like A Rock", Bob Seger, Chevy truck commercials.  You trust Bob Seger, right?  He didn't yell.  Just play the song.  Simple. To the point.

3.  About once a year I read "The Great Gatsby".   I don't doubt it is wrapped up in my memories with Robert Redford.  In my head, Jay Gatsby's voice is always Robert Redford.   It's a short book of a time long gone,  that I would have loved to observe like Nick Carraway.

4.  Motown..... What can I say.  I grew up 90 minutes from Detroit in the Motown glory days.

5.  Yankee Candles
      
6.  Top Gun    and   Sleepless in Seatle      These I never grow tired of.


What are favorites?  What do you never grow tired of?