“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; words without thoughts never to heaven go.”

Weird crap floating around in my brain:

Incredibly painful throbbing in my left foot woke me up at 4am this morning [after not falling asleep til 1] and all I could think of was Daniel Day Lewis.

The theme to Gilligan’s Island

I couldn’t find my jacket this morning as I was about to leave for work. I wandered around the apartment for a few minutes before discovering it hanging on the back of the bedroom door. That old chesnut “If it was a snake it would have bit me…” came to mind. And it struck me as a really f’d up expression—I mean I’d like to think I’d have noticed a snake hanging around the place right off the bat….

A 7th grade book report on mirrors—I wrote it upside down and backwards.

A song by Rancid played on the radio as I was driving in to work and it got me thinking about words that sound like what they mean… like “phlegm,” “succulent,” “vomit” [it sort of explodes out of your mouth], “ping pong,” “angular,”

Several quotes from Seinfeld—God they come in handy in almost ANY life situation.

That during my lifetime, our country has been run by a haberdasher, a retired general, a decorated war vet/celebrated author, a Texas teacher, a lawyer, a college football star, a peanut farmer, a B actor, former director of the CIA, a saxophone player, an idiot and a guy with the middle name of Hussein.

Do two gay brothers make a sister?

Why is it cold weather makes your nose run—shouldn’t it freeze that stuff up and the HOT weather make it run?

How I wish I really could laugh my ass off….

Questions from the Baltimore Catechism: Who made me? God made me. Why did God make me?

Boy I wish I could defrag my brain like I do my computer.

*illustration is from “bluemoonart at flickr”

“Sigh no more ladies, sigh no more….”

whoa!

Barbie made her first appearance today in 1959—I was 6.

Damn.

Barbie—the impossibly proportioned fashion doll. [The doll that set the stage for generations of body issues for young girls? Maybe…..]

I got the second version of Barbie—the one with the “bubble” bouffant ‘do—she was still rockin’ the striped one-piece though.

Then you had to start getting her massive wardrobe. Barbie has always been quite fashion forward, you know. The ultimate, of course, was to have her bridal gown—that cost about $15.00 at the time! [Again—setting little girls up for impossible expectations of what real life is all about. If you didn’t have the ultimate wedding you were nothing. DUH—it’s the marriage that’s the important thing!]

Since we didn’t have a lot of money, my grandmother knitted several ensembles for my Barbie [including a wedding gown, I think]. I had the only granny-looking doll in my hood. God bless Grandmom, she tried. When I was about 12, I learned how to sew and I made a few outfits on my own. They were, um,… interesting….

Also around this time, my crazy older brother decided that my Barbie wasn’t “anatomically correct” and proceeded to take a hammer and a nail and give her nipples.

It still amazes me that I haven’t spent eons in therapy….

Barbie’s empire has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. During my Barbie years, they came out with the Ken doll, her little sister Skipper and the Barbie car—you were the queen bitch of your group if you had that.

I tried to stave off my daughter’s foray into Barbie-dom as long as I could, but once she started kindergarten it was impossible not to let her have one. No, not just one, you had to have several….

And a ton more accoutrements to go with them.

By now Miss B. was into real estate. There was the Barbie townhouse, the Barbie beauty parlor and, of course, the Barbie Dream House. Seriously, Barbie puts Martha Stewart to shame for entreprenurialness.

One of the jobs my daughter had when she was going to college and raising her son was at a low-income day care center in the area. There was one Ken doll and a gazillion Barbie’s. The common scenario apparently was for all of the Barbie’s to be claiming Ken was their baby daddy—ah how times had changed….. My daughter said it was a toddler Jerry Springer Show.

[OMG--now there's a Barbie with a tramp stamp!!]

HAPPY 51ST MISS B.!!!

Welcome to menopause!

"I have no other but a woman's reason: I think him so, because I think him so." -Two Gentlemen of Verona

Well, it took them long enough…..

A woman won an Oscar for directing last night—for the first time. Really so-called progressive Hollywood? It took you to 2010 to do this.
Interesting that it should happen the night before “International Women’s Day.” Didn’t know that was today? Well you’re probably not alone—I didn’t.

Gee, a whole day for us girls…. To contemplate what it is to be a woman? Well, a lot of things: daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, teachers, nurses, accountants, chauffeurs. All kinds of things. Most men can’t keep up. I know the one time my husband had to follow my schedule, when I was hospitalized, he was overwhelmed.

Then add jobs to all of the above….. No wonder many of the ladies I know are so tired all the time.

International Women’s Day was “launched” in 1911 in Copenhagen by a woman named Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany [uh-oh—there’s that “s” word the conservatives have been throwing around.]

BUT—

They didn’t actually get around to observing it until 1945….
So, I guess I can’t be too pissed off at Hollywood.

Okay, I’m going to celebrate this evening by doing something highly cultural—and very lady-like: watch RuPaul’s Drag Race 2….

♥♥ ♥♥ ♥♥

Today’s interesting factoid:
Dorothy Arzner was the only woman director during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood's studio system in the 1920s, 30s and early 40s. Though she was the sole member of her gender to direct Hollywood pictures during the first generation of sound film, in the silent era, a woman aspiring to a career behind the camera was not a pipe-dream. The first movie in history was directed by a Frenchwoman, and many women were employed in Hollywood during the silent era, most frequently as scenario writers. Indeed, there were women directors in the silent era, such as Frances Marion (more famous as a screenwriter) and Lois Weber, but Arzner was fated to be the only female director to have made a successful transition to the Sound Era. It wasn't until the 1930s and the verticalization of the industry, as it matured and consolidated, that women were squeezed out of production jobs in Hollywood.

"He jests at scars that never felt a wound"--a postscript

okay...

So apparently one of the side-effects of my injury is complete brain farts.

I totally forgot the worst part of this whole physical fiasco!!! On top of all of the other fun goodies I mentioned yesterday, I also tore my ACL. [I know--when did I join the NFL, right?]

The procedure to repair this injury is much more invasive than the stuff I got done and would have left me completely incapacitated. Not a good thing when you're all by your lonesome.

And as the surgeon so gently pointed out to me:

"At this point in your life.... [read: Now that you're well on your way to old-fartdom] and since you're not an athlete--or a dancer--you can live with a torn ACL."

"So, my dream of becoming the oldest contestant on So You Think You Can Dance is over?"

Upshot is that I get to see what living with a torn ACL is all about. [The thought of another surgery and starting this thing all over again is just too much.....] I must admit I rocked the cripple thing at my grandson's graduation and got us a parking spot right next to the venue and seats on the floor right next to wear the kids were sitting. My knee comes in handy as a weather predictor these days too. I was at my daughter's for a barbeque last 4th of July and I said that based on the throbbing in my knee we were going to get a storm in the next couple of days. And my son comes back with "Could you dial that in a bit more there Sam Champion." Ya gotta love sons and their mom sarcasm.

I want to thank everyone for their encouraging comments--I read and cherish them all. Rock on Cinner [is that template new girl? I love it], Natural Girl, DUTA [check out the link to my mom’s website—she’s a world traveler as well], Ellen Abbott [the only thing I’ve read lately is blogs] and Slommer [like the blue additions. Good luck on finding the red—what’s in the vintage material has lots of burgundy tones]! Check out their blogs gang. They’re great reads.

Xoxo til next time, E

[doesn't the MRI image of the ACL look like something Picasso might have done in a "gray period?" A co-worker said one of my MRI images looked like I had Beelzebub in my knee and that perhaps I needed an excorcism instead of surgery.]

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

Random thought for today:
If your “Sex Is On Fire,” shouldn’t you be on medication of some sort?

♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥

You may have notice I was given a second blog award by a fellow blogger… This never ceases to amaze me—it is so awesome that folks actually look forward to reading my posts. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It was bestowed upon me by the lovely Nancy @ “the window to my sol” [be sure to check her out!]

As always, one is encouraged to pass it on. In no particular order, here are the blogs that I look forward to checking out on a regular basis:

My girl Bridget at … it ain’t that deep she’s new to the party but she’s an awesome friend and fellow theatre freak.

The always wonderful Ruth at Lemonade & Kidneys [send her some hugs peeps—she’s had a rough few weeks]

Lora at fever she will make you laugh and cry and think—all at the same time.

SueAnn at sueann’s journey and awesome artist and a fabulous lady

The wonderfully wacky Alix at Casa Hice

And

The uberly amazing all round biznatch Stephanie at Stephanie Snowe-the Blog! [she’s actually been published folks!!]

“He jests at scars that never felt a wound.”

It was one year ago tonight that I slipped on the ice and did a whole shitload of damage to my left knee….

Not exactly an anniversary that I am enjoying marking. It has been a very frustrating, challenging, yet interesting year. A year filled with my first ride in an ambulance and my first visit to an emergency room in about a decade. A year of having laparoscopic surgery to repair the torn meniscus, the damaged ligaments on both sides of the knee and to remove the cartilage that was floating around in there. A year when for about 2 weeks I was unable to get in and out of the shower because my legs just was not capable of the movement required to do so—so I had to take what my Dad called “whore’s baths.” [When I was finally brave enough to climb into the tub and shower, I was petrified my wobbly knee would not hold me—I kept my cell phone within arm’s length. [ it’s scary living alone]

A year of not being able to drive for several weeks and having to “depend on the kindness of [not really] strangers” to get to and from work—and of being basically trapped in my apartment once I was dropped off because I couldn’t drive my stick-shift car anywhere. A year of excruciating physical therapy, of being in an uncomfortable brace 24-7 and hobbling around on a crutch for about 3 months. It was exhausting. I remember just completely losing steam one day as I hobbled from my car up into my apartment. I made it into the building and around the corner of the hallway. The elevator was another 50 feet or so away and I had to stop and lean against the wall—I just could not go another inch. I looked at the door to the apartment that was about a foot away from me and thought: “God, I wish I lived there.”

A year of having to spend $1,800.00 to repair a damaged clutch and gear-shift due to my hindered abilities while operating the clutch with my bad left leg. A year of attempting to walk to the other end of the borough on an important errand [because my car was having the above damage repaired and I was without it for close to a week.] and having to stop twice on the way there, sit in Mickey D’s for half an hour, and stop twice on the way home. It took me 3 times as long as it would have pre-injury, but I DID IT.

A year of probably gaining about 20 pounds because I couldn’t do any exercise. [and I really was starting to try and get into the habit of working out—I promise]

A year of a lot of other things too—I just can’t remember them all now. I’ve come up against many challenges—some of them I’ve handled well and others I’ve failed at miserably. I’ve had to make a lot of adjustments in my lifestyle—some I’ve done with grace, others of acted like a cranky baby about.

But, I have discovered that I am one tough old broad—and I think that’s a good thing.


♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Random tidbit: March is National “On Hold” Month.

And today is “If Pets Had Thumbs” Day

[if they did, they’d probably answer our calls and put everyone on hold…]

"Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame"

AMC is showing TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD tonight to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the book.

This is one of my favorite films.... and I love the book. I'VE READ IT A DOZEN TIMES. I first read it when I was about 12--and probably totally missed alot of the message. I read it on my own, it was not an assignment--my school did not teach it as part of the curriculum. I guess it didn't join the syllabus until a few years later.

I mean, let's face it--this was a very brave story for 1960--and 62, when the film was released. The Civil Rights Movement didn't hit full steam until a couple of years after this.

Harper Lee's writing was very powerful--and her narration of the film was perfect. It is a shame she never wrote anything after this. I would love to have seen her talent continue to blossom. But how very brave for a white woman in the early 60s to write a book indicting our racist attitudes and practices. I may have grown up in a very "white-bread" suburb, but I was taught to accept everyone as my equal--and that I could learn from everyone I encountered. I have never understood prejudice or discrimination against someone because of their color, or religion, or sexual orientation. [I will admit to having trouble with some people's political standing--but that's me. At least I admit it....]

I also think Ms. Lee wanted to show that not everyone in the South behaved that way. There were plenty of people in that region who helped slaves escape and who worked for voting rights and other things. Atticus Finch with his graying hair, glasses and mild manner is a true hero in my mind. Way more so that anything on screen today.

The courtroom scene is just finishing up. It is very painful to watch how the character of Tom [played with powerful understatement by Brock Peters] is treated. It is so sad to realize that this happened all the time--and probably still does today in a more subtle way.

When I read the book as a young girl, I was totally fascinated by the 2 kids. I couldn't wait to see what Jem, Scout and Dill would get into next. The whole Boo Radley obsession was funny to me. It reminded me to some extent of my brothers and I and our friends. Back in the days when kids played outside and did make-believe. Do kids do that at all anymore? We had so much fun creating worlds for ourselves.

Now we're up to the part when Jem and Scout are walking home from the school pageant on Halloween night. Scout is in a papier mache ham costume because she has lost her dress. They take a short cut through a wooded area, with Jem leading her by her "ham hock." And suddenly they're attacked. One of the most tense film sequences I can remember--especially because of what you don't see.

I know that the actress who played Scout only did a couple more films. as did the young man who played Jem. Both were complete unknowns, cast for their genuine Southern-ness. And I bet you didn't know who thew then-unknown who played Boo Radley was Robert Duval--one of today's most respected actors.

okay--gotta go find the book and re-read it yet again.... wanna join me?

"Beware the Ides of March." —Julius Caesar

Happy March one and all.

Well, it’s March—finally. Some light at the end of the horrible long tunnel that was the winter of 09-10. We will not soon forget this season I’m sure.

Did you know that March is:

Irish-American Month [Faith and Begorrah, me ancestors would be pleased.]

Music in Our Schools Month [what would a football game be without the marching band? Seriously—and what would they do at Christmas…]

National Craft Month [get out those popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners and go to it]

National Frozen Food Month [shouldn’t it also then be National Microwave Month?]

National Peanut Month [find Jimmy Carter and give him a hug. Or a jar of Jiffy, whatever works for ya.]

National Women’s History Month [what, we only get 1 month?! Puh-leaze]

Poetry Month [roses are red, violets are blue; I’m having fun with this post—how about you?]

Red Cross Month [they deserve waaayyy more than a month]