I used to read more books just for pleasure. These days between researching and writing my own books, my blog, and that huge time-suck called Facebook, hours seem to zoom by at warp speed.
Magazines (even dated second hand ones) are fun and interesting. Plus I enjoy a good old-fashioned newspaper. I still read mine sprawled out on the floor as I did when I was a kid. Also there's so many interesting articles online, too.
A Facebook friend chided me for not making time to read more books. "You could fit in at least 10 pages a day!" she declared. -- I absolutely love it when someone dictates how to spend MY free time!
"I read 3 books a week!" another poster added with pride. -- Well give you a fuzzy lollipop, lady, and a hairy jelly bean, too!
Had my father been alive, he would have criticised her for not doing something more productive with her time. I used to delight in curling-up with a READER'S DIGEST. Whenever my dad caught me, he'd berate me for not doing something useful. He thought my writing was a waste of time, too. -- That's what kept me sane!!!
The books I love the most, are usually the ones most people seldom read.
Guess I should be ashamed, because I've never read GONE WITH THE WIND. But the movie was awful enough, thank you! I was gagging on ham and corn all through it. Geez, I hope the book is a lot better. In nearly every scene, Scarlett O'Hara carried on like a spoiled 5 year old. (Or perhaps that was Vivian Lee's fault.) How can anyone describe this character as a strong woman, or a role model? Scarlett O'Hara navigated life by using others. Isn't this the trait of a weak person.
O'Hara is best remembered for her quote, "If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill! As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!" For a decent human being, lying, cheating, stealing, and killing would be a desperate act of last resort.
Guess Scarlett wasn't clever enough to figure out how to make a fishing pole. Georgia is abundant with lakes and streams! All that land around the plantation must have supported wild game. (There weren't many vegetarians back then.) Geez, I thought most Southern women knew how to shoot! Or she could trap! If I remember correctly, she had at least 2 servants remaining. Doubt she'd be doing any skinning or gutting, herself! And wasn't her main goal in life to break-up her sister-in-law's happy marriage! -- Rhett Butler finally wised up in the end.
Never would I waste my money on 50 SHADES OF CRAP, or whatever its called. It amazes me that so many women who make meals of salad to eschew putting garbage in their bodies have no problem putting it into their heads!
Besides, when it comes to fiction, I'd much rather see a movie. I prefer history books. Also I love a good paranormal publication, too, if it has some basis in fact, or a plausible theory behind it. If you are one of the few people who read my blog, you know I am a firm believer in ghosts. Biographies and autobiographies, I find interesting if they are NOT about pop celebrities.
I will never forget I WILL SURVIVE by Sala Pawlowicz, a riveting autobiography I read in High School. As a young Polish teenager, Sala was dispatched to several concentration camps. I couldn't say in an oral book report the humiliating degradations to which she was subjected. And because she was pretty, Sala was targeted for special abuse by the female guards. One vowed to see her die! To save herself, Sala took a dangerous risk that could easily have cost her life. Sala Pawlowicz was a strong heroine in reality!
The new novel LET IT BE by Vero Beach author Rush Roberts is an autobiography fictionalized to protect the innocent. Rush came from a family far more dysfunctional than mine. Yet, unlike me, he managed to earn a college degree and become a highly useful member of society.
I've heard on excellent authority this is a gripping read. It also has plenty of humor. This would make an amazing movie on the big screen! Remember, everything in this book actually happened! Rush is a a regular person brimming with talent, courage and a strong, indomitable core.
Despite all the dysfunction, Rush Roberts had one huge advantage in life. He is blessed with an outstanding mother. Donna Roberts Mitchell is a successful businesswoman and dynamic radio personality. Often I've enjoyed her acting and powerful singing voice in many Vero Beach Theatre Guild productions. She's a mover and shaker here in Vero Beach! I'm proud to know her.
Clearly, she is a mother who adores her son. I believe she made all the difference in his life. He inherited those extraordinary genes. Rush Roberts will be OK no matter what. Because of his book, he might even become a celebrity.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
THE ULTIMATE MOVIE SPECTACULAR VIXEN
Chelo Alonso was the woman for whom twelve and a half year old me would have gladly gone gay! No actress since has oozed with such primitive animal magnificence and power. Her dark eyes smoldered with a seductive slant that was both exotic and erotic. However, unlike most actresses today, there was nothing vulgar about Chelo.
The summer of 1963 was a usual hot, sticky, often stormy one. My then best friend Dayle and I spent much time in a cool, darkened theatre. Wednesday nights we went to see the latest movies out of Hollywood. But we especially loved Saturday matinees.
These were the European (usually Italian) movie spectacles with a cast of thousands. Dubbed in English, sometimes lips moved after a character had finished talking. Or an actor spoke via a closed mouth. I recall a pirate movie in which an outdoor scene was obviously filmed on a stage setting. One did not need 20 20 vision to notice the stars were really lights strung together by wires. A big artificial-yellow moon hung in one corner. My father called them cheesy. But that was part of the fun!
The first time I saw Chelo Alonso up on the screen I was transfixed. Her perfect figure was tightly clad in peekaboo leather as she strutted about in boots, whip in hand. Long before Xena Warrior Princess was Tonja Queen of the Tartars! There was a mystique to her. Sandra Dee never interested me. I wanted to be Chelo Alonso!
I assumed she was either an Italian actress, or a Spaniard with perhaps Moroccan blood. Only recently did I learn she was actually Cuban and Mexican. Hailed as the Cuban H-Bomb, Chelo had been an exotic dancer at the Folies Bergere in Paris. You had better believe she was noticed! In one film she upstaged the star, statuesque Swedish beauty Anita Ekberg of La Dolce Vita fame.
Chelo Alonso was far grander than her films. Hollywood should have been paying attention. Gorgeous and talented, she deserved super stardom!!! Chelo Alonso even replaced Debra Paget as my favorite actress. Whom up until then I thought was the most beautiful woman ever to grace the planet.
Dayle was impressed by her, too, but not to my extent. Chelo always played a woman in control, at least in the movies I saw. This was an entire decade before the woman's liberation movement. In 1963 most women still aspired to be a secretary who would marry the boss. Chelo was the antithesis of that! Whether heroine or villain, (She played both with equal elan.) her characters wielded power. To a backward pre-teen with none, this was highly appealing.
My friendship with Dayle did not survive the summer. (Mainly due to conflict between our parents.) It ended around the latter part of July. But my girl-crush on Chelo endured. Alone, I continued attending Saturday matinees to enjoy her movies.
Unfortunately, summer drew to a close. In September I began school in a different city. Soon everything would change dramatically. Out-of-the-blue life took a drastic turn. It would be the first of many times the ground would drop from under me. An unpleasant new reality ensued, a long dark period that would stretch on for decades. My Saturday movie habit ended. It would not resume until my fifties.
For awhile, Chelo Alonso movies started turning up on TV. Sadly though, I haven't seen one in decades, not even on the retro stations. Chelo Alonso deserves her own film festival! She is someone never to be forgotten!
Her influence remains an integral part of me. Late in my fifties I purchased a pair of black high-heeled gladiator boots. And I thought of Chelo Alonso. Thumbs up to you, Chelo, where ever you are!
The summer of 1963 was a usual hot, sticky, often stormy one. My then best friend Dayle and I spent much time in a cool, darkened theatre. Wednesday nights we went to see the latest movies out of Hollywood. But we especially loved Saturday matinees.
These were the European (usually Italian) movie spectacles with a cast of thousands. Dubbed in English, sometimes lips moved after a character had finished talking. Or an actor spoke via a closed mouth. I recall a pirate movie in which an outdoor scene was obviously filmed on a stage setting. One did not need 20 20 vision to notice the stars were really lights strung together by wires. A big artificial-yellow moon hung in one corner. My father called them cheesy. But that was part of the fun!
The first time I saw Chelo Alonso up on the screen I was transfixed. Her perfect figure was tightly clad in peekaboo leather as she strutted about in boots, whip in hand. Long before Xena Warrior Princess was Tonja Queen of the Tartars! There was a mystique to her. Sandra Dee never interested me. I wanted to be Chelo Alonso!
I assumed she was either an Italian actress, or a Spaniard with perhaps Moroccan blood. Only recently did I learn she was actually Cuban and Mexican. Hailed as the Cuban H-Bomb, Chelo had been an exotic dancer at the Folies Bergere in Paris. You had better believe she was noticed! In one film she upstaged the star, statuesque Swedish beauty Anita Ekberg of La Dolce Vita fame.
Chelo Alonso was far grander than her films. Hollywood should have been paying attention. Gorgeous and talented, she deserved super stardom!!! Chelo Alonso even replaced Debra Paget as my favorite actress. Whom up until then I thought was the most beautiful woman ever to grace the planet.
Dayle was impressed by her, too, but not to my extent. Chelo always played a woman in control, at least in the movies I saw. This was an entire decade before the woman's liberation movement. In 1963 most women still aspired to be a secretary who would marry the boss. Chelo was the antithesis of that! Whether heroine or villain, (She played both with equal elan.) her characters wielded power. To a backward pre-teen with none, this was highly appealing.
My friendship with Dayle did not survive the summer. (Mainly due to conflict between our parents.) It ended around the latter part of July. But my girl-crush on Chelo endured. Alone, I continued attending Saturday matinees to enjoy her movies.
Unfortunately, summer drew to a close. In September I began school in a different city. Soon everything would change dramatically. Out-of-the-blue life took a drastic turn. It would be the first of many times the ground would drop from under me. An unpleasant new reality ensued, a long dark period that would stretch on for decades. My Saturday movie habit ended. It would not resume until my fifties.
For awhile, Chelo Alonso movies started turning up on TV. Sadly though, I haven't seen one in decades, not even on the retro stations. Chelo Alonso deserves her own film festival! She is someone never to be forgotten!
Her influence remains an integral part of me. Late in my fifties I purchased a pair of black high-heeled gladiator boots. And I thought of Chelo Alonso. Thumbs up to you, Chelo, where ever you are!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
THE MOVIE THIEF
A meal OR a movie, period! That was the choice given with every man I dated after moving to Vero Beach. (None of these guys were poor.) I figured the heck with men! I'd designate my own date-day and treat myself to both! No one can make me happier than myself.
Ahhh, I was free to select the movie I wanted and eat where I pleased. Plus never was I required to politely pretend interest in every utterance out of a man's mouth. It was a wonderfully happy, carefree time. But it was brief.
First, came the double hurricane strike of 04 and its expensive damage to my house. My Insurance Co. didn't exactly come riding in on a white horse with a big check. I was forced to pay the lions share myself! Second, I was hit by a staggering financial loss in my investments that was life altering. Suddenly, most of my disposable income was gone. I was forced into major changes.
Crap! Now it was back to the choice of either a movie OR a meal! Since a movie was the least expensive, I chose that. I'd prepare myself a favorite meal with a rich dessert after returning home.
Exiting a movie early one afternoon, I noticed a line of people entering another I had planned to see. No ushers were in sight. Quickly and quietly, I slipped into that line. I copped a freebie!!!
It's true what they say about the slippery slope. This became my new hobby! Every Friday morning, the 1st thing I did, even before coffee was to scope the movie openings in the newspaper. I'd note the ending time, then figure out what I could sneak into afterward. -- My buy one, steal one free deal.
Always I started early because I wanted to be home before dark. I refuse to drive at night.
I had two other rules! ONE: I'd pay for the movie I wanted to see most. TWO: If I couldn't get a freebie, I'd stay home. However, with multiple screens this was rare, often I saw TWO FOR FREE! Usually, I went Saturdays as well. On the weekend, I lived at the movies! The only drawback was that my backside got sore from sitting so long.
However, I never ate theatre fare. It's just OVER-PRICED junk food! Usually with multiple movies, I'd just come home to my favorite Stouffer's 5 Cheese Lasagna or French Bread Pizza followed by a rich bakery dessert or premium ice-cream. I was too tuckered out from watching all those movies to cook.
Now I consider myself an honest person. I felt a tinge of guilt. Yet, a part of me was proud of how much money I was saving! Plus it was fun!
At the time, I was still in group therapy. We found ourselves discussing things we did that made us ashamed. Red-faced, I confessed to being a movie thief! Loud uproarious laughter surrounded me.
"We all do that, Dianne!" stated a woman sitting kitty-corner from me. "Most of us here are seniors on fixed incomes. We're forced to make our money stretch."
"My husband and I always get at least 4 movies per visit," said another. "And we always smile and nod at the others who follow us from movie-to movie. We plan to resume after my husband recovers from his operation and is out of his wheelchair."
TALK ABOUT YOUR SENIOR DISCOUNT! HEY! HEY!
In time, I stopped worrying about getting caught. BIG MISTAKE! Early one Friday before noon, I waited in the lobby for my freebie. Ushers were still inside the screen room. The theatre was nearly empty for a Friday. This was unusual. I knew it was easier to get lost in a crowd and harder for the employees to watch me. I should have tried to slip in upstairs where they couldn't see me from the service desk. Also that day, the service desk was manned by an adult. Teens are more likely to look the other way. But I had become cocky and lazy.
Without looking around, I entered and seated myself. A few minutes later, an usher entered. I tried to appear nonchalant. But my heart began to speed-up as she turned into my row and marched straight over to me. She demanded to see my ticket. Hoping she wouldn't be able to read in the dark, I pulled out my ticket for the previous movie.
I was informed that I had to purchase another ticket or leave. They were cracking down on movie-hopping!!! -- Guess that explains why the theatre was almost empty!
I tried to feign innocence. "I thought this was like Disneyland the Magic Kingdom," I told her, "and I could go on as many rides as I wanted on just one ticket."
Well no more! I was forced to do the walk-of-shame! Fortunately, only ushers were there to watch.
I asked myself why I needed to be there at all. Recently, I had signed up for the AT&T bundle. Now I was receiving movie channels for the 1st time in my life! I don't get HBO, but I do get all the STARZ, SHOWTIME channels and many others. Plus I already had 80 movies recorded on my DVR!
I decided from then on to stay home and enjoy DVR Saturday. I wouldn't have to get dressed or use up any expensive gasoline. -- This has become an event to which I look forward with much sublime anticipation. A day to be relished!
On occasion, I still turn up at the theatre for a promising 3-D flick. Sometimes I even manage to sneak in a freebie, just for old times sake.
Ahhh, I was free to select the movie I wanted and eat where I pleased. Plus never was I required to politely pretend interest in every utterance out of a man's mouth. It was a wonderfully happy, carefree time. But it was brief.
First, came the double hurricane strike of 04 and its expensive damage to my house. My Insurance Co. didn't exactly come riding in on a white horse with a big check. I was forced to pay the lions share myself! Second, I was hit by a staggering financial loss in my investments that was life altering. Suddenly, most of my disposable income was gone. I was forced into major changes.
Crap! Now it was back to the choice of either a movie OR a meal! Since a movie was the least expensive, I chose that. I'd prepare myself a favorite meal with a rich dessert after returning home.
Exiting a movie early one afternoon, I noticed a line of people entering another I had planned to see. No ushers were in sight. Quickly and quietly, I slipped into that line. I copped a freebie!!!
It's true what they say about the slippery slope. This became my new hobby! Every Friday morning, the 1st thing I did, even before coffee was to scope the movie openings in the newspaper. I'd note the ending time, then figure out what I could sneak into afterward. -- My buy one, steal one free deal.
Always I started early because I wanted to be home before dark. I refuse to drive at night.
I had two other rules! ONE: I'd pay for the movie I wanted to see most. TWO: If I couldn't get a freebie, I'd stay home. However, with multiple screens this was rare, often I saw TWO FOR FREE! Usually, I went Saturdays as well. On the weekend, I lived at the movies! The only drawback was that my backside got sore from sitting so long.
However, I never ate theatre fare. It's just OVER-PRICED junk food! Usually with multiple movies, I'd just come home to my favorite Stouffer's 5 Cheese Lasagna or French Bread Pizza followed by a rich bakery dessert or premium ice-cream. I was too tuckered out from watching all those movies to cook.
Now I consider myself an honest person. I felt a tinge of guilt. Yet, a part of me was proud of how much money I was saving! Plus it was fun!
At the time, I was still in group therapy. We found ourselves discussing things we did that made us ashamed. Red-faced, I confessed to being a movie thief! Loud uproarious laughter surrounded me.
"We all do that, Dianne!" stated a woman sitting kitty-corner from me. "Most of us here are seniors on fixed incomes. We're forced to make our money stretch."
"My husband and I always get at least 4 movies per visit," said another. "And we always smile and nod at the others who follow us from movie-to movie. We plan to resume after my husband recovers from his operation and is out of his wheelchair."
TALK ABOUT YOUR SENIOR DISCOUNT! HEY! HEY!
In time, I stopped worrying about getting caught. BIG MISTAKE! Early one Friday before noon, I waited in the lobby for my freebie. Ushers were still inside the screen room. The theatre was nearly empty for a Friday. This was unusual. I knew it was easier to get lost in a crowd and harder for the employees to watch me. I should have tried to slip in upstairs where they couldn't see me from the service desk. Also that day, the service desk was manned by an adult. Teens are more likely to look the other way. But I had become cocky and lazy.
Without looking around, I entered and seated myself. A few minutes later, an usher entered. I tried to appear nonchalant. But my heart began to speed-up as she turned into my row and marched straight over to me. She demanded to see my ticket. Hoping she wouldn't be able to read in the dark, I pulled out my ticket for the previous movie.
I was informed that I had to purchase another ticket or leave. They were cracking down on movie-hopping!!! -- Guess that explains why the theatre was almost empty!
I tried to feign innocence. "I thought this was like Disneyland the Magic Kingdom," I told her, "and I could go on as many rides as I wanted on just one ticket."
Well no more! I was forced to do the walk-of-shame! Fortunately, only ushers were there to watch.
I asked myself why I needed to be there at all. Recently, I had signed up for the AT&T bundle. Now I was receiving movie channels for the 1st time in my life! I don't get HBO, but I do get all the STARZ, SHOWTIME channels and many others. Plus I already had 80 movies recorded on my DVR!
I decided from then on to stay home and enjoy DVR Saturday. I wouldn't have to get dressed or use up any expensive gasoline. -- This has become an event to which I look forward with much sublime anticipation. A day to be relished!
On occasion, I still turn up at the theatre for a promising 3-D flick. Sometimes I even manage to sneak in a freebie, just for old times sake.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
MY STONE AGE TV DESTROYED BY BATS
The television set we brought to Vero Beach in 1999 had the biggest screen they made in 1976 when my father purchased it. It would be dwarfed by most today. This TV was also boxy and heavy. It required 2 strong men to lift it.
The final year of my father's life, he was paralyzed on one side. He dropped the remote so many times even new batteries couldn't get it working again. Whenever the channel needed changing or the sound adjusted, I got up out of my chair to do it. I didn't mind! This is what I grew up doing. We didn't even have a remote-controlled set until I was in my late teens. It was our first COLOR set as well.
Color TV existed prior to that, but the quality wasn't good. Plus most TV shows were still filmed in black & white.
When I was 14, a neighbor invited our family over to watch the movie version of PRINCE VALIANT in color. An exciting event to which we looked forward. I enjoyed the evening, but I had to agree with my parents, the color looked fake. Only a few years later, the process was perfected.
Around this time, came a marvel so wondrous, surely it must have been culled from captured UFO technology, a miracle called CABLE!!!
Previously, we received only 5 TV channels and 3 were almost always snowy. On RARE occasions, when the stars were all aligned just right, and angels and faeries danced together, all 5 would come in clear. -- This occurred about twice!
The 1976 television was considered state-of-the-art at its time of purchase.
After my father's death, visitors would take one look at it and exclaim, "Where did you get that antique!"
"It still works." I'd smile.
However, it began showing its age right around the time I lost all that money in investments when I couldn't afford to replace it. I had to be careful with the money I had left.
Whenever I'd change the station, the picture would wobble and transform into a work of modern art. Usually, I could fix the problem by banging the side with my fist. The problem always seemed to be situated in a particular spot. Trouble was, the spot moved. Sometimes I had to beat my set to find it! The illusive V spot, I called it.
I knew the digital transition was on its way. I was determined to make due until then.
Unfortunately, the TV did not survive my bat infestation. Bat turds were falling from my 30 ft. cathedral ceiling onto the TV and surrounding area. (These were American Brown Bats not Mexican Fruit Bats. Fortunately, their droppings were not guano!) The smell of bat urine filled my downstairs. I had all manor of problems! They are a protected species! (Read GOING BATTY IN MY 50's a previous blog of mine.) It was a miserable summer.
Eventually, I found a handyman with a ladder high enough to seal the ceiling. By that time, the baby bats had all grown and flown away. I returned to living downstairs once again. When I turned on my TV, there was no picture, sound, or anything! It was gone with the bats!
A final indignity to a device that had been my faithful companion for 3 decades. At its purchase, I was a 25 year old blonde hottie excitedly preparing for an upcoming trip to Ireland. At its end, I was a post menopausal red-haired woman in her mid-50's unsure of her future.
When my new TV arrived with the 52 inch screen, I remarked that I'd be in my 80's if it lasted as long as the old one.
"It won't!" declared the deliveryman. "Around 12 years is about the most you can expect."
It lasted 4 years!!! I bought a floor model. I didn't know it, but it was already obsolete when I purchased it. -- Guess that's why it was on sale so cheap!
My current TV has a 55 inch screen for which I probably payed too much.
The final year of my father's life, he was paralyzed on one side. He dropped the remote so many times even new batteries couldn't get it working again. Whenever the channel needed changing or the sound adjusted, I got up out of my chair to do it. I didn't mind! This is what I grew up doing. We didn't even have a remote-controlled set until I was in my late teens. It was our first COLOR set as well.
Color TV existed prior to that, but the quality wasn't good. Plus most TV shows were still filmed in black & white.
When I was 14, a neighbor invited our family over to watch the movie version of PRINCE VALIANT in color. An exciting event to which we looked forward. I enjoyed the evening, but I had to agree with my parents, the color looked fake. Only a few years later, the process was perfected.
Around this time, came a marvel so wondrous, surely it must have been culled from captured UFO technology, a miracle called CABLE!!!
Previously, we received only 5 TV channels and 3 were almost always snowy. On RARE occasions, when the stars were all aligned just right, and angels and faeries danced together, all 5 would come in clear. -- This occurred about twice!
The 1976 television was considered state-of-the-art at its time of purchase.
After my father's death, visitors would take one look at it and exclaim, "Where did you get that antique!"
"It still works." I'd smile.
However, it began showing its age right around the time I lost all that money in investments when I couldn't afford to replace it. I had to be careful with the money I had left.
Whenever I'd change the station, the picture would wobble and transform into a work of modern art. Usually, I could fix the problem by banging the side with my fist. The problem always seemed to be situated in a particular spot. Trouble was, the spot moved. Sometimes I had to beat my set to find it! The illusive V spot, I called it.
I knew the digital transition was on its way. I was determined to make due until then.
Unfortunately, the TV did not survive my bat infestation. Bat turds were falling from my 30 ft. cathedral ceiling onto the TV and surrounding area. (These were American Brown Bats not Mexican Fruit Bats. Fortunately, their droppings were not guano!) The smell of bat urine filled my downstairs. I had all manor of problems! They are a protected species! (Read GOING BATTY IN MY 50's a previous blog of mine.) It was a miserable summer.
Eventually, I found a handyman with a ladder high enough to seal the ceiling. By that time, the baby bats had all grown and flown away. I returned to living downstairs once again. When I turned on my TV, there was no picture, sound, or anything! It was gone with the bats!
A final indignity to a device that had been my faithful companion for 3 decades. At its purchase, I was a 25 year old blonde hottie excitedly preparing for an upcoming trip to Ireland. At its end, I was a post menopausal red-haired woman in her mid-50's unsure of her future.
When my new TV arrived with the 52 inch screen, I remarked that I'd be in my 80's if it lasted as long as the old one.
"It won't!" declared the deliveryman. "Around 12 years is about the most you can expect."
It lasted 4 years!!! I bought a floor model. I didn't know it, but it was already obsolete when I purchased it. -- Guess that's why it was on sale so cheap!
My current TV has a 55 inch screen for which I probably payed too much.
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