Blue Eyes

Sad news today.

Paul Newman has died at the age of 83.

Gorgeous and generous.

He will be missed.

I read the news today, Oh boy!

Originally written over 2 years ago, I was inspired to re post this after reading SuperRaizy's post. The first 29 comments are from the original post...back when I was, ahem, popular.


Paul McCartney and Heather Mills agree to split.

When I was only 8 years old, something life-changing happened to me. (okay, it happened to millions of others too, but when you're 8 years old, you're pretty sure it's only happening to you).

The Beatles

Yep, that's what happened. I saw them. Well, not in-person, but as close to in-person as you could get...I saw them on Ed Sullivan.

I can still remember it. The t.v. picture was black and white. You actually had to get out of your chair to switch to the right station.

They stood there, singing to an audience of screaming fans. Girls ready to faint. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

And there he was...PAUL...he was the most gorgeous male person I had ever seen. How did I even comprehend that, at eight years of age? His hair was thick and dark and funny looking. (yes, in 1964 that was considered funny looking). But his eyes, oh his eyes. And his smile...he melted my little girl-sized heart.

My neighbor and I were so obsessed with Paul, that we would play a game, for hours, called "I married Paul". Can you imagine? All I wanted was to marry him. Thank goodness the Monkees came along a few years later, so Davy Jones could take my mind off him...for a little while anyway.

I was convinced Paul would find me, swoop me into his arms, and propose. I mean, why not?
Wasn't Paul looking for a little Jewish girl from the suburbs of L.A. to marry? Why, of course he was!

Until he met Linda, that is. It all went down hill from there. In 1969, he and Linda married. Female hearts around the world had been crushed and shattered. It was devastating. He even seemed happy.

How could I be so angry, at the age of 131/2, that Paul had decided to marry Linda? Wasn't I supposed to be happy for him? Afterall, he was the man I had loved faithfully for over 4 years. And when you truly love someone, aren't you supposed to be happy when they're happy?

HELL NO

I knew it was over. I had to accept it. My dream would never come true. Paul would forever be lost to me.

So I mustered all the emotional strength I could and proceeded to get on with my life. Boyfriends would come and go, but no one could tweak my heart the way Paul did.

Until the person in the picture above, at the top, came along. This was amazing...he had the same dark hair. His eyes were those "sad" eyes, just like Paul's. Something about his lips looked familiar.

This man resembled Paul. Could it be? If I could not have Paul, was I destined to have a look-alike?

As fate would have it, this was to be the case. Because the picture above, at the top, is...

Mr. Cruisin...in all his Beatle-like glory.

I had found "my Paul". Okay, so he didn't have a gazillion dollars, and wasn't one of the most famous musicians in the world, and couldn't serenade me to bed at night with "If I fell". Hey, a girl can't expect absolutely everything right?

Anyhow, I bet Paul can't swing a hammer, or turn a wrench. He probably doesn't even watch American Idol. "My Paul" can do all that and more.

Life was good. Status quo. I had accepted gracefully, that I would never be married to Paul. But how many women can say they married a look-alike of their childhood fantasy? Not many, I suppose.

Sometimes life goes on without a twist or a turn. But sometimes, everything changes.

Once again, fate would present me with a dilemma.

In 1998, Linda McCartney, beloved wife of Paul McCartney, died from breast cancer.

Feelings swirled through my body. What sad, horrible, devastating news. POOR PAUL...the love of his life, the woman he had never spent a night away from, the mother of his children...GONE.

"Hmmmmm", I thought to myself..."SHE'S GONE!"...

My head snapped. What was I thinking. Paul, the man I had loved faithfully, was in deep pain and all I could think about was the fact that Linda was gone...out of my way...

Of course, there was one tiny problem. Unlike back in 1969, I now had a husband and children, and a name in my community. How could I dump all that for Paul?

I knew that Paul was probably needing me now in his hour of grief. But I was resigned to my fate. We were not meant to be and that was that.

A few years later, Paul would meet a British model, fall in love, marry, and have a child. I suppose I was happy for him, but there would always be a longing in my heart.

Fast forward to today. I woke up, turned on my radio, and there it was...the ANNOUNCEMENT..."Paul McCartney and Heather Mills agree to split".

Oh my God, poor Paul...my heart sank. This man had found happiness once again (without me)...and was now going to lose it.

Fate has presented me with another dilemma...Paul is FREE again. What to do? I mean, Mr. Cruisin is still here...faithful all these years.

Did Paul stay faithful to me?...don't think so. Did Mr. Cruisin? Through all of life's ups, downs, twists and turns...he stayed faithful to me.

Sorry, Paul...you had your chance in 1964...and even though you're free again...

I guess you blew it.

Father/Son Bonding

I don't know about you, but when my children were small, we were always searching for new ways to "bond" with our kids.

Perhaps reading a book together, going outside for a "catch", building legos, solving a jigsaw puzzle, or riding a bike.

As they grew older, this became a little more difficult because, of course, they were more interested in spending time with friends than with mom and dad.

Of course we found this impossible to believe, why, being the cool, hip, baby-boomer parents that we are.

Now, we're lucky if we can get them to go out to dinner with us, and if they do, I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we pay.

So, imagine my excitement when the news flashed the story last night that Ryan and Redmond O'Neal were arrested together for possession of drugs.

What a fabulous bonding activity. Maybe they'll even get to share a jail cell. Think of the hours these two could have to spend together, just shmoozing and sharing and well, simply being together.

Wow, the 21st century continues to surprise and delight me.

off track

Update: Robert Avrech, over at Seraphic Secret, was kind enough to link to this post. Thanks Robert!

It's not often that large scale death and destruction comes to your own "back yard".

But on Friday, Sept. 12th at 4:23 p.m. that's exactly what happened.

An explosion, a mushroom cloud of smoke, helicopters overhead, were the first signs that something had gone terribly wrong.

I quickly turned on the t.v. to find that a commuter train had collided with a freight train.

My brave husband, along with two other selfless neighbors, were first responders. Forgetting that the train on fire could have easily blown up, they ran in the direction of danger, doing what their hearts told them to do...

...to help save someone's child, or spouse, or sibling.

They immediately began pulling people out of the train, blocking the death, and groans and cries of people all around, in order to do what they were compelled to do.

Just regular people, who will never admit that they were heroes for a day.

I dedicate this post to:

• the ordinary people who lost their lives just simply trying to get home on a Friday evening after a long work week.
  
• the people who were injured and may have a long journey back to health.
  
• the families who will never again see the people they loved.
• the firefighters, the police, the rescue workers, the emergency room doctors and personnel, the news reporters, and the brave neighbors who all worked tirelessly to save lives.

Firefighters who had responded to the Northridge earthquake, the train disaster in Glendale, CA in 2005 killing 11 people, stated that they had never seen anything quite like this.

My husband and the others were asked to leave the scene as soon as rescue workers arrived. They came back home overwhelmed, out of breath, tears falling down their cheeks.

They came back home as ordinary heroes.

Who's your daddy?

Update: Just watched Sarah Palin's speech...She is articulate and certainly not afraid to go after Obama. She might even hold her own against Joe Biden(?) Well, these next weeks will certainly be riveting...

Is this not the most amazing time in history (aside from the appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan of course) to be living through?

Who would have ever thought we'd see a black man running for president, having won the nomination from a woman to boot.

And a woman selected as the opposition's vice presidential running mate.

A black man and a woman all in one fell swoop.

What progress we have made.

Why, just 16 years ago Dan Quayle, while running as the Republican vice-presidential candidate, was quite clear that (the fictional) Murphy Brown, successful career woman earning enough wages to care for herself and her baby, was committing the heinous act of having a baby out of wedlock and planning to raise him as a single mother.

Isn't it wonderful that in just 16 short years, it has become acceptable and actually something to applaud, that a 17 year old high school student has become pregnant while unmarried?

But wait, I guess it's okay since the baby's daddy, an 18 year old self-described f-ing redneck is forcibly, 00ps, I mean willingly, going to step up to marry the young mom. You know, the guy who "doesn't want kids"...has come around. Isn't that sweet? Won't that just make for a wonderful marriage?

I think every woman should have the right to choose. I admire someone who takes a stance for pro-life or pro-choice. But it should be each individual's choice.

Did anyone consider adoption for this baby? Just sayin...

Is it better to thrust this young 17 year old into the spotlight and have her marry this redneck- not so kidloving (his thoughts, not mine)-young 18 year old who would rather be hangin' with the guys?

I know that many feel that the children and families of the candidates should be off limits. And yet, it is the candidates themselves who put these things out there. Not unlike John Edwards telling us all about family values, and well, we know how that turned out.

When politicians impose their values on us, then I think their behavior and that of their families become fair game for discussion.

I guess you could say we've come a long way since the days of Dan Quayle and that mess of a gal, Murphy Brown.

Politics makes strange bedfellows

well, I had a political post up, and then I chickened out. I could still post it, but I'm not sure I want to risk starting a fight here.

Any thoughts?