While I love the feast of Thanksgiving and I’m grateful for all that I have, Christmas is my favorite holiday.
I celebrate it with decorations from early November through late January and I start listening to Christmas music on October 1st (earlier if I’m stressed)!
Back in early June, I shared “I Need to Write My ‘Next Chapter'” to let you know about my life — where I’m at and where I want to be! That’s why you take the time to keep you with me, right? 🙂
I wrote that I’m “Alive, but not living!” and I said, “In life, I’ve only made two real spontaneous decisions. As it turned out, both were the best decisions I’ve ever made!”
Both times involved moving to Chicago — in 1994 for two years and, again in 2002 for two more years.
I concluded with, “So, I’ll have to be spontaneous again and start living! As this summer turns into a long Minnesota winter, I’ll enjoy every snowflake. And, come spring 2020, I’ll proudly take to heart the words of my favorite Robert Frost poem, ‘Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening’.
Those words “But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”!
I concluded with “I’ll take a gamble on life again!”
That’s the Cliff Notes or the “soundbite” version of the June blog. If you want to read the entire personal entry (my most viewed blog of 2019), click here and it’ll open in a separate window:
Well, almost six months later, it’s time for an update and a clarification.
I know the intent was well-meaning, but I had someone basically tell me to stop waiting for this “next chapter” to happen and start living now!
Each time that correspondence crossed my mind, I’d stop, breathe, and count to ten!
Since I’m no longer in my 20s, 30s, or even my 40s, this is not a decision that I can make foolhardily.
For starters, I have two contracts to fulfill — work and my apartment.
But, this “spontaneous” decision that I’m working toward actually came to me in early 2019. And, while visiting Bangkok, Thailand, in March, I decided with 99% certainty that I needed to write “the next chapter”!
Because I’ve gained ten pounds since moving to Duluth, Minnesota, in June 2018, my fall physical also showed that I had higher cholesterol.
Plugging my blood results into a formula, my doctor told me, “With this cholesterol, your 10-year heart disease risk is 4.2% — well below the level to start a medicine.”
Dr. C. also told me that I was in great shape!
With that being said, I’m moving forward with the “Next Chapter” and I can share this without alarming anyone! 🙂
I actually posted this before in an April 2013 blog! Back then I said, “if I were to die tomorrow… the only regret that I have is #2 — working too hard in life.”
Let’s “time jump” more than six years, I now realize that I need to work on #2 (“I Wish I Hadn’t Worked So Hard”) and #5 (“I Wish That I Had Let Myself Be Happier”)!
No matter how independent we are or how strong we are, part of our happiness is tied to others.
That’s especially true in my life since 2017. In the first year after my marriage ended, I didn’t go on one date and only two dates in the second year! One of those led to a friendship.
It’s tough when you work strange hours and you don’t get to meet people. It drastically diminishes opportunities of meeting friends or that “someone special”.
And, I’m way past the “hook up” stage in life of having meaningless sex just for the sake of feeling intimacy!
I’ve vented about this before, but it seems the world is so obsessed with apps designed for quick hook-ups — whether they’re single or in relationships! No thanks!
Okay, that’s totally the wrong seductive GIF to use because I’d so retract everything I just said for Michael C. Hall (or Dexter Morgan)! 🙂
With the new year drawing closer, I’m excited about going fishing in a bigger pond!
I can’t wait to find something fun to pay bills that’ll allow me more time to live, meet people (friends or that “someone special”), and be a great dad to #Pug2020!
I still have a few blogs to share before the end of the year, but this is the last “Random Friday Thoughts” of 2019.
If you disagree with me, do it diplomatically!
Have a great weekend and thank you for checking out my thoughts!
“LOCK HIM UP”
So, at Game 5 of the World Series in Washington D.C. last week, when Donald Trump was introduced, he was booed and “Lock Him Up” was chanted.
Less than a week later, he was booed at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Some say it was disrespectful.
I didn’t think that because it all goes back to what I was taught at a young age — you have to earn respect.
It’s no secret that 45 not only called Hillary Clinton “Crooked”, but he also went along with his cult, oops, his supporters, in saying “Lock Her Up”!
So then, why is it disrespectful now?
APOLOGIZE OR NOT?
A couple of weeks ago, Sevier County (Tennessee) Commissioner Warren Hurst unleashed a rant about 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and current South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (without mentioning him by name).
GLAAD, an LGBTQ media monitoring group, asked for an apology.
Mayor Pete, a Navy veteran, responded, “Well, he was right about one thing. He’s right that there is a gay man running for president. He doesn’t seem to be right about much else.”
If GLAAD gets an apology from Hurst, that’s great. But, sadly, if he does apology, it’d be an empty apology, so why bother!
In the early months of my blog in 2012, I wrote about public figures saying hateful things and then apologizing.
I said, “I’m sure if someone watching the news when I’m doing the weather makes a derogatory comment to their buddy about me, and not my performance, I’d bet that he or she really means it.”
So, if you say it and that’s what you think, saying “sorry” isn’t going to change the hurt behind your ignorance!
The fourth and final season of the incredible FX series, “Mr. Robot” is airing and we’re down the last eight episodes.
I love the series and I’m so glad the final showdown between Elliot and fsociety and White Rose and the Dark Army is taking place at Christmas, my favorite time of the year!
And, I still cherish this Twitter response from the show’s genius creator, Sam Esmail, after the season three finale!
“BOMBSHELL”
I absolutely love Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron is incredible!
Throw in John Lithgow as creepy Roger Ailes (played by Russell Crowe on Showtime’s “The Loudest Voice”) and you have a sure fire winner when “Bombshell” opens December 20, 2019.
It’s the story of the sexual harassment lawsuit that threatened to topple Ailes and Fox News!
“LAST CHRISTMAS”
Christmas is now less than seven weeks away, but next Tuesday night my dear friend, Katie, and I are heading to the movies to see “Last Christmas”, which opens this weekend.
It stars Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh, both from “Crazy Rich Asians”, alongside Emma Thompson (“Love Actually”) and Patti LuPone (“Pose”).
The romantic comedy/drama is directed by Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”).
“COMPOSED”
I just came across Rosanne Cash’s 2010 autobiography, “Composed”, and I have to say it was very enjoyable.
It was nice reading about her early years in California, the ups and down of her life, her parents’ life, and how she handled the deaths of her mother and her father and stepmother, Johnny and June Carter Cash.
I was especially touched by the eulogy she gave at June Carter Cash’s funeral.
It was fun hearing her honest thoughts about her music career and her albums. Interestingly enough, my favorite album of Rosanne’s was her least favorite! 🙂
Recording “Rhythm and Romance” was a very long process — they started in April 1984 and it wasn’t mastered until April 1985!
Rosanne says, “I still cannot stand to listen to ‘Rhythm and Romance’, even though I think that some of its songs — “Second to No One” and “Halfway House” especially – are among my best to date.”
As Rosanne started charting on the country music charts, I still listened to country. But, I was moving quickly away from the genre for pop music and dance.
And, because of the pop sound, I admit that “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me”, a song that hit #1 and won Rosanne her first Grammy Award, is still my favorite.
Coming in a close second is “Seven Year Ache”. In 1981, Rosanne reached the top of the country music charts with that song and it became her only crossover hit. It hit #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
I still love hearing the lines, “The boys say, ‘when is he gonna give us some room’ / The girls say, ‘God I hope he comes back soon'”!
Classic!
Rosanne scored 22 country hits with 16 of them reaching the Top Ten. Eleven went all the way to #1!
Thank you for the music and the wonderful book, “Composed”! And, Rosanne, thank you for your activism and not straying away from being political!
I’M (STILL) WITH HER
It’s so hard to think that the 2016 presidential election was ONLY three years ago today! It seems like an eternity!
And, it makes me happy, regardless of the outcome, that Rosanne Cash and I were on the same team! 🙂
SCREAMING WOMAN & CAT MEMES
Here’s proof that I don’t always write and think about heavy topics!
For some reason, just the image of the “woman yelling at cat” cracks me up. And, it’s usually funnier once it’s a meme!
Some are very naughty. But, this one, by far, is my favorite!
If you’re not familiar with this (where have you been?), it’s a screenshot of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast members Taylor Armstrong and Kyle Richards from 2011 next to a white cat enjoying a fancy meal.
NEW COCA-COLA FLAVORS!
Just in time for the holidays, Coca-Cola is rolling out two limited edition flavors: Cinnamon Coca-Cola and Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite.
These will be available through New Year’s Day or while supplies last!
Would you try it?
“THE HATE U GIVE”
I finally got around to seeing this 2018 movie about a young lady witnessing the shooting of her unarmed best friend, who’s black, by a white police officer.
Amandla Stenberg is amazing as 16-year-old Starr Carter, who lives in a crime-ridden, poor area, but attends a mostly white private prep school.
She’s at a party where a fight breaks out and shots are fired. People quickly leave before police arrive. Starr is given a ride home from her childhood friend, Khalil.
They pull over away from the party and talk about their childhood, Harry Potter, his sick grandmother, and the path he’s taken in life. As they pull back onto the street, they’re stopped by a white police officer.
Khalil is shot dead in front of her.
Now, Starr has to bottle up her feelings about the tragedy and hide her identity at her private school — even as she decides to go public in a television interview about the incident with police.
My favorite scene was between Starr and her uncle, a black policeman (Common).
Ironically, this same topic (white police officers pulling over an unarmed black family) was highlighted recently on Fox’s “9-1-1”.
GRADE: B+
“YESTERDAY”
This is a cute musical about struggling musician Jack Malik who wakes up after being injured in an accident caused by a global blackout. He also learns that it’s now a world where no one has heard of The Beatles!
As he tries to remember all the Beatles lyrics and songs to recreate them, he becomes an international superstar. He’s right up there with Ed Sheeran, who stars in the movie.
Himesh Patel is great as Malik in this Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire”) directed movie!
GRADE: B
“THE END OF THE F***ING WORLD”
Believe it or not, this is not about “that man”! 🙂
The second season of the critically acclaimed British dark comedy series, “The End of the F***ing World” premiered on Netflix earlier this week.
If you didn’t see the first season, here’s what I said about it in August 2018, “If you’re looking for something short and funny to binge watch, check out this Netflix series.
17-year-old James thinks he’s a psychopath and he decides he’s going to kill a classmate, Alyssa, to see if he is.
There were many classic lines in the series, but this one from Alyssa is my favorite: ‘I sometimes wonder if I should just become an alcoholic. It means you’ve always got something to do.’
Here’s the trailer for the first season.
GRADE: B
“STAND BY YOUR MAN”
I just read Tammy Wynette’s 1979 autobiography in an original paperback that was discolored and falling apart.
What an interesting life she lead!
The book ended in the late-1970s after the height of her popularity, on her fifth and final husband, and many hospital stays — and she was on in her 30s!
If you’re not a country music fan, you probably don’t know that she had 44 solo hits on the Billboard Country charts with 31 of them reaching the Top Ten. Seventeen topped the chart!
And, with former husband George Jones, she scored 13 more hits with eight of them making the Top Ten and three reaching #1.
However, she also hit #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Dance chart in 1991 with the British duo, the KLF on “Justified and Ancient”.
“REACHING FOR GLORY: LYNDON JOHNSON’S SECRET WHITE HOUSE TAPES, 1964-1965”
This 2001 book by Michael Beschloss actually starts in December 1963 with a Prologue called “Jackie, I Love You”.
It’s a series of privately recorded telephone conversations between President Johnson (by Johnson) and Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of his predecessor John F. Kennedy.
The book mostly covered Johnson’s 1964 campaign against Republican Barry Goldwater of Arizona and his first two years in office (1964 and 1965).
While there were many interesting conversations, the ones about a scandal weeks before the 1964 presidential election intrigued me the most.
Walter Jenkins, Special Assistant to the President, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct with another man (oral sex) in a public restroom in Washington, D.C. just weeks before the 1964 election.
Back then, it was thought that gays were a security risk knowing highly sensitive government information. Incorrectly, it was believed they were more likely to be blackmailed and spill the U.S. government’s secrets!
What I found humorous is a chat between President Johnson and closet case FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
Johnson: “They raised the question of the way he combed his hair…”
Hoover: “It’s just… that his mannerisms… were suspicious.”
And, Johnson, knowing the rumors of Hoover being a “secret homosexual”, wins with this line to Hoover: “I guess you are going to have to teach me something about this stuff… I swear I can’t recognize them. I don’t know anything about them.”
To which Hoover replies: “It’s that you just can’t tell sometimes.”
I guess “gaydar” wasn’t perfected back in the 1960s!
Another interesting tidbit: Analyzing the results of his landslide victory in 1964, but losing five states in the South because of his support for the Civil Rights legislation, Johnson said in a conversation, “Louisiana’s a bunch of crooks, and Mississippi’s too ignorant to know any better, and Alabama’s the same way. But Georgia knows better.”
X-RATED LBJ
Another story this book touches on is rather infamous in President Johnson’s circle.
Arthur Goldberg, former U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations, told of the time that someone asked the President why America was in Vietnam, Johnson “unzipped his fly, drew out his substantial organ, and declared, ‘This is why!'”
Could you just imagine????????
A FINAL JOHNSON THOUGHT
It’s very interesting that two vice presidents named Johnson — Lyndon and Andrew — became President of the United States after their Commander in Chiefs, Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and John F. Kennedy in 1963, were assassinated!
And, civil rights for blacks were a major part of Lincoln, Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson’s presidencies about a century apart with the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), the Civil Rights Act (1964), and the Voting Rights Act (1965)!
“ROCKETMAN”
The acting in “Rocketman” was incredible. Taron Egerton was amazing as Elton John and I love Elton’s music, but I thought this movie was a mess!
Unlike the far more superior “Bohemian Rhapsody”, this movie seems very thrown together.
But, people went to see it. The $40 million movie brought in $193.4 million at the box office!
GRADE: C+
“9 to 5”
It’s hard to believe that it took almost forty years, but I finally watched the comedy classic, “9 to 5”.
Starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton, the December 1980 movie brought in $103.3 million on a $10 million budget.
Parton and Fonda both confirmed in 2018 that a sequel featuring them (and Tomlin) was in the works.
By the way, Dolly Parton’s #1 Billboard Hot 100 and Country single was nominated for a Best Song Oscar and she won two Grammy awards!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
What's Peeps Thinking About Now? It's Probably Random! 