The shortest month of the year is halfway over, so I thought I’d share a few random thoughts.
Pug Xanadu wishes you a happy season of love.
Love yourself first and foremost!
POLITICAL MENTAL FATIGUE
It’s that time that comes around every four or eight years — the unsettling period after the transfer of power at the White House.
If you’re anti-President Biden, breathe a sigh of relief because as bad as you thought it was, you survived.
To the almost 78 million people (50.2%) that voted against Donald Trump, I hope they survive the next four years. And, for for the 36% of eligible voters that didn’t vote — whatever happens, just keep it to yourself!
BREAK FROM THE FROZEN TUNDRA!
What an interesting third week of January!
I know it’s winter and cold and snow are expected, but it was brutal across Central Illinois with wind chills dropping to -20° to -30°. Meanwhile, parts of northern Minnesota had “real feel” temperatures near -60°!
And, a major snowstorm hit the South and the Gulf coast.
My friends, Crystal and Anthony, shared these photos of almost a foot of snow in New Orleans! For a few hours, there was even a “Blizzard Warning” for parts of southern Louisiana for the first time!
KICKING OFF 2025 REVISITING MY FAVORITES
I’m taking a break from movies for a bit and going back and watching some of my favorites series again. Up first is “Hannibal” (three seasons on NBC — 2013-2015).
While it never was a ratings hit, it was so intelligent and fascinating. I can’t believe standards and practices allowed so much gore onscreen on network prime-time television! (I have no problem with it — I just don’t eat during certain scenes!)
Watching it again, it was interesting to see the first season focused on Minnesota with a scene in Duluth before I made the city my home for two years.
Also, I love how the series took some creative liberties and is different from the “The Silence of the Lambs” movie series — like Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) getting the mask treatment instead of Hannibal Lecter!
I truly hope there will be future seasons on some streaming service. I need more Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson)!
And, I’ll leave you with the cartoon I posted about the “Hannibal” TV series years ago!
Also, I went back to Amazon Prime’s “The Man in the High Castle”.
I only watched the first season back in 2015 and loved it. However, real life got in the way in January 2017 and I never picked it up again.
It’s 1962 and America lost World War II. The western United States in under Japanese rule and much of the rest of United States is under Germany’s control.
Between the two, there’s a “Neutral Zone”. It’s there where the story gets intriguing because there’s a resistance underway after film reels surface with news-style footage showing that the Allies DID win the war and Japan and Germany lost.
The four main stars are very sexy!
There are four seasons and I’m on season three now. Once I finish, I’m going to read Philip Dick’s book the series is based on.
Up next, “Dexter”, “House of Cards”, and “Nip/Tuck” again (although I never finished “Nip/Tuck” in its original run).
MEANWHILE, I CAUGHT UP ON…
Netflix just dropped the second seasons of both “The Night Agent” and “The Recruit” in late January.
I loved the first season of “The Night Agent”. In August 2023, I wrote, “This was a very enjoyable and action-packed political thriller. Sexy Gabriel Basso was easy to watch over the ten episodes and the show has a great creative force behind it, Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”).
Basso plays Peter Sutherland, Jr., an FBI agent working at the White House as a Night Action telephone operator. He answers the phone for “Night Agents” — undercover agents and spies for the government.” I gave it a “B+”.
The second season is fun and thrilling. Sutherland is trying to stop terrorists from spreading a chemical germ agent on the U.S., while helping a family escape Iran.
“The Night Agent” is coming back for a third season.
GRADE: B (The final episode wasn’t as thrilling as it could have been.)
“THE RECRUIT” (SEASON TWO)
The six-episode second season will likely be the last.
This is what I said about season one in December 2024: “Another political thriller I highly recommend is 2022’s eight-episode series, “The Recruit”.Noah Centineo (“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” series) stars as a young lawyer that just started working for the CIA.He’s a free spirit that doesn’t think of consequences making him the perfect person to get involved in an international crime caper.”
The second season picks up right where season one ended and then moves on to a bustling Seoul, South Korea. (I loved the Asian components to the show because it reminds me of my Bangkok trip.)
If you enjoyed the first season, you’ll enjoy the new one.
GRADE: B+
“YOU”
Meanwhile, I’m excited that there’s finally a date for the fifth and final season of “You”!
It arrives on Netflix April 24th! After the fourth, lackluster season, I’m ready for a killer finale.
“THE MAKING OF A PRESIDENT 1960”
This 1961 Theodore White book is about the election of 1960 — from the candidates announcing their run to the primaries and the conventions through the November general election.
I’ve read so many books about John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, the Kennedy family, and Richard Nixon.
However, it was so intriguing reading this book because it was released before Kennedy’s 1963 assassination. It didn’t analyze his place in history and whether he’s viewed more positively because of his premature death.
This is evident toward the end of the book when White wrote about Kennedy going to bed late on election night because the race hadn’t yet been called.
Two security details were ready — one in California (for Nixon) and the other Hyannisport, Massachusetts, (for Kennedy) to protect the eventual President-Elect.
Once TV networks awarded Michigan’s 20 electoral votes to Kennedy pushing his over the 269 needed to win, security moved into place to protect Kennedy. White writes, “by seven in the morning, security had been established and the President-elect was walled off, as he would be for four or eight years to come, from all other citizens and ordinary mortals.”
“TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY”
I absolutely love Jodie Foster, so I decided to watch the fourth season of “True Detective”, which is subtitled “Night Country” because it takes place way up north in Alaska when darkness takes over and daylight disappears.
Jodie Foster won an Emmy for her role.
GRADE: A-
LGBTQ ACTORS AS LEADS IN MOVIES & TELEVISION
Back in the day (the 1950s and the 1960s), agents used to set up “dates” for gay actors to be seen with members of the opposite sex just for magazines to feed the public that so-and-so is not gay. Hello, Rock Hudson!
Studios were convinced that gay actors couldn’t sell a huge movie or a franchise because people couldn’t see <insert gay actor’s name> as straight. (I dare not say two names here because one threatens to sue if you do — those that scream the loudest!)
Anyway, I totally bought my lesbian crush Jodie Foster as a straight woman (?) in “The Silence of the Lambs” and in “True Detective: Night Country”. However, I’ll admit smiling during the heated sex scene with a man in the latter!
And, I totally buy my (gay) dreamboat Jonathan Bailey as a straight man on “Bridgerton”. However, I’m totally jealous it’s not me he’s in love with and making out with!
“FELLOW TRAVELERS”
In the miniseries, “Fellow Travelers”, Bailey plays gay where his character (Tim) hooks up and falls in love with “Hawk”, played real life gay actor Matt Bomer.
This compelling eight-episode “Showtime” series tackles the Red scare of Communism and Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, race and the Vietnam War in the 1960s, the disco and drug era of the 1970s, and the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
A must see!
GRADE: A
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
It’s January and time for me to post my favorite movies I watched in 2024.
For the second year in a row, I didn’t go the theaters, so I watched all of my movies at home.
So, before I share my 20 favorite movies I saw in 2024, my three favorites last year were #3 “Saltburn”, #2 “Red, White & Royal Blue”, and “The Menu” was #1.
Here are my favorites dating back to 2010:
2023 “The Menu”; 2022 “House of Gucci”; 2021 “Promising Young Woman”; 2020 “Parasite”; 2019 “The Farewell”; 2018 “Call Me By Your Name”; 2017 “Lion”; 2016 “Goodnight Mommy”; 2015 “Lilting”; 2014 “Bridegroom”; 2013 “Out in the Dark”; 2012 “Weekend”; 2011 “Children of God”; and 2010 “The Kids Are All Right”.
Let the countdown begin. As Casey Kasem used to say, “The hits don’t stop ’til we get to the top!”
“FEMME”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $385,589
“HIS THREE DAUGHTERS”
“MARIA”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $2.5 MILLION
“A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $261.8 MILLION
“THE HOLIDAY EXCHANGE”
“OUR LITTLE SECRET”
“ANYONE BUT YOU”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $220.3 MILLION
Here are the movies that missed out on the top 20:
#21 “Mother’s Instinct”
#22 “Woman of the Hour”
#23 “Golda”
#24 “Hunger”
#25 “Nightbitch”
#26 “The Blue Caftan”
#27 “Wicked Little Letters”
#28 “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F”
#29 “Killers of the Flower Moon”
#30 “Red One”
#31 “Oppenheimer”
Let me interrupt here with an editor’s note: I absolutely loved the “Killers of the Flower Moon” book the movie is based on and if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, it’s a sad, true story.
“Killers” and Oppenheimer” were far more superior movies than some of the movies that even made my Top Ten that you’ll get to.
The reason they ranked at #29 and #31, respectively, is because my favorites may not be the “best of” from critics’ list — for me, it’s more of did it touch me, did I enjoy it AND would I watch it again?
Chances are that I’ll never watch either of those three-hour-plus movies again! Now, back to movies I watched that missed the Top 20.
#32 “He Went That Way”
#33 “The Merry Gentleman”
#34 “Don’t Move”
#35 “Rebel Ridge”
#36 “A Family Affair”
#37 “Hit Man”
#38 “Priscilla”
#39 “Hot Frosty”
#40 “Poor Things”
Now, back to the countdown and the three ABSOLUTELY WORST movies I watched in 2024 .
“ANATOMY OF A FALL”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $36 MILLION
“SCOOP”
“MARY”
“UNDER PARIS”
“THE IDEA OF YOU”
“GOOD GRIEF”
“THE HOLDOVERS”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $45.6 MILLION
“EMILIA PEREZ”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $9.8 MILLION
“IT ENDS WITH US”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $351 MILLION
Sadly, the behind the scenes drama with “It Ends With Us” surfaced before I watched the movie and I looked at Justin Baldoni in a bad light, not just his character.
Now that both sides are out, how much of each story is true? Regardless, it’s a great movie with a heavy topic.
What were the three worst movies I watched in 2024: “Mother of the Bride” was third — Great to see Brooke Shields again, but the movie was so cringe-worthy!
Second worst of the year: “Thanksgiving” — The movie had some great kills, but it was as painful as Patrick Dempsey’s accent and to think a sequel is coming this November.
And, the absolute worst movie I watched this year was “Jackpot”!
While I loved Awkwafina in my favorite movie of 2019 “The Farewell” in a dramatic role and I loved her in my #5 movie of 2018, “Crazy Rich Asians”, “Jackpot” was horrible.
It was like a night at a casino and losing all your money and never getting a bonus round on the slots!
Now, my four favorite movies of 2024.
“CARRY-ON”
“CHALLENGERS”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $96 MILLION
“SOCIETY OF THE SNOW”
“ALL OF US STRANGERS”
WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE: $20.2 MILLION
So, how many did you see? What was your favorite of 2024?
As you know, I love to write and share. For me, writing is therapeutic.
Each holiday season, I share my year in review and each January, I optimistically look forward to the new year.
I hope 2025 brings us all happiness, good health, and prosperity.
BE MORE SOCIAL
This year, I plan on being more sociable.
That means having friends over for dinner or appetizers and cocktails and visiting more people.
BE A BETTER DOG DAD
Just before the new year rang in, Miss Xanadu turned two on December 29th.
I love this little girl so much, but she is so naughty (by nature)!
She’s very athletic and she uses those long legs. I accidently left the chair out just enough for her to venture up onto the dining room table!
While this is the first time it’s happened at home, she’s done it twice on vacation — in Branson, Missouri, and in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Naughty pug! Not sure who raised her? Oh wait, I have no one to blame except myself!
KYLIE IN CONCERT
While I saw Straight No Chaser last summer, the last really fun concert for me was in Las Vegas, pre-pandemic.
I saw Paula Abdul in December 2019.
My concert bucket list will be complete this spring!
Kylie Minogue kicks off her “Tension Tour” in Australia in early February.
It comes to North America in the spring and I’ll finally see Kylie in Chicago on April 2, 2025!
Now, back to Paula Abdul for a closing thought. As she was singing her encore, “Forever Your Girl”, she came out into the crowd and gave me a hug!
Kylie, game on! I’d die happy with a hug from you!
It’d be up there with the “Glee” concert I saw in Chicago when Darren Criss walked by and shook hands with me.
Back when I saw Shania Twain in Las Vegas in 2014, she came into the audience, too, and I took my first selfie ever with her.
My sincere apologies to Shania for me being so ill-equipped for selfies! She was so beautiful and my selfie does her no favors, so I won’t share it again.
P.S. Kylie, I know how to take a perfect selfie now! 🙂
I’D STILL LIKE TO SEE…
While Kylie will fulfill my bucket list after seeing Reba 13 times, Madonna four times, New Kids on the Block three times, Lady Gaga and the Chicks twice, and Patty Loveless once, there are a few more shows I’d love to see.
Those include Daryl Hall & John Oates (if they ever play together again), Culture Club, Toni Braxton, and Vanessa Williams in a Christmas show!
LAS VEGAS
Once vaccinations were available during the pandemic, I traveled to my favorite American city, Las Vegas, twice in the summer and fall of 2021.
It’s time for another visit and I’d love to eat at the Wicked Spoon again. (Yes, I love mimosas and samples of everything!)
And, I want to try A.Y.C.E. at the Palms Casino Resort, too.
TAKE ON NEW ENGLAND?
Last October, Xanadu and I planned a long road trip to Cape Coral, Florida, to see my friends, Katie, her mother, Mary Kaye, and the golden retriever, Duke.
Then we were heading over to Wilton Manors to visit Rich and Gary. I met Rich back in the mid-1990s when I first lived in Chicago.
Well, Hurricane Milton cancelled those plans. (It ended up being the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2024!)
So, our we ended up going on a few short getaways — to Clarksville, Tennessee, in June, and Evansville, Indiana, in December.
This fall, we might venture out on a road trip to Rhode Island to visit my friends, Eleanor and Allison, that I met on my wonderful trip to Turkey in the fall of 2022.
DATING AGAIN!
Wait, what’s that?
ENJOYWINTER!
And, if you’re not a snow fan like Miss Xanadu, you have the rest of 2025!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
It’s that time of the year again — twinkling lights, being serenaded by Mariah Carey, the aroma of baking cookies, a roaring fireplace, and snowflakes floating down while sipping champagne!
I live in such a fantasy world or I’ve been watching too many television Christmas movies! Or, maybe I’ve had too much spiked Egg Nog!
I hope this holiday season finds you happy and well!
Life for us is very much the same as last year. That’s a good thing, except for still being single. But, if that’s the worst life deals me, I can live with that!
It’s been another fun year with Miss Xanadu! (Yes, we have matching onesies!)
She turns two a few days before the New Year.
She’s so adorable, but she’s definitely naughty.
The pug knows right from wrong, but intentionally chooses wrong to see what I’ll do! She’s definitely still a puppy, but she’s showing some signs of maturing.
And, so am I!
I’m coming up on my fifth year in Decatur, Illinois, and as the morning meteorologist at WAND, the NBC affiliate in Central Illinois. This summer, I extended my contract through April 2028. Where does the time go?
Good thing I love my on-air morning partners-in-crime — Deron and Sierra!
When I got Xanadu, I expected my international travel would end. I didn’t even renew my passport.
However, I was offered the chance to be a tour group leader on a Rhine River cruise across Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands in April.
My responsibility was to get my group of 40 people to Europe and back. I didn’t lose anyone and I had a great time.
It was so beautiful spending a few nights in Lucerne with the Swiss Alps as a backdrop.
Back in 2013 on my one-night visit to Switzerland, I had a cheese and wine feast for dinner in Zurich. I recreated that this spring in Lucerne.
The cruise boat, the Emerald Dawn, was the most splendid, cleanest one I’ve ever encountered.
The food was incredible and the red and white regional wines served with lunch and dinner were tasty.
Here are some of my favorite photos.
I also visited the “Ass Bar” a couple of times and it’s not what you think. LOL
Äss Bar is a play on the Swiss-German word for “essbar” — meaning“edible”.
Äss Bar goes to restaurants and bakeries collecting leftover desserts and sandwiches and sells them at highly reduced prices. This cuts back on waste!
I came out of Äss Bar with these desserts on my two visits within an hour. (Yes, they added more treats between visits!)
And, the Keukenhof botanical garden near Amsterdam was just breathtaking with more than 7 million tulips.
I bought myself a wooden bouquet of tulips that don’t need watering, just dusting!
In summation, the cruise ship was gorgeous, the food was incredible, the sights were amazing, and my group was fantastic.
Thankfully, my sister Tammy is still with us.
She struggled most of the year, but has stabilized a bit and is in the land of the living again. She applied for disability in October and my fingers are crossed she gets it!
We traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee, in June, for her to see a couple of her friends from her time there.
Also, two of my favorite cousins, Steve and Ronda, and Dennis, my dear friend from my Kentucky days, came down to visit, too.
This fall, I said goodbye to a longtime friend — my 2008 Chevy Cobalt after 104,000 miles.
Hopefully, my 2025 Chevy Trailblazer, will be with me that long, too.
In October, Miss Xanadu and I planned to drive to visit two sets of friends in South Florida in October, but Hurricane Milton had other planned.
While that trip was scrapped, we spent the weekend in Murray, Kentucky with Steve and Ronda on Kentucky Lake. Xanadu loved the golf cart ride!
Thank you again Ronda for letting us stay in your beautiful home.
Also, in October, I hit a big milestone — turning 60 with a clean bill of health. I can’t believe I can retire in five years and work part-time!
This is what I envision for retirement — a balcony with a view of citrus or avocado trees!
For 2025, I only have two thing on my wish list. I’ll fulfill the first one on April 2nd when I finally get to see Kylie Minogue in concert in Chicago.
The second one is to date again!
Don’t bore me with “it’ll happen when it’s supposed to”. I’m now 60 and I’m not “playing the field”, I’m playing “beat the clock”! LOL
Here’s to the holiday season and winter!
“May hope and faith conquer fear and hate this Christmas!”
As we dive deeper into the holiday season, I hope you have a great Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule or whatever you celebrate (even if it’s just the weekends)!
Thank you for taking the time to check out my only random thoughts of the final month of the year.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2024
This Thanksgiving was a great one!
Last year, my sister, Tammy, suffered a stroke in the summer and was hospitalized again in the days before Thanksgiving. So, while we celebrated, it wasn’t that festive.
While struggling most of this year, she finally lost a lot of the “water weight” flooding her lungs and keeping her from recovering.
Tammy was able to help with preparing the feast this year and it was nice hanging out with her and her loving daughter-in-law.
For me, I got to spend it with the ones I wanted to and the ones I didn’t want to be around weren’t there!
And, at Christmas, there WILL BE a separate kid’s table like we had growing up! (Shaming me won’t work, it is what it is!)
FOOD WASTE
While we’re talking Thanksgiving, I hope you had all you wanted to eat on that day and everyday.
As we head into the heart of the holiday season, take some time to think about just how much food we Americans waste.
Patrick Symmes reported in the May 2021 “Bon Appetit” magazine that Americans throw away about 1.3 BILLION TONS of food each year — which is about one-third of the food in the world! One of the biggest reasons is food abundance (paired with food anxiety.)
He also reports that commercial and institutional kitchens are big time offenders, too. They waste about 30 to 40 billions of pounds of food annually with much of it going into landfills!
I know some places do this, but we need to open many “Äss Bar” locations. Get your mind out of the gutter! I visited one in Lucerne, Switzerland last April.
Äss Bar is a play on the Swiss-German word for “essbar” — meaning“edible”.
So, Äss Bar goes to restaurants and bakeries collecting leftover desserts and sandwiches and sells them at highly reduced prices. This cuts back on waste!
I came out of Äss Bar with these desserts on my two visits within an hour. (Yes, they added more treats between visits!)
KYLIE’S (MACY’S) THANKSGIVING PARADE
Before I move on and suggest a few things for you to watch and some to avoid as it gets colder and winter settles in, I have one final Thanksgiving thought.
I finally watched part of The 98th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. (The last time was when New Kids on the Block lip-synced “This One’s For the Children” in 1989!)
The reason — the iconic Kylie Minogue was performing!!! And, boy did she deliver and got the internet world talking by actually singing “live” in the rain — no lip-syncing for this professional!
She performed a medley of her 2023 worldwide smash, “Padam Padam”, a sped-up interlude of 2003’s “Slow”, and closed with the biggest hit of her career, 2001’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”!
The only thing that could’ve sent me over the edge was if she had ended her performance by exclaiming, “Lights Camera Action, That’s It!”
“THE DIPLOMAT”
If you haven’t watched this political thriller and you want something smart and intriguing, this is the show for you.
Emmy nominee Keri Russell is fantastic and Allison Janney joins the second season as the American Vice President.
“The Diplomat” is coming back for a third season.
Spoiler Alert: This trailer includes spoilers from season one if you haven’t watched it yet.
GRADE: B+
“THE RECRUIT”
Another political thriller I highly recommend is 2022’s eight-episode series, “The Recruit”.
Noah Centineo (“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” series) stars as a young lawyer that just started working for the CIA.
He’s a free spirit that doesn’t think of consequences making him the perfect person to get involved in an international crime caper.
A shorter second season (six episodes) hits Netflix January 30, 2025.
GRADE: A-
CHRISTMAS MOVIES
For the first time ever, I’ve been binging on Christmas and holiday movies. Before this year, I usually just watch the same ones over and over.
Two that I enjoy are “Home Alone” and “Christmas With The Kranks”. (Yes, even that one.)
But, two of my favorites are “Make The Yuletide Gay”…
and “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale”, which is a dark movie about Santa Claus.
“OUR LITTLE SECRET”
Of the holiday and Christmas movies this year, all of them are so cookie cutter and predictable. And, many are so bad. Hello, “Hot Frosty”!
I really enjoyed the new Netflix movie with Lindsay Lohan and Kristin Chenoweth.
Avery (Lohan) and Logan (sexy Ian Harding) are childhood friends that eventually start dating.
They have a falling out when she accepts a job in London and they don’t keep in touch over the next ten years. But, they run into each other again at a family Christmas gathering with the people they’re now dating.
GRADE: A-
“HOLIDATE”
The funniest movie I watched recently was from 2020, the comedy, “Holidate”, with Emma Roberts and the very sexy Australian Luke Bracey.
Roberts’ Sloane is a 30-something that doesn’t have much going on in her life and Bracey’s Jackson is coming out a toxic relationship.
They meet returning Christmas presents and make plans for a New Year’s Eve party. They then agree to be each other’s date on the holidays — get it “Holidate”.
GRADE: B+
“THE HOLIDAY EXCHANGE”
This new LGBTQ movie from Taylor Frey follows a similar premise to other movies. Two people decide to switch homes for the holidays. In this one — one place is in Los Angeles and the other is in snowy and scenic Europe.
Again, like most holiday movies, you know how it’s going to go when you start watching it — each guy meets someone, they fall for them, there’s some drama, and they end up together.
But, watching four sexy guys fall in love makes its watchable (especially Rick Cosnett and Daniel Garcia!)
GRADE: B-
“THE MERRY GENTLEMEN”
I wanted to like this Netflix movie, but it was so predictable and unrealistic.
A “Rockettes-like” dancer is forced out of the show in New York City and goes home for the holidays and tries to save her parents’ bar from closing. Her idea is a Christmas revue with male strippers.
There’s no need for the trailer. The male dancers are the sell of the movie! The rest is basic and boring.
Afterthought: At $30 dollars a person, there’s no way they raised the $30,000 needed because the bar was never that busy! But, I’m overthinking it. 🙂
GRADE: C
WHO WROTE THIS?
Now that some stations are playing Christmas tunes 24 hours a day and others are sprinkling in a holiday song here and there, I have these questions for the writers of some of the classics:
“I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas” — Wanting one this Christmas? Um, no, they can be mean.
However, look at Thailand’s adorable “little” Moo Deng!
And, Fiona at the Cincinnati Zoo is cute (this was on her first birthday)!
“Do You Hear What I Hear?” — So “a child shivers in the cold, let us bring him silver and gold”. Why not bring him a blanket or clothes?
“Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer” — “Do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?” Um, if he’s the most famous of all, of course we remember his name. But, can we name the other eight without singing the song?
“Home for the Holidays” — When I hear Karen Carpenter sing, “From Atlantic to Pacific/Gee, the traffic is terrific.” I think, who’s ever thought traffic is terrific when traveling, even it’s home for the holidays?
CHER DOESN’T NEED HELP
I love Kelly Clarkson as a singer.
However, while it might have been a dream come true for her or it might have been Cher’s idea, I didn’t really need a remake of Cher’s “DJ Play a Christmas Song” from last year.
It was pop and dance perfection the first time around!
CHER: THE MEMOIR
Music icon and actress Cher is a genius.
She finally released her memoirs, sort of. She didn’t just release the story of her life, she’s doing it in two volumes — the first is out now and I’m reading it. (That means you have to buy two books — that’s why she’s a genius!)
The second arrives next fall.
Other icons finally released their memoirs over the past few years that I highly recommend. Barbra Streisand “My Name is Barbra” is amazing at almost a thousand pages.
And, a smaller, but stunning book is “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” by Mariah, of course!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I hadn’t planned on sharing some random thoughts.
But, I feel I had to warn you against wasting your time on a new Netflix movie and recommend a few others you might want to watch instead.
So, Happy Thanksgiving early!
Enjoy your weekend and thank you for checking out my thoughts.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT SIDE OF THE AISLE YOU’RE ON…
Just before noon Thursday, Matt Gaetz withdrew his name for consideration as Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General.
Before that development, here is what I had already written for today:
Matt Gaetz is a very, very bad choice for Attorney General!
When you’re spending your days fighting your own legal issues and denying sexual allegations involving a teenager AND you drop out of the Senate to avoid having the report on those allegations made public, those are major red flags!
Okay, no more politics. Let’s hope for the best in the next four years.
‘TIS THE SEASON
We’re all decorated for the holidays!
And, for a moment, Miss Xanadu, the pug, was lit, too.
“YOU”
Come on Netflix, what are you waiting on? When does the fifth and final season of “You” drop? Filming began in March 2024 and ended in August.
I’m having Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) withdrawals.
Season four was my least favorite season. I gave “part one” of the season a grade of “B”, but part two went off the rails and I gave it a “C-“. So, overall, season four got a “C” from me.
Season three was my favorite and I gave it an “A-“. Season one would rank second and season two would be third!
“EMILIA PEREZ”
This Oscar-buzzed movie is a crime musical. Yes, musical!
“Emilia Perez” is an incredible movie with a powerful storyline and great acting. All three leads, Karla Sofia Gascon, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez are mesmerizing.
I expect Gascon to get a Best Actress Oscar nomination and Saldaña a Best Supporting Actress nom. I wouldn’t rule out Gomez, too.
It’s the story of an underappreciated lawyer, Rita Mora Castro, (Saldaña) agreeing to work for a cartel kingpin, Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, (Gascon) who’s looking to transition from a man to a woman. Gomez plays his wife.
Back to “crime musical” part, the numbers in 2002’s Oscar winning-musical “Chicago” are superior.
But, many of the musical numbers in “Emilia Perez” are very bizarre, especially when Castro goes to Bangkok to research gender-affirming surgery.
But, the storyline makes up for the the less than stellar musical numbers.
However, “El Mal” with Saldaña and Gascon was my favorite number!
GRADE: A-
HERE COMES THE HOLIDAY MUSIC
It’s the holiday season, so get ready to have those same twenty songs you hear all the time replaced by the same twenty holiday songs we hear every year.
I’m ready — sing it Mariah!
But, one classic song, an Oscar winner in 1950, got a major makeover in 2019 with Kelly Clarkson and John Legend.
After the “Me Too” movement, the lyrics to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” FINALLY raised eyebrows about the lyrics of drinking too much and being able to make proper choices.
The Clarkson/Legend duet has Clarkson singing “If I have one more drink?” and Legend crooning, “It’s your body and your choice”.
I remember the talk about it when the song dropped, but I didn’t hear it. And, let’s say it was rather surprising when I did earlier this week. I wasn’t expecting it.
PASS ON THESE REMAKES
One of my least favorite remakes after all this time is Taylor Swift’s 2007 version of Wham’s “Last Christmas”. Since she’s re-recording many of her early albums, why not re-record this one, Taylor!
Also, I love Maroon 5’s music. But, I just heard their 2005 remake of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” from 1971.
Adam Levine just sounds so lifeless and we know he isn’t!
If you want a remake of “Last Christmas”, which turns 40-years-old this year, I love the German band Cascada’s 2007 remake and the video is sexy and fun.
“HOT FROSTY”
If you haven’t watched it already, take a hard pass on Netflix’s #1 movie, “Hot Frosty”.
I loved Dustin Milligan in “Schitt’s Creek”, so I was excited to watch the new holiday movie where a sexy, buff Frosty comes to life.
Well, it was so painful — the story line (and maybe this commonplace with the millions of new holiday movies) and his bad hair!
But, Frosty did have a buff body!
GRADE: D
“WOMAN OF THE HOUR”
This Netflix crime movie is actress Anna Kendrick’s directing debut.
It’s based on the true story of a serial killer appearing on the television show, “The Dating Game”, in 1978, during his killing spree.
The movie was okay and even better, it was only an hour-and-a-half long.
GRADE: B-
“DON’T MOVE”
I also watched the Netflix thriller, “Don’t Move” and it, too, is about 90 minutes long.
However, this one pretty much played out in “real time” once it got going!
The bonus is that it stars Finn Wittrock from the “American Horror Story” anthology.
GRADE: C
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
Hope you had a nice Halloween if that’s your thing. I decorate for it, but it’s already gone!
I’m TEAM CHRISTMAS for three months.
Before you say it, I have some Thanksgiving decorations out and I love the feast and the leftovers!
Today, I’m sharing a few thoughts with you and I appreciate you checking them out.
WINE PAIRING & LEFTOVER HALLOWEEN CANDY
VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!
It does!
SAYING GOODBYE TO A LONG-TIME FRIEND
Back in September, I said goodbye to a dear friend that’s been in my life longer than any of my relationships or pets. Okay, it was my car. LOL
My Chevy Cobalt was in my life for over sixteen years and we traveled 104,000 miles together!
I now have a 2025 Crimson Metallic Chevy Trailblazer.
NEW TECHNOLOGY & MORE MUSIC
I’m calling it now — I won’t have my new car for sixteen years!
With everything high-tech and computerized in the new cars, it’ll probably become less cost effective to keep it after the seven-year warranty I bought expires!
I’m super bummed that cars no longer come with a CD player (dumb, dumb, dumb).
But, it’s fun and exciting having free Sirius XM for a few months. However, even that is a disappointment because I can’t listen to Christmas music in the fall.
If there’s a holiday channel on Sirius XM right now, I haven’t found it! (UPDATE: As of November 1st, Jimmy Fallon now has a Christmas channel and channels 71, 79, and 105 are now holiday music — satellite — with many more on the app.)
I’m truly enjoying the BPM station (dance music).
Obviously, my favorite song now is “Lights Camera Action” by Kylie Minogue, which is actually being played on 89 Top 40 stations in the U.S. (out of about 232).
It’s at #44 on Top 40 radio playlist chart!
Here are my other favorites I’m loving right now and I’m almost certain that haven’t heard them. So, take a listen and jam out to get your weekend started early.
“Wrong Way” (Two Friends featuring Alexander Stewart)
This is the #1 song at dance radio this week.
“I Like It” (Alesso & Nate Smith). This is a recent #1 dance song in the U.S. and, interestingly enough, Nate Smith is a country singer!
“Move” (Adam Port & Stryv with Camila Cabello)
“Find The Way” (Peggy Gou)
Also, I’m planning to buy the RUFUS DU SOUL album when it comes out on CD this fall! Their two current hits are “Music Is Better” and “Break My Love”.
“NOBODY WANTS THIS”
I’m posting this again because it’s my favorite series I watched this year. It’s coming back for a second season!!!!!!!
What I recently said about it… “I’m more into dramas or love stories, so usually I’m not a big “comedy” fan. But, I absolutely love this new Netflix series and I almost started watching it again after I finished!
Kristen Bell and Adam Brody play a couple that meet at a dinner party.She’s a podcaster that talks mostly about sex and relationships and he’s a rabbi.
This series is very funny and sexy.”
GRADE: A-
“MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY”
If you haven’t watched this Netflix series, it was entertaining.
While the real life brothers are evil and spoiled, I think both actors playing the Menendez brothers have a great shot at Emmy nominations in 2025. Cooper Koch (Erik) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Lyle) were amazing.
Now, if you’ve seen the series and, hypothetically, you’re wondering if what you saw in the shower scene was a prosthetic, Koch says it’s real. 🙂
Hey, “People” magazine ran the story, too!
ONE FINAL NAUGHTY NOTE
Did you ever wonder why an eggplant is the emoji for that part of the male anatomy?
Well, Bon Appetit, the food magazine, explored that topic in a story about eggplant. In a fall 2020 issue, it wrote that the original emoji designed were for Japanese iphones and the Japanese eggplant is shaped much differently that the globe variety we eat in the U.S.
Japanese Eggplant
American Eggplant
You’re welcome! Bon Appetit!
THAT’S IT
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
While almost a week late, I celebrated my birthday with a spontaneous visit from two friends I met on my adventure to Turkey about this time two years ago! Small world!
Eleanor and her daughter, Allison, and I bonded as we enjoyed stunning sights and a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey…
along with great food and wine.
Okay, that was then, this is now to keep it short. As you know, I’m a planner and I’m not spontaneous.
Last month, Eleanor and Allison, who live in Rhode Island, texted me and asked if I’d be home October 19th-21st. My first thought, “in 2025?”. But, no, this year.
Originally, I was going to Florida and would’ve just returned a few days before that. But, Hurricane Milton cancelled that trip.
So, they used frequent flyer miles and flew into Champaign, Illinois.
I picked them up and we lunched at Coney McKane’s Saturday afternoon in downtown Decatur. My Cuban sandwich was delicious.
We came home and they met the beast — Xanadu. Eleanor decided to take a short nap and Allison and I took Miss X on a walk along Lake Decatur.
We didn’t have dessert at lunch because I made a cheesecake. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call it a Boozy Caramel Apple Cheesecake.
Before I baked the cheesecake, I caramelized the green, red, and yellow apples in butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and Apple Cider Whiskey.
Once the apples and the Apple Jacks cereal crust cooled, I mixed the cheesecake together and added some Apple Pie Irish Creme liqueur!
It was fantastic. I invited Tammy and her boyfriend over for wine and dessert. Gerald and I had seconds!
And, check out the Turkish wine, Libra! (All five of us that had cheesecake are Libras — Xanadu is a Capricorn.)
I bought the Turkish wine from the Cappadocia region in 2022, but Eleanor and I didn’t get to it, so I saved it for when we met again.
I expected that to be in Rhode Island, but surprise!
While Miss Xanadu didn’t get cheesecake, Allison spoiled her with treats, toys and a Halloween leash and collar!
Miss Xanadu and I are planning a visit to New England in late 2025!
Although my professional life is played out on television, I don’t buy into the word, “celebrity”. However, thirty years ago, I started writing the story of my life. I was going to print a few copies for my best friends.
Well, real life and my career got in the way and I haven’t written anything with it since 1999 and a lot has happened since then. This is not the biography, it’s only the “CliffNotes”.
My life can be divided into three segments: BC (Before Chicago), AC (After Chicago) and BTC (Beat The Clock).
I’m fortunate to have outlived my parents (my mother died at 47 and my father at 55).
I just had a milestone birthday, so I’m taking a trip down the memory lane of my life as it’s been lived with dignity! (There were moments when that was called into doubt — LOL!)
THE EARLY YEARS (BIRTH TO TEENAGER)
My story started earlier than it was supposed to, since I was born six weeks premature and spent that time fighting for my life in an incubator at the hospital.
While I don’t remember my first birthday, I know there was a celebration because I have proof — and it’s even in color!
Less than two years after I was born, my sister, Tammy, came along.
If you listen to her, I was very mean to her when she was a baby. She’s quick to tell the story of the day my mother came into the room and she couldn’t find her. Tammy “claims” I shoved her under the bed and when my mother asked where Tammy was, my reply was “I don’t know where the baby is!”.
Another story is that I tried to feed her a chicken leg bone and choke her. Where do kids come up with this stuff?
Looking back, I had an average childhood. And, I loved Juicy Fruit gum and I still do!
I was the innocent one growing up, the “angel”. My sister was a little devil. Okay, she wasn’t Satan, but she was definitely a hellion and was always getting into trouble.
But, look at this photo, you can tell from the eyes, I was naughty and I just never got caught!
I played basketball in the neighborhood and hung out when I could with my cousins Steve and Shane. I also spent many summer weekends fishing with my father and grandfather.
John Henry, my paternal grandfather, was my childhood idol. While I was barely just a teenager when he died, I owe him a lot.
During my childhood years, I got to spend many weekends with him and my grandmother, Helen.
I remember him letting me lick the suds off his cold can of beer and I’m grateful that he and my grandmother would point out words on signs and would read to me. It sparked my quest for learning years before I even went to school.
My mother, Dessie, made sure we had food (even if it was mostly beans and potatoes and, occasionally, meat) and new clothes when school started.
Other than that, we were definitely poor. I remember how excited I’d get when we got government cheese in the 1970s — the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever!
We struggled because my father was a drunk and very abusive. It saddens me even today that my mother, like so many other women (and, some men) of that time, felt she didn’t have any other options than to stay with him.
I only remember living in two places in my childhood. The first was in a house where the Dairy Queen is now located on Paducah Road in Mayfield, Kentucky.
Then we moved into the apartment when we spent the rest of our childhood and my mother stayed until she died.
It was a small two-bedroom, roach-infested apartment. I’m not exaggerating about how bad the cockroaches were there!
I showed this to Tammy recently and I thought she would gag. I found it hilarious to think of how far we’ve come.
Growing up, we weren’t close. We were always bickering. I’m sure she was happy when I went away to college, but we did pose for this photo for our mother! Oh, teenagers!
I studied very hard in high school and placed in the top ten of my 1982 graduating class.
Sadly, I don’t remember the fun birthdays — becoming a teenager or my “sweet sixteen”, but I do remember my 18th because I registered for the Military Selective Service at the post office in Mayfield.
MY WASTED 20s
After high school, I took a “gap year” before attending Murray State University.
I vividly remember the fall afternoon in 1983 when I went to top floor of the Price Doyle Fine Arts building in a tee shirt and shorts to inquire about being a weatherman for MSU TV-11. It worked because I reported the weather four nights a week for my first couple of years of college.
Also, I did a music program called “Music Visions” that counted down the top ten hits in western Kentucky (I was obsessed with Casey Kasem and “American Top 40”), I worked at the campus radio station as a disc jockey and I did several theatrical productions.
Name dropping here: I also did a one-act play for a senior for his directing class. He also worked at the television station in production.
I’m happy to say that W. Earl Brown must have passed that class with flying colors and he’s doing rather well for himself in Hollywood as an actor!
Ahead of my graduation in 1989, I put together my resume tape that would help me land my first television weather job. What a look! (Now, I LOL!)
I don’t recall my 21st or 25th birthday. I probably don’t remember 21 because by that time, I was already sneaking into the gay bar in Paducah, Kentucky.
At the age of 22, in 1986, I developed an eating disorder that lasted for eight years. My weight dropped from 169 pounds to 116 pounds. (38 years later, I’m a recovering bulimic. I’ve spent many years on the “wagon” and eating healthy, but have also relapsed several times, due to life’s stress — stalkers, a divorce and rough patches.)
After graduating college, I moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the summer of 1990 and stayed about four months.
Three interesting things happened while living there, although I wouldn’t realize the last one until the following summer!
While bartending one night at Partners, I met a woman, D’nell, who was there with her gay friend, Jerry. She would become a “Mom” to me throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
One night, I went out drinking with my friends and co-workers in the seedier part of the gay district at C’est La Vie and Club 219. Needless to say, I had way too much to drink and the scary alley, while unsavory, was a great place to puke before we moved on elsewhere!!!
I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but when serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested, I got chills. Club 219 was one of his favorite haunts and he picked up some of his victims there!
I used to keep journals and my night at Club 219 coincided with the stalking and murdering timeline. He very well could have been lurking in the corner the night I was totally wasted!
Also, that fall before moving back to Kentucky, I got a job offer for the evening weather position at the NBC affiliate in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
After careful consideration, I turned it down and headed home. (After that, no more job offers came my way — for six years!)
Three weeks after returning home, my dear mother, Dessie, passed away at 47!
A bleak period followed — battling food addiction and losing my best friend. Yes, I was a “Mama’s Boy”!
However, all of my 20s weren’t sad. There were fun times. One of my besties, Dennis and I traveled some.
We went to Las Vegas for the first time…
and to Cancun.
And, then in late 1993, my grandmother Helen died.
At that point, my sister, Tammy and I were “orphans” and I needed a change in my life as my 20s were winding down.
From the vantage point of age and experience, my 20s were definitely a wasted decade.
I found motivation for change from Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” series in early 1994 and from partying in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend with my friends Steve and Dennis.
TREMENDOUS THIRTIES
That weekend, I made the decision that I was moving to Chicago. One of the new song I heard that weekend, “Dreams” by Gabrielle became my new theme song!
Six weeks later, over the Fourth of July weekend, Dennis, Steve and I loaded up the U-Haul and my chow chow, Keshia, and I moved to the big city.
I started waiting tables at T.G.I. Friday’s and happened to stumble into Charlie’s, a gay country bar, where I got a job as a cocktail server, bartender, and disc jockey! It became a big part of my life through the summer of 1996.
Other than meeting a psychopath on my 30th birthday that tried to kill me, I loved my time in Chicago.
In early-1996, I made one more effort to land a television weather job.
I took a part-time reporter position at a PBS station in Merrillville, Indiana, about 50 miles from Chicago, for $5 an hour. I was only there for about six weeks, long enough to do a few stories to update my resume tape — with an old college weathercast on it.
Here’s a blast from the past — Election Day 1988 and 24-year-old me!
I sent a resume and cover letter to more than 200 small and medium-sized television markets and got one job offer! In the summer of 1996, I started my first network-affiliated television weather job in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. (Yes, the same station that offered me the job in 1990!) From there, jobs in Texas, Ohio, Maryland, Illinois, Florida, and Minnesota followed!
I only spent five months in Rhinelander, but there were a few highlights. I got to meet several country music stars at the annual Hodag Music Festival including Randy Travis, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
Also, I enjoyed hosting a Thanksgiving feast for many of the new employees that were there for their first job, too.
At that point, I knew I was leaving for my second job in Lubbock, Texas.
I spent almost a year there and worked with many wonderful people, including my dear friend, Ny Lynn.
We bonded from day one and conspired to get her on the weekend anchor desk. It worked and she’s now a news director in Amarillo, Texas. This is Ny Lynn with her amazing husband, Mike! We were such kids then, especially them!
One thing that I loved about that station and Lubbock is that we bonded and did things together after work.
I met several celebrities there: the legendary Carol Channing, country singers Gary Allan, Lee Ann Womack, Tracy Lawrence and Lonestar (thankfully, not John Rich), and some politicians that don’t deserve mention by name.
From there, I moved on to Youngstown, Ohio. Sadly, shortly after arriving, Keshia, my chow chow died.
This definitely wasn’t a good move for me, but I did it for my then boyfriend. His mother, Betty, my new second Mom, was only an hour away. (D’nell, from Milwaukee was my first new Mom!)
That’s Betty with Brad Paisley at the Canfield Fair.
Betty was the highlight of my years in northeast Ohio. I was there from the end of 1998 to the summer of 2002.
During that time, I was in Youngstown for several months, Mansfield for a year and back to Youngstown for two years.
I met a few very nice people at the station in Youngstown, but many I’d rather forget! One of those I’d like to forget made it easy for me to drop out of television in the summer of 2002 and move back to Chicago for two years.
Those were amazing and incredible years! My golden retriever, ABBA, which I got in the summer of 2000, loved living across the street from Lake Michigan.
Roscoe’s, one of Boystown’s most popular gay bars became “home” for me for those two years and it was there that I fell in love with Kylie Minogue again (the “Fever” album).
I also landed a job as a writer for Fox News Chicago’s morning show and I went back to school to earn my meteorology certification.
After having fun for two years and saving a lot of money, it was time to get back into television.
I took an evening weather job in Salisbury, Maryland, and headed off to the Eastern Shore with Miss ABBA ending my nine-year relationship with Christopher.
FANTASTIC (LATE) FORTIES
Turning 40-years-old and being single again wasn’t fun, but the break-up was needed.
The news director and chief meteorologist made turning 40 memorable by getting me the very popular and tasty Smith Island Cake for my birthday!
I spent a year-and-a-half in Salisbury.
The highlight of that time is that I got to meet one of my idols, Reba McEntire, in a station-sponsored contest (we also had the WB, which aired the “Reba” comedy.)
Also, speaking of Reba, back in Chicago in the mid-1990s, I paid homage to her at a pediatric AIDS benefit!
And, before heading back to the Midwest, I also got to meet LeAnn Rimes. She was such a sweetheart (Reba was, too.)!
“Life Goes On” was my theme song for that era of my life — it very well could have been Reba’s “I’m A Survivor”.
In November 2005, I took a weekend weather job in Moline, Illinois, right on the Mississippi River separating Illinois and Iowa. I spent seven years at that station until they unceremoniously let me go due to budgetary reasons!
I then spent four more years in the Quad Cities at the CBS affiliate.
Also, during this time I earned the television “Seal of Approval” from the National Weather Association in 2005 and my broadcast meteorology certification from Mississippi State University in 2006, officially becoming a “meteorologist”!
I was single for over three years in the Quad Cities and that all changed in February 2009. A date led to several more dates and six months later, we were living together.
This relationship would be a series of firsts for me. He had an 8-year-old daughter, so I became a “like a dad” (in her words) and in the fall of 2011, we married!
It was a simple ceremony, but the reception party the next night was beautiful and magical.
Just a few months later, in early 2012, my best friend, Miss ABBA crossed the “rainbow bridge”.
At that point, we decided we’d travel more, domestically and internationally. There were many trips to Vegas!
I love buffets — my favorites are the Wicked Spoon (above) and the late, great Spice Market Buffet. (below). I love bottomless mimosas!
While we mostly traveled alone, we did take several family trips with our daughter and my sister, Tammy.
There were getaways to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and three December Caribbean cruises (2012, 2014 and 2016).
In 2013, I got my first passport to celebrate my husbands’ 50th birthday — a fun cruise on the Danube River in Europe.
This is Austria in October.
That December, we spent a few days in Nashville, Tennessee.
I enjoyed a Reba McEntire exhibit, a show at the Opry, a riverboat cruise and lunch, an amazing Mexican buffet at the beautiful Opryland hotel and a Christmas dinner show with Lorrie Morgan!
As my 40s winded down in 2014, we visited Vegas in the spring and I got to see the late, great Olivia Newton-John one night…
and Shania Twain the next.
We also visited Branson, Missouri and Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) for the first time in the summer.
So, my 40s ended much happier than it started.
FABULOUS START TO THE 50s
In October 2014, I was turning the big 5-0. I had always wanted to visit Israel. Since the connecting flight was in Paris, we decided to spend three nights in Paris and four in Tel Aviv.
Ray made that birthday very special — a dinner cruise on the Seine River, a visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower and a show at the historic Moulin Rouge all in the same evening.
So, right at midnight, as I turned 50, I was sipping champagne sitting stage-side at the Moulin Rouge watching a woman in a snake tank, boobies and an incredible show!
Then it was off to Tel Aviv. Our hotel was just across the street from the Mediterranean Sea.
Each morning, we feasted on the amazing Israeli breakfasts.
And, we walked if off with beautiful strolls along the Mediterranean with stunning views from Old Jaffa to Tel Aviv.
In addition to this incredible dessert (waffles, chocolate syrup, bananas, diced fruit and whipped topping with coconut, pistachio, caramel, and vanilla ice cream)…
I ate the best meal of my life at בני-הדייג (Benny The Fisherman) sitting outside with the sounds of the waves of the Mediterranean in the background.
This was just the “salad” part of the meal!
And, there was a scary story in Tel Aviv and it had nothing to do with the ongoing conflicts between the Israelis and the Palestinians (well directly, at least).
As we were heading to dinner at dusk, we passed the American Embassy and I took a picture.
All of a sudden, three guards came out (one with a large weapon) and told us not to take pictures and took my driver’s license and called it in since we weren’t carrying our passports. After a very long five minutes or so, they let us go and told us not to take pictures.
Just the month before in Ottawa, the guards there had no issue with photo-taking tourists. But, the situation in Israel is more intense!
It seemed like we traveled all the time (and for good reason). After a Caribbean cruise in early December 2014, I closed out the month by flying to New York City for the first time on New Year’s Eve.
I saw Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”) in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway and Renee Fleming in “The Merry Widow” at the Lincoln Center.
In my early-50s, there were many more trips to New Orleans and Las Vegas with stops in San Francisco and Napa Valley…
I took this photo at a wine tasting. It’s one of my favorite photos and it’s hanging on my wall!
Also, on that trip, we ventured off to Anchorage, Alaska.
And, on the way home, we flew into Minneapolis just to see Madonna’s “Rebel Heart Tour”.
In early 2016, it was back to New York City in March and then off to China in April!
This is one of my favorite photos I took there!
After China, I did work some! Travel doesn’t pay for itself! LOL
There were many more trips — Las Vegas, Cleveland and Detroit. And, there was also a tour of the Southeast — Charleston (South Carolina), Savannah and Atlanta (Georgia).
While there, I visited the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum.
Also, in Midtown Atlanta, I had the best entrée I’ve ever eaten. It was a Sonoran Salmon (avocado soup, goat cheese-black bean cake, crema, and pico).
But, for me, 2016 didn’t end on a great note and it got even worse in 2017.
In November, I was shocked, along with at least 65 million Americans, with the outcome of the 2016 election.
But, the biggest shocker for me was to come!
After another family Caribbean Cruise in December, Ray and I decided in January 2017 after a trip to Jacksonville, Florida, that our eight year relationship had run its course.
That spring, I made the irrational decision to move away from the Quad Cities. I took a job in Panama City, Florida, and stayed one year.
It was one of the unhappiest years of my life and, to this day, it remains one of my biggest regrets.
I’ve often wondered how different my life would be now had I stayed in the Quad Cities. However, like George Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life”, there are things I would’ve likely missed out on.
One is meeting two more of my idols.
In July 2017, I drove 180 miles (3.5 hours) from Panama City through the backwoods of Florida, Alabama and Georgia in the darkness of night to fulfill that life-long dream.
Once I arrived in Plains, Georgia, at the Maranatha Baptist Church, I was one of the last people to make it in to hear a Sunday school lesson from President Jimmy Carter.
After his lesson and the Sunday service from the pastor, I got to meet the man and woman that I helped put in the White House in the 1976 presidential election.
In the fall of 2017, the ex and I took an already planned trip to Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Copenhagen is definitely a place I’d love to visit again.
That December, I was off to Vegas.
While there, it was three nights of concerts — Tanya Tucker…
Lionel Richie… (When I met him, he told me he doesn’t shake hands, he’s a hugger! Then, he hugged me!) 🙂
and, I spent a magical 90 minutes with Mariah Carey at her “All I Want For Christmas” show.
After one year in Panama City, I left over Memorial Day weekend 2018. What timing!
Months later, in October, Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle and the Panama City area and brought widespread devastation. My apartment complex was destroyed.
I loved my apartment there and it’s still one of my favorites. I spent a lot of time on my balcony — I want a balcony again!
From there, it was off to the tundra of Duluth, Minnesota, where I spent two years as the chief meteorologist at the Fox affiliate.
I met three of the most amazing people (and Dan Hanger, lol).
Katie, our evening newscast director, and her mother, Mary Kaye (and golden retriever, Duke) invited me to their home every Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we had meals at other times, too.
Also, my neighbor Kass and I became very close. We made it a regular thing to have cocktails and snacks every Friday afternoon.
For my 54th birthday in October 2018, it was off to Morocco — what an incredible trip.
and, then in the spring of 2019, I traveled to Bangkok, Thailand.
This is one of my favorite photos I took there.
KOI POND
One of the things I miss most about my former life is the thousand-gallon koi pond we built. It was so peaceful to sit and watch the fish.
I also miss my ex’s chicken piccata and the intimacy of a relationship (a dating life has been non-existent for me over the past seven years)!
Okay, back to Bangkok, at a snake farm, I had my own “Britney” moment.
As I was working through my second year in Duluth, I decided it was time to give up television news, move to Las Vegas, wait tables and have a life.
I also decided that I wanted a dog again and decided on #Pug2020.
However, on a fall 2019 visit back to the Quad Cities, I noticed how much my sister’s health had deteriorated since I saw her months earlier.
Just as the COVID pandemic was starting, I got a job offer as the morning meteorologist in Decatur, Illinois, and I moved to Central Illinois April 1, 2020.
It was a strange 12-18 months with the country and the world locked down.
As vaccinations became available and life slowly returned, I took two trips to Las Vegas in the summer and in the fall of 2021, I spent my 57th birthday in Greece.
The following spring (2022), I visited Costa Rica…
My sister bounced back and we visited Cancun together in the summer of 2022.
And, then it was off to Turkey in the fall!
That was definitely one of my favorite trips — the scenic views, the delicious Mediterranean food, Turkish Delight and gorgeous people!
The highlight of the trip was a sunrise balloon ride over Cappadocia!
And, I met two incredible ladies, Eleanor and her daughter, Allison.
Domestically, with my sister, I also visited one of my favorite U.S. cities, Palm Springs.
PUG XANADU
#Pug2020 never happened, nor did #Pug2021, or #Pug2022, because I kept traveling around the country and the world. However, when I was in Turkey, I already knew the pug was happening in early 2023.
Miss Xanadu was born between Christmas and New Year’s Eve in 2022. She became my boss — a total dictator — on February 25, 2023.
It’s been a fun time!
After having a chow chow (Keshia), who was very much a one-person dog…
and a golden retriever (ABBA) that was so sweet and loved everyone…
it’s been interesting having a pug.
They’re definitely stubborn, naughty little beasts!
This sums up life with a pug! 🙂
TOUR GROUP LEADER
When I got Xanadu, I expected my international travel would end. I didn’t even renew my passport when it expired in 2023.
However, I was offered the chance to do something I’d never done — be a tour group leader of 40 people on a Rhine River cruise across Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
My responsibility was to get the people (almost all of them from Central Illinois) to O’Hare in Chicago to Europe and back.
I didn’t lose anyone and had a great time.
The Emerald Dawn cruise ship was gorgeous, the food was the best I’ve had on a cruise, the sights were amazing and my group was fantastic.
SWAN SONG
This summer, I renewed my contract at WAND for another three years through April 2028 (or to the age of 63.5, just one-and-half years away from retirement at 65)!
Since I still haven’t won the lottery, I hope my face and my body hold up until then. The show must go on… “Lights Camera Action”, which is my favorite song right now!
By the way, I’ll finally fulfill my concert bucket list by seeing Kylie Minogue in concert in Chicago on April 2, 2025!
REGRETS
I try to live my life without regrets and I definitely try to bite my tongue so I don’t have to say “I’m sorry”!
Even so, at this stage of my life I do have some regrets. Some of them, I couldn’t control and some I wished I’d made happen.
If I could do it over again, I would’ve tried to play basketball in high school. I was pretty good, but I didn’t have the confidence as a kid that I have now.
I wish I’d learned to play tennis, play the piano and speak French and another foreign language (learning English growing up in Kentucky was hard enough! LOL).
I wish I’d been established in my early 20s to do more for my mother. I’d gamble to say that’s why I’ve been there for my sister over the past 30-plus years.
And, finally, I wish I had traveled back to Lubbock from Ohio in the summer of 1999 to attend my dear friend’s Ny Lynn’s wedding to Mike.
THAT’S IT
Thank you for taking a stroll down a long memory lane with me.
With all the craziness in the world, make it the best in your little part of it!
I know where I’ll be April 2, 2025. Time to break the “Tension”!
More on that shortly… I haven’t shared any random thoughts lately because I’ve been working on a few special features.
One of those I shared earlier this week honoring my idol, President Jimmy Carter on his 100th birthday!
If you didn’t see it and want to learn a few fun facts — like his favorite foods, here’s the link (and it’ll open in a new tab so you don’t lose your place):
I have two more special features coming later this month.
However, here are a few quick random thoughts on this first Friday of October.
HAPPY SCARY SEASON
Pug Xanadu is embracing it!
“NOBODY WANTS THIS”
UPDATE: It’s been renewed for a second season!
I’m more into dramas or love stories, so usually I’m not a big “comedy” fan. But, I absolutely love this new Netflix series and I almost started watching it again after I finished!
Kristen Bell and Adam Brody play a couple that meet at a dinner party.
She’s a podcaster that talks mostly about sex and relationships and he’s a rabbi.
This series is very funny and sexy.
GRADE: A-
“THE PERFECT COUPLE”
I would’ve watched this Netflix series because it’s a thriller, but having Nicole Kidman (my “girl crush”) as a lead moved it up on my viewing list faster.
If you like a little murder mystery, this is for you.
I didn’t figure it out and there’s one secret that Kidman’s character is keeping that you won’t see coming. 🙂
GRADE: B+
“THE PERFECT COUPLE” BONUS — ISHAAN KHATTER!
“THE PERFECT COUPLE” (THE BOOK)
The Netflix series is based on Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 best seller.
I read the book after watching the series. Sometimes, the book source is better and sometimes, it’s the adaptation.
No spoilers here, but the way the crime played out was different. In the series, it was more dramatic. However, it made more sense and was more powerful in the book.
“LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION” OR “LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION, THAT’S IT!”
I honestly can’t remember the last time a new single was announced and I was like a “fan boy” waiting for the date to arrive.
Last Friday was that date for me when Kylie Minogue released her new single and video, “Lights Camera Action”, the first single from her upcoming 17th studio album, “Tension II” (October 18).
I was also very excited because she announced the first dates of her 2025 world tour for shows in Australia, Asia and the U.K. Many of them sold out and additional dates were added.
Well, hallelujah! The U.S. dates were announced Thursday!
Here I come Chicago, April 2, 2025!
UPDATE: Even with the Kylie presale, I could only get UPPER LEVEL seats, but I’ll be there to break the tension!
Mark my words and this isn’t just wishful thinking, “Lights Camera Action” is going to be a big Top 40 hit in the U.S.!
You think, big deal! It is because Kylie is an international superstar, but over her 40-year career, she’s only had T-W-O (sadly, JUST T-W-O) Top Ten Hot 100 hits in the America — “The Locomotion” (#3, 1988) and “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (#7, 2001).
Take three minutes to listen to this fun, inspiring kick off to your weekend. “LCA” is a sexy banger.
Her other Top 40 hits on the Billboard 100 were “I Should Be So Lucky” (#28, 1988), “It’s No Secret” (#37, 1989), and “Love At First Sight” (#23, 2002).
While “Padam Padam” brought her radio airplay in America last year (it peaked at #32 on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart), it failed to reach the Hot 100.
“MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY”
The latest in Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters” series, the follow-up to the Emmy Award-winning “Dahmer” series is about the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez in California by their sons Lyle and Erik.
While watching the latest version of the popular murder story, I had reservations about how much is real and how much is Hollywood.
I definitely think both actors have a great shot at Emmy nominations in 2025. Cooper Koch (Erik) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Lyle) were amazing.
I really think that Koch will be singled out for his 35-minute episode that looked like it was one continuous scene!
GRADE: B
“CRIMINALS”
When I watched “The Perfect Couple”, I fell in love with the theme song by Meghan Trainor and I didn’t even know it was her when I first heard it.
With the success of the series, the song has been released to radio and it’s now racing up the Top 40 chart!
This dance for the opening theme gives me fun “Mamma Mia” vibes!
“REBEL RIDGE”
I looked forward to see this movie since I loved the two seasons of Amazon Prime’s “Reacher”. (Watch that instead!) Plus, you get this!
Back to “Rebel Ridge”, the lead is great to look at it. However, it was SOOOO SLOW!
The two-hour-plus run time could easily have been cut by a half hour!
GRADE: C
“JACKPOT”
I loved Awkwafina in 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians” and my #1 movie of 20xx, “The Farewell”.
However, her latest with John Cena, “Jackpot”, is absolutely painful to watch.
There were two funny scenes — when Awkwafina’s Katie visits a really bad wax museum and when she and Cena’s Noel try to find shelter in Machine Gun Kelly’s “panic room”.
Overall, skip this tragic movie!
GRADE: D+
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! 