Saying Goodbye to James Garner

On Saturday evening James Garden was found deceased in his home at 86 years old. I usually don't have much reaction to actors but I am sad to hear his news as he was a family favourite.

Because of his years as a Western actor, my father was fond of him - especially as Maverick.
Because of his years a Jim Rockford, my brother was found of him.
My mother also liked his roles, and, of course his good looks.
I especially liked him after my father passed because he reminded me of my dad, and my dad's fondness of him as an actor.

I can't get through the Jim Garner 'dad' scenes at the end of the movie "The Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" without bawling my eyes out - probably more in memory of my father than for the character in the movie.

I choose to remember him as Rockford:

For the love of a Junkie

There's been quiet a bit of buzz in girl/women-world during the last couple of days - from what I can gather, the TV show Glee aired an episode that said goodbye to the character played by Cory Montieth. For those of you not female between the ages of 12 and 40 (me neither) apparently it was very upsetting for them. These are real comments I have personally seen by people I know (sadly).

Note to self.... DO NOT EVER watch Glee's season finale farewell to Finn within the hour of clients arriving. I'm a disaster! Blubbering mess. So sad knowing how real the acting was for that episode.

and

Note to EVERYONE!!! Watching last nights Glee episode and eating cereal for breakie at the same time is a big mistake! Tears filled my bowl, milk was everywhere from sobbing and it's hard to blow your nose with mini wheats in your mouth! RIP Cory Monteith

The reason? He died in a Vancouver hotel room in July from an accidental drug and alcohol overdose.
I don't have much tolerance for drug users - it's different if you're poor and living in the skids and don't have good people to guide your or don't know how to get help.  And it would be one thing if he was your brother or son, then I would get that you are upset but he was an actor that didn't even know these people ruining their day with blubbering tears even existed. There was no reason for him to mess with these drugs, he had access to all sorts of professional help and support. I said something similar on Facebook, and one of my 'friends" posted this:

My sweet friend had this as her post today. I wonder what people think of this. I think, for me, it isn't about how he died, but rather that a young, talented life was lost. Also, I have lost a few people who made the wrong decisions in life, but I refuse to remember them by the bad decisions or by the demons they struggled with. Rather I'd like to remember them for all the wonderful they were. Also...It's sad when any life is lost at any age and for any reason....when famous people pass away I think it allows us to release some of the sadness and grief we still have in us from our own losses. That's just my reasoning. :)

and here are some replies to her post:

• reply # 1 =There is no such thing as a junkie, Cory Monteith was a person who used drugs. This does not define a person and certainly doesn't overshadow the loss suffered by those who were touched in some way by all the other things he was.
• reply # 2 -  I think that it's sad that one human would refer to another human as being just a "junkie". I think the only people who can judge are the ones who have never made any mistakes.
• reply # 3 = He was someones son, someones friend, someones love. I pray after I die people don't think I'm not worth remembering with fondness based on my mistakes, I'm hoping they will remember me with fondness in spite of them.
• reply # 4 = Well put Alison - completely agree with you !! Plus they say we can't feel compassion for others unless we have compassion for ourselves...

Yes you can feel bad for him. I get that. It's a shame. It's a loss.  But to let the actions of a celebrity - someone you don't know, someone who you rarely get the true story about - ruin your day, I'm not sure I understand how that works. So go ahead - tell me what you think? I asked the question, I can handle it. I'd love to hear your replies. 

mankind is confused

We live in very confusing times - on the one had people are bombarded with silly pranks that win them money or fame or other things from TV or radio or internet, and along with that we really don't know what is what.

For example:  the shooting Thursday night in Colorado - a very tragic event indeed. I understand the shooter was dressed in a costume and had what theatre staff was replica guns, sadly that was not the case. And sadly 12 people who were doing nothing but sitting in a theatre lost their lives. Reportedly many people thought that the smoke bomb which started the tragedy was a publicity stunt - and really, how could they think otherwise? Too many times they've been shown that a failure to be curious has cost them the prize. That the furry thing that brushed against them in the dark was a doll head and if they completed the correct sequence of behaviours, they could've won something. Or if they only poked that person on the street they wouldn't have been embarrassed by a hidden camera, etc. By the sounds of it, this 24 year old man didn't look so out of place as he walked into and around the theatre - how could anyone have known what fate lay ahead?

Sure con-men and crooks have existed as long as man, but there was a time when a 'gentleman's handshake' stood for something. It's no wonder that there is such a prevalence of anti-anxiety medication being taken by not only young to old, but also our pets. Society has bombarded everyone and everything with so many inputs - SOUND! COLOUR! MUSIC! VIDEO! FLASHING LIGHTS! and on and on. In general, it seems that most people don't really know how to relax. And they also don't know what's expected of them and surely this is all leading to a very anxious and nervous and stressed out society. And not only do these factors take a toll on the body but they result in other things such as weight gain, or loss of sleep and the negative impact just snowballs from there. The way things are going, it's not looking so good for the humans. Forget that we're overpopulating the planet and depleting it's resources as we (in North America at least) tend to live a very wasteful lifestyle. Forget threats to humanity by nuclear war or germ warfare or the West Nile Virus. No, it almost seems like we've just going to implode ourselves, self destruct as it were - unless the vast majority of us can learn to take responsibility for ourselves, and slow down on the consumption of everything and learn  to meditate and learn to be still, and to communicate with one another face to face instead of hiding behind little electronic devices to practically communicate for us.

Forgive me if I sound all 'doom and gloom' but I'm worried for mankind, and perhaps that's what needs to happen as complacency only leads to our downfall, does it not? I remember whenever I had a test in school or college - the times I thought I'd ace it, I didn't and the times I thought I failed, I did much better. So maybe enough people's eyes will soon open and they will take charge or their lives and perhaps we can get a handle on these situations that shouldn't happen at all. But how many wake up calls do we need? Man has come so far in evolving and civilization and knowledge, but yet, in many ways we are more out of touch with our bodies, ourselves, our planet than we have ever have been.


If you had to assign a letter grade to the human race, would would give us? 

Happy Birthday Marilyn

Today is Marilyn Monroe's birthday - she was born in 1926 and is probably as popular today as when she was alive as both a cultural icon and sex symbol. Happy Birthday to you...

"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." - Marilyn Monroe