You've Got Mail (Saturday's Favorite Movie Moment)

It's hard to believe how far the Internet has come in such a short period of time. Well, I don't know, maybe I'm just old, because I remember, (however embarrassing it is to admit) that one of the reasons (besides Tom Hanks) I went to see this movie was because someone told me I looked like Meg Ryan, and I had no idea who she was...Actually, people kept telling me I looked like "Betsy" a character Meg Ryan played earlier in her career on the Soap Opera, "As The World Turns." When I look back on that now, I cannot believe I didn't know who Meg Ryan was...

Anyway, it makes me feel strange when I think about how much society has changed in the last twenty years, for instance, in addition to the Internet, remember the huge cell phones? I remember entertaining my son in his car seat by pretending to talk on his toy phone in the car. That would not work on a baby today...babies today are far too sophisticated for that~ ;)

(There is supposed to be a "read more" hack here, but I cannot get it to work. So forgive me, I'm sorry the post is so long.)

By the way, I would like to thank all of you, especially what's left of my regular readers, for dropping by when I post, or just whenever- I know I have been somewhat of a ghost...but I am grateful for your friendship and loyalty.

So, please don't forget me...and know that I have not stopped blogging...and I will never stop writing...in fact, I'm presently working on two manuscripts, honest- I'm just an emotionally charged struggling writer, working through a difficult time, and it's not my style to bore you with the details...(plus, I haven't the heart to do that to my readers and friends.)

But, I think of all of you often...especially my buddies, (you know who you are)and I'm hanging in here...and...I'll collect myself soon-

I hope you enjoy the clip, and if you haven't seen You've Got Mail, treat yourself and rent it.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Every time I watch this cartoon, I wonder why Cindy Lou Who doesn't run screaming into her parents bedroom when she stumbles upon the strange and skinny Santa Claus from Dr. Seuss' classic book and cartoon, How The Grinch Stole Christmas in her living room. But then, I'm one of those people who tries to warn characters on television, and in the movies, of their impending doom. (As if my directions will be taken into consideration, or better yet, that my suggestions will save them from their fate.)

I think we all do this to an extinct, although, I'm terrible about it, particularly when the character is an animal or a child. Hence, you can imagine my reaction when Cindy Lou Who quietly stands before the The Grinch as he slowly removes the entire contents of her home, including the ornaments from their Christmas tree.

The first time I watched the movie with my son, I jumped up and down on our couch trying to convince little Cindy to go and tell her parents, but I knew she couldn't hear me...(Because Rudolph never heard me warn him of the Abominable Snowman either.)

When I finally gave up, my four year old son hugged me, and said with a crooked smile; "Mommy, it's alright, it's make-believe..."

In any event, as far as I'm concerned, Cindy Lou Who is one of the bravest children in American Literature, but then, Dr. Suess created strong characters; for example, Max (Mr. Grinch's loyal dog,) is another brave soul, as well as an excellent reindeer.

Anyway, in closing, I wanted to wish everyone a save and happy holiday, free of The Abominable Snowman, and the "mean one," Mr. Grinch, regardless of my ghostlike disappearance online lately.


I assure all of you that my absence was unavoidable, and I love and miss you terribly- I'm looking forward to returning to a regular posting schedule after, or before the first of the year. Much love to all of you, and again, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Never, Ever, Interrupt A Daddy Ducks Breakfast

In CasE You Missed iT ThE FirsT TimE...



Several lakes surrounded the University campus where I went to school years ago; so, the ducks who lived on the lakes, usually walked students to class each morning hoping we would share our breakfast.

We could hear duck wings flapping, and a chorus of quaking, before we opened our eyes each morning, including week-ends. I suppose Roosters were born to wake up farmers, and Ducks were born to wake up students- Or at least that's what I thought-

Because most of the ducks I knew were polite and easy to deal with, but this educated group of ducks were different; they were were loud and aggressive, especially if you didn't offer them something to eat. Hence, the best thing to do was leave the house prepared to feed them, and never, ever interrupt their breakfast. Some students believed that the ducks knew which students were going to fed them, much like a waiter knows a good tipper, so they would immediately start attacking the students who didn't have food, and peacefully surrounded the ones with a bread bag. Incidentally, most students left their house each day with their books, and a bag of bread for the ducks.

It was hard to remember the ducks rules early every morning, therefore, on occasion a student would forget to bring the ducks food. Hence, it just so happened that one students memory lapse, provided a Daddy duck with the opportunity to teach the rest of us a valuable lesson. Plus, in addition to entertaining the campus with the funniest thing most of us ever witnessed in public; this daddy duck also reminded us to never, ever interfere with a ducks breakfast.

On the morning in question, I was sitting by one of the University lakes reading, when I overheard a couple arguing in front of a pair of ducks. The voices of the arguing couple and the gander's squawking sounded like an aggressive duck fight; and one loud enough to wake every creature on earth.

I felt sorry for the ducks, because this duck family wasn't bothering anyone until the couple came along. They were minding their own business, trying to feed their ducklings breakfast and I suppose send them to duckling school, when these people showed up and disturbed their morning. Hence, it's easy to understand why the daddy duck got his feathers in a ruffle over the human couples apparent rudeness and quickly charged in their direction.

When he approached the couple the man realized he was being challenged, so he put his hands in the air as if giving himself up for arrest, but Mr. Gander wasn't having it, and continued to advance upon the guy.

Everyone around the lake, including me, started laughing as this poor man kept shouting for help and backing away from his attacker. While the rest of the duck family squawked, the guy shouted and raised his fists as if demanding a fair fight from the creature, who continued his advance until he chased the guy down the sidewalk. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, or at least that's what I thought at the time...


However, later that afternoon, I was in another class in the same building, and I heard squawking again, only this time I was inside a classroom, so the honking, feather flapping argument, must have sounded really loud outside the building.

The classroom had three hundred theater style seats and two double doors at the entrance, so the students, including me, sitting in the seats near the entrance, could hear someone outside shouting, "Let go of me, ouch, let go of me," followed by more squawking and honking, until the double doors to the classroom blasted open, and in came a man running from the same duck I saw that morning.

Then, instead of rescuing their fellow student, everyone began climbing to the top seats to get away from the dangerous creature; who was doing his best to run with his head low enough to nip the man's heels and balance his wings at the same time. -The duck resembled a small airplane coming in for a landing-

The man ran up the row of seats with the daddy duck in hot pursuit nipping at his ankles... while students were shouting, "Did you forget to give him bread?"

Finally, someone latched onto both man and duck, and the situation came to a screeching, honking, feather flying halt, leaving an entire classroom of students laughing hysterically.

This daddy ducks behavior that morning was one of the most valuable lessons I've ever learned without having to pay a penny or endure a consequence.

And the lesson was; there are strict rules when it comes to ducks; you should always bring bread, and never, ever interrupt their breakfast, lunch, or dinner.