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DOWNLOAD IT AND PLAY IT ON A DREARY WINTER DAY

 an original video by clara meek

Getting to Know You the Facebook Way

Tea Time

Written by Nicki Wilcoxson

Today has been an absolutely glorious day in Amarillo-NO wind and warm temperatures. People are beginning to come out of hibernation to water the lawns and even mow and thatch. Jim and I spent time sitting on the deck and even ate lunch there. The cats loved having us and they are probably dreaming of those hot summer days when their mom comes out to work in the flower beds and provide kitty entertainment for them while they watch.

Of course, my tea for today is freshly brewed and iced.

Over the course of this week I have considered possible topics for this post and even started one on a topic that I have discarded for now and moved on to another one. Sitting on the deck gazing around the yard, I have been moved by random thoughts to return for a moment to my last post in which I discussed Facebook, Twitter, and Tweats. (February 11)

In the two weeks since I brought up the subject of social Internet use, many of us have marched forward fearlessly to conquer the brave new world of Facebook. What an adventure! First of all while some of us have been stumbling about trying to figure it all out, Jennifer has quickly and effortlessly become the "Queen of Twittering"! In no time at all she had links and photos on her “wall” and had invited every one possible to “become her friend” on Facebook (henceforth known as simply FB). I think all of her friends received FB virtual pokes or superpokes as well as appropriate virtual gifts (I got a virtual cup of tea which was yummy) and tweats or comments. On the other hand some of the new users are still lost to us trying to find themselves on FB. Mike Spradley, Marilyn Havens, and Linda Cook are still trying to figure it out, but I have faith they will find the way back to us, soon. Clara was lost for a bit trying to figure out “boxes” and she still isn’t convinced that anyone cares what she is doing “right now.” Happily she has hung some great photos that she has taken on her “walls” and we look forward to more FB comments soon.

Sheila is having a great time, too. She has the cutest grandkids ever and her term of endearment for them is the “Brat Pack.” We also learned that she ate too much of a good thing the other night—spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and wine. It was so good she didn’t complain too much about her misery! Sharon Wadley shared today that she is making a quilt with her mother who is 92. Talk about building memories!

We discovered that not only are we having a great time with our classmate friends, but we are discovering all kinds of things about our own children, grandchildren, their friends, and a whole bunch of other relatives and people who are suddenly reunited through FB. It was fun to be in real time with our son-in-law who spent the last 2 weeks in Norway as he posted his photos and comments.

As we announced on the Voices bulletin board we even expanded our boundaries when we created a group for FB called “Childress (Texas) High School Classes of 1960-66”. FB allows for the creation of all kinds of groups to attract people with common interests and goals.

Through the group we have already solved a mystery:

It was a dark and stormy night… No not that kind of mystery! This is a mystery of mistaken identity. Soon after we created the group, “Grams” Barlow joined our group. After we shared a few emails with each other in the effort to identify “Grams” we made our best guess and decided that Grams must be our good friend and classmate Carolyn Loter Barlow. Hooray and good news to have Carolyn with us! There was an exchange of emails with Grams/Carolyn and comments welcoming her to the group. But wait! Something was not right and soon an awful awareness came to us that Grams was not at all our Carolyn, but instead someone else who probably thought we had lost our minds. After a bit of head scratching and embarrassment we learned that Grams is really Linda Holland Barlow of the Class of 1964 and Carolyn Loter is Carolyn R Barlow on FB. Thankfully, Carolyn Loter Barlow was more than happy to set us straight with this great email.

Yes, the Carolyn R. Barlow (Nana) is me and I'm proud to say, Linda (Grams) is my sister-in-law. We so happened to have married the Barlow brothers from Cee Vee. She got Jimmy, the serious one and my Jerry is the nut or rather the funny one. In the 60's they had a band called the Hadlow's which consisted of Sherry Sides husband, Dennis Haddon, Wayne Haddon, Jimmy and Jerry Don. They never made the big time like they kept telling us they would, so I'm sure you've never heard of them, but they sure 'swooned' Linda, Sherry and me. Ha! Something must have worked because we're all three still married to them.

Please be patient with me, I'm not active on Facebook (or the Blog) due to still having 'slow slow' dial up internet service and anything with pictures or attachments takes forever to upload. We live way past the last of the three wild grape vines in Eastern Oklahoma so we are just proud as punch to have progressed beyond the tin can and string. Seriously, we live 13 miles from one town and 7 from another so DSL is within 4 miles of us now. But I just last week called several INS providers and I'm fixing to do something real quick like. Girl, you will be the first to know. I've been able to read a little of the blogs and love it. You and Jennifer have done an outstanding job of getting everyone interested. Wait and see, I'll be talking to you soon.

Hearing from Carolyn is always a treat and we are so pleased that she and Linda (Grams) are both part of the Childress group.

Through the group we have learned a bit more of our history as Childress teens of the 60’s.

Jimmie Ruth Weir Smith joined the group early on. Jimmie was only too happy to give us the facts about the Blue Room in Childress—how it came to be and what it meant to her, her siblings, and her parents. What a great way to remember the “good old days.”

Because of the group we have connected with Steven Fanning from the Class of 1964. Steven (or perhaps I should say, Dr. Fanning) is a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Steven is a published author whose latest book is available on Amazon. Steven has much to share with us and we are very happy that he is a part of our group. Jennifer and Yahn are looking forward to meeting with Steven when he makes a trip to Texas in March.

Our group now has 17 members which isn’t bad for less than two weeks.

Shelia Davis Martinez, Clara Meek, Linda Bridges Cook, Marilyn Baker Havens (’61), Sharon Molloy Kelly, Jimmie Ruth Smith (’64), Linda (Grams) Holland Barlow (’64), Mike Spradley, Jennifer Johnston Smith, Sharon Wadley (’66), Jim Drake, (’62), Marsha Harris Thomas (’64), Gary Hargrove (’65), Steven Fanning (’64), Sue Yager (’66), Nicki Wilcoxson, and Jim Wilcoxson.

We would love to have more of you on FB because it really is a different much more relaxed fun way to learn more about one another. There is such a mix of people commenting and “tweeting” that it is somewhat like a puzzle where you take pieces from all over in order to see the big picture. Several conversations going on at once and photos from everyone help make it all interesting. No one needs an invitation to become a member of FB; you simply join and start collecting friends by sending invitation through FB to people that you would like to have as “friends”. Many groups are by invitation only so if you have not yet received an invitation to join the CHS group, either Jennifer or I can send one to you. The only requirement is that you were a part of Childress High School between 1960 and 1966.

Friends and surprises are waiting around the corner—you just never know whom you will meet!

And so…next time on Tea Time there will be more tea to drink and new topics and worlds to explore. You are all invited!

An image from the past sent by Harold Simmons

Post-Academy Awards Post ... Winners ... and Yes, Losers....

The Looking Glass
by Jennifer Johnston



U.K. theatrical release post for Slumdog Millionaire
reproduced here citing "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. copyright law

Well, the Academy Awards are done for another year ... and a recap of the event (from my perspective of course, although I hope some of you will contribute your own thoughts and choices) is in order. For the record, I "won" at our house. I picked 18 winners from the total of 24 categories ... that's right, including a couple of the "throw a dart" categories. For those who did not watch the show and haven't seen who won, I will list them here. A star (*) beside an individual winner indicates that I called it correctly. Then, after the list, I have my own observations and categories, which I am hopeful will also draw your comments and opinions.

And the winners were (PC aside, there are winners....):

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire *
Best Director: Danny Boyle for Slumdog *
Best Actor: Sean Penn for Milk *
Best Actress: Kate Winslet for The Reader *
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight *
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona *
Best Animated Feature Film: Wall-E *
Best Foreign Film: Departures (Japan) *
Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk * (a moving acceptance speech)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog * (having changed my original pick just before the ceremonies began)
Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire (grrrr ... I foolishly changed my first pick here to Trouble the Water)
Best Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire *
Best Original Song: Jai Ho from Slumdog * (fortunately I changed my vote from O Saya)
Best Film Editing: Slumdog Millionaire (almost went with this one ... should have)
Best Documentary - Short Subject: Smile Pinki (my dart lied on this one)
Best Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire *
Best Costume Design: The Duchess *
Best Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire (should'a gone with my gut that Slumdog was gonna sweep)
Best Sound Editing: The Dark Knight (did go with my gut on Slumdog, but was wrong here)
Best Live Action Short Film: Spielzeugland * (dart did its work here)
Best Animated Short Film: La Maison de Petits Cubes (damned dart!)
Best Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *
Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *
Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *



Sean Penn in Milk, photograph by R. Hughes
from Wikipedia Commons

Except for that devious dart, and a couple of mental lapses on my part (see my original prediction about Man on Wire), I was very happy with the Academy's selections (and "the kitty"). And now moving on to my own "categories" and personal picks:

Best Dressed Female: Hands down ... Angelina Jolie ... arguably the most gorgeous woman on the planet ... looking absolutely regal and breath-taking in a beautifully draped black strapless gown by Elie Saab, accessorized with chunky emerald earrings and a HUGE, jaw-dropping emerald ring (Colombian emeralds, 115 carats total for the earrings and 65 carats for the ring). Beyonce takes runner-up for her beautiful, figure-enhancing black and gold fitted floral print (from the House of Dereon, her own fashion house). Kate Winslet was stunning in a gray and black assymetric Atelier Yves Saint Laurent gown and Chopard diamonds. Amy Adams wore a really lovely red dress by Carolina Herrera ... but unfortunately her large gloppy necklace wore her, so points must be deducted. Marion Cotillard (Best Actress Winner for La Vie En Rose) receives points for style in an edgy blue and black number. Evan Rachel Wood was outstanding in a soft beige gown that suited her coloring perfectly (nice to know that she has emerged from her Marilyn Manson liaison without any ill effects on her taste).

Best Dressed Male: Brad Pitt in a Tom Ford tux, with host Hugh Jackman (Burberry tuxedo and Ferragamo shoes) a close runner-up. Robert Downey and Daniel Craig (Dolce & Gabbana) looked great, and Frank Langella was elegant in his black tux, with his daughter Sarah on his arm for the night, but might have shaved a bit closer....

Worst Dressed Female: Melissa Leo (a nominee for Frozen River) in a really tacky brown gown and the wrong jewelry. Give this woman a stylist! Sophia Loren was a strong competitor in this category, as further mentioned below, though it is fair to say that perhaps at her age she doesn't see as well as she once did. (A small meow there....) Meryl Streep deserves dishonorable mention in this category; her hair was terrible and her dress was frumpy ... and she has been contending in this category for a long time, acting talent notwithstanding.

Worst Dressed Male: Mickey Rourke, looking like a depraved Good Humor man, or a pimp in search of a stable. (Although I was sorry to hear of the loss of his beloved dog.)




U.S. cover of Bernard Schlink's The Reader,
reproduced citing "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. copyright law

Miss Ellen's Po'teers Award: (See Gone With the Wind and the great Carol Burnett send-up of same) There were several contenders in this category, including the beautiful Freida Pinto (Slumdog) who was badly dressed by John Galliano (usually a winner) and looked as if her gown had been tied onto her by someone in a drunken stupor; Miley Cyrus in a white, scaly-scalloped thing that would have been more at home at the prom in Nashville (and that belt was a disaster); Tilda Swinton, who apparently utilized the drapes from more than one room in her house; fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker (why do people think this woman is stylish?) in "Cinder-Elly, Cinder-Elly" mode, despite that the gown was from Dior Couture. Reese Witherspoon wore Rodarte ... see the above comment re: Freida Pinto. And the winner is: Tilda Swinton ... by a thread (or several). (grin)

Belle Watling's Po'teers Award: (Also see Gone With the Wind) No contest ... Sophia Loren. There is a cathouse without drapes somewhere....

Best Accessories: Angelina Jolie with Brad Pitt; Brad Pitt with Angelina Jolie.

Sweetest Acceptance Speech: Penelope Cruz, though like many, she ran a bit long. She was lovely in a 60-year old vintage Pierre Balmain gown, with a drop-dead gorgeous 69 carat diamond necklace by Chopard.

Most Moving Acceptance Speech: Dustin Lance Black, the writer of Milk. Sean Penn made a good effort and gets Honorable Mention in this category. Honorable Mention also to A.R. Rahman, who won for Song and Score for Slumdog.

Cheesiest Ploy: Bringing on five former winners in each of the acting categories to state the nominations and shower canned, scripted encomiums on the nominees.

Aging Gracefully Award: Eva Marie Saint was striking in white, looking beautiful at her age without any visible assist(s)....



Faye Dunaway at the 2008 Tribeca Film Awards
Photograph by David Shankbone from Wikipedia Commons


Worst Plastic Surgery (Aside from Mickey Rourke's): No contest ... hands down ... Sophia Loren, who looked ghastly and could barely move her face to deliver her lines (see "canned, scripted encomiums" above). I will note that I did not nominate the King of Plastic, Michael Jackson, in this category because while he may be called many things (and has been), he in no way can be considered a "movie star" ... and besides, he wasn't there (or avoided the cameras if he was). And speaking of egregious plastic surgery mistakes, did anyone see the once-luminous Faye Dunaway (nominated as Best Actress for Bonnie and Clyde, later winning that award for Network) on Grey's Anatomy last week? She has become a hiked-to-the-hairline horror, and obviously went a rhinoplasty (among other things) too far. Of course Cher was elevated to Hall of Fame status some years ago.

There are so many more potential categories and nominees, but I shall let this suffice ... though please feel free to add your own. I (and the readers) would be most interested, I know.

As for the show itself, it was the usual poorly-scripted, waaaay to long, lame production the Academy comes up with year after year. It totally failed to utilize the tremendous talents of host Hugh Jackman, who was a fabulous host and did a great opening number (taking off on his Broadway show, The Boy from Oz) on the Tony Awards a few years ago. The opening number last night was cringe-worthy, with the middle-of-show extravaganza (featuring Jackman and Beyonce) not too much better. Year after year, the Academy laments that the number of viewers is dropping ... and IMHO, one of the major reasons is the almost uniformly bad musical production numbers. Likewise, the scripted banter between presenters is generally egregious.

[Sidebar: Despite the above statements, the overnight ratings for last night's show were up 6% from last year, possibly due to the excitement over Slumdog.]

It's an awards show, people. Just bring the presenters on, have them read the nominations and give out the awards. If more time must be filled, use it for clips from the nominated films and actors. The show would move along faster (please!) and probably retain more of an audience. Again ... my humble opinion....

And so ... we leave the Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for another year ... when of course, criticism above notwithstanding (or that which I may incur over my opinions here), we will be tuned in, with ballots in hand, waiting to know just who the winners (yes, winners!) are....

)O(

Goin' For the Gold ... or the Gold-Plated ... or Just Goyen....

The Looking Glass
by Jennifer Johnston



Photograph by Anne Siegel

I had planned to write my next post (which of course is now this post) on matters which may be of concern to us as we wander deeper into the euphemistic twilight of our years. However ... we have had such wonderful contributions from Raenell and Betty and Clara and Nicki since my last post, I am postponing (grin) that topic to talk about something which is of more immediacy ... since I am firmly and hopefully convinced that most of us are not going anywhere for the next week or so. (I have often said that I am a creature of hope.)

So ... let's talk Academy Awards ... Oscars!!! This is a subject of great interest at our house. It is likely that some of you couldn't care less, don't go to/enjoy movies, haven't seen a movie since you were traumatized by Old Yeller back in the '50s or since John Wayne went off to that big round-up in the sky. [Sidebar: I must confess I have not watched a Walt Disney animal movie since Yeller bit the dust ... I cried for daaaaays ... nor any other movie where the animal hero dies at the end ... just can't take it!] Nevertheless, I suspect that there are many who wouldn't miss the Academy Awards telecast ... the glitz, the gowns, the interminable speeches thanking everyone the recipient has ever known ... and Enough Already with that!

Anyhoo ... the Academy Awards ceremonies have been big in our "social season" (grin) for as long as we've been married (41 years in May) and even back into my junior high/high school years. Gonna go on the record here that there has never been a host as good as Bob Hope was ... even the very competent Johnny Carson and the okay Billy Crystal ... certainly not Whoopi Goldberg... ack! I am reserving judgment on Hugh Jackman (definitely a hunk, but a host?) until after the Sunday, February 22 telecast of the 81st annual fete of the purported crėme de la cinema.

Yahn and I are reviving an old tradition this year ... our formerly annual Academy Awards party. No cast of thousands ... just some friends sharing a few favorite libations and making small wagers on the outcome of the Academy voting. We'll print out ballots with all (not just the biggies) of the categories and people will kick $5 each into the "pot" (I almost said the "kitty" ... but our cats react sooo adversely to to any suggestion of being kicked ... which of course we would never ever do ... but Calamity always knows these things). Of course the person who correctly picks the most winners collects the loot at the end of the night. In ye olden days (1968 to about 1988, we referred to it around our house as "the Yahn and Jennifer Benefit Gala" ... since invariably Yahn or I would always win. For the past few years we've just competed with each other, for chores, or whatever ... and I must say that I am ahead of Yahn at this point. We are generally good at this (despite a couple of spectacular flame-outs) ... some might say slightly psychic ... even though we usually don't see the majority of the films until after the Awards.

Kodak Theater, Los Angeles, Home of the Academy Awards Ceremony

So many intriguing movies were released last year ... most of them in November and December. Several years ago, we opted out of going to a theater to see films ... just not thrilled to have to deal with people talking in their normal voices while the movie is running, yakking on cell phones, wandering back and forth in the aisles, or bringing their kids (or grandkids) to an obviously inappropriate film (violence, nudity, sex, language ... sometimes all of the above) and then letting the little darlings run riot and wreak havoc all around. So we're presently anticipating their Pay Per View debut to catch some films we really want to see: The Reader and Revolutionary Road (with the muy-talented, often incandescent Kate Winslet, who is due to win ... but more about that later); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (which Sheila loved and I know I will too); Milk (the dramatization of the life and times of gay activist Harvey Milk, murdered along with Mayor George Moscone in San Francisco in 1978 by nut case Dan White ... who subsequently committed suicide after he was released from prison too soon after getting a light sentence by employing the notorious "Twinkie" defense); Defiance, starring Daniel Craig (the latest James Bond ... and IMHO not up to Sean Connery's standards ... but then no one is!) and Liev Schreiber in the true story of Jewish partisans who fought the Nazis in the forests of Eastern Europe during World War II; Frost/Nixon, apparently wonderfully directed by previous Award-winner Ron "Opie" Howard, and starring Frank Langella (a total fave of mine) and Michael Sheen; Doubt, with the redoubtable Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, both previous Oscar winners; and of course, this year's "Cinderella" stealth favorite, Slumdog Millionaire, about which I've read wonderful things, starring the totally refreshing Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, directed by Danny Boyle.

Also receiving attention this year are The Dark Knight (which we have seen on PPV); Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood (who got shut out for Gran Torino); Vicky Cristina Barcelona (absolutely love Javier Bardem, but have a personal rule against watching Woody Allen movies); and The Wrestler (it's gotten some good reviews, but I have no desire to see it and am not particularly fond of Mickey Rourke, recent rehab notwithstanding).

[Sidebar: When the ads for Gran Torino ran here, one of the hype lines said: "Clint Eastwood gives the performance of his life!" Well yeah, I guess.... He's been giving the same performance for the last 40+ years ... so I suppose it is THE performance of his life....]

Best Picture (1920), reproduced citing "fair use" provisions of U.S. Copyright Law

So let's visit the categories and nominees for this year's fete ... and it is helpful to note that at-home Academy Awards competitions are frequently won or lost in the down-ballot nominations for Cinematography, Visual Effects, Costume Design etc. Bear in mind that these predictions are based solely on my reading, TV watching and my feelings ... the vibes ... and I am not responsible for monies (or honor) lost on incorrect guesses. Also, you may infer a lot of "IMHO"s prefacing and interspersing the following comments. And, as ever, I reserve the right to change my mind up to and including the very minute before the telecast begins.

For the Best Animated Feature Film, the nominees are Bolt, Kung-Fu Panda and Wall-E. I think you can probably bet the farm on Wall-E. Without reciting the list of nominees, I think Waltz With Bashir (though animated) is going to take the Best Foreign Language Film category. Also without reciting the nominees, I'll go with Slumdog for Cinematography; Benjamin Button for Visual Effects; Slumdog for Sound Editing and Benjamin Button for Sound Mixing (never hurts to split a vote); The Duchess for Costume Design (period pieces generally have an edge in this category); Benjamin Button for Art Direction and Slumdog for Cinematography (same theory about splitting votes); and Benjamin Button for Makeup.

As for Animated and Live Action Short Films, and Documentary Shorts and Documentary Features ... who knows (or really cares, except the makers ... although I think Man on Wire just might take Documentary Feature). Throw a dart or consult the crystal ball ... unless of course you are a true aficionado and have seen them, therefore have a true opinion.... (Yahn and I are not even that dedicated....) For Music (Song) ... haven't heard any of them, but I have the feeling that it will be one of the two nominated for Slumdog ... gonna take a chance on "O Saya" but it's strictly a guess). Since I think it may be Slumdog's year, I'll give Slumdog the nod for Music Score too....

The nominees for Writing (Original Screenplay) are Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, Milk and Wall-E. In contention for Writing (Adapted Screenplay) are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (adapted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald); Doubt, adapted by John Patrick Shanley (who won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 2005 for Doubt, the play); Frost/Nixon, screenplay written by Peter Morgan, from the original Broadway production; The Reader, written for the screen by David Hare (formerly nominated for The Hours); and Slumdog Millionaire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy (previously nominated for The Full Monty). For Original, I'm gonna go with Dustin Lance Black for Milk (unless the spirits whisper something else in my ear before next Sunday ... and I understand In Bruges is really good,) and for Adapted, with some reservation because of Slumdog's momentum, I'll pick Shanley.

Nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role are Amy Adams for Doubt; Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Viola Davis for Doubt; Taraji P. Henson for Benjamin Button; and Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler. I am personally convinced that Tomei's Supporting Actress Award for My Cousin Vinny a few years ago was a fluke; Ms. Henson (of The [now defunct] Division on Lifetime cable, who performed the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" at the 78th Academy Awards presentation) will be "so happy with the nomination." Amy Adams and Viola Davis may cancel each other out ... so, by a slight edge, I'm going with the charming Penelope Cruz.

Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role are Josh Brolin for Milk (playing "Twinkie" killer Dan White); Robert Downey, Jr. for Tropic Thunder (a clever turn, but I don't think it'll win the Oscar for him); previous Best Actor winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (for Capote in 2005 ... although Toby Jones was better in the same role that same year and didn't even receive a nomination for his work in Infamous, which also featured a great turn by Sandra Bullock as Harper Lee) for Doubt; the late (and might have been stellar, had he lived) Heath Ledger for his role as "The Joker" in The Dark Knight; and Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road. Tough category ... primarily because of the sentiment for Heath Ledger's last eligible role, although Hoffman is good in everything I've seen of his, and I've read that Josh Brolin nails Dan White (as he did the title character of Oliver Stone's W). Brolin was so good in No Country for Old Men, too. By a hair, I'm going to predict that Ledger will win posthumously.

Best Actress nominees are Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (a Tomei-type fluke, I think); Angelina Jolie (absolutely love her for her acting and her wonderful humanitarian work, and she is a previous Supporting Actress winner for Girl, Interrupted) for Changeling; Melissa Leo (a long shot, but possibly the proverbial dark horse) for Frozen River; for Doubt, the marvelously-talented (although frequently one-note) Meryl Streep (secure enough in her gifts to do Mamma Mia!, which BTW I thoroughly enjoyed, even with Pierce Brosnan's "singing"); and my personal favorite in this category, Kate Winslet for The Reader. This one is basically between Streep and Winslet ... both fantastic from what I've read/heard/intuited ... and no one in his/her right mind would ever bet against Streep ... but I'm going to go (I think) with Winslet here. Streep has won Oscar previously (twice, and has been nominated a phenomenal 15 times!) and Winslet is overdue. Streep recently won the SAG (Screen Actor's Guild award) in this category, but Winslet won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) this year. Seems there may be a bit of nationalism going on here ... but not all U.S. Academy voters are Americans, sooooo.... Really a toss-up....

Kate Winslet (photo authorized under Wikipedia Commons)

For Best Actor, we have Richard Jenkins (say, who?) for The Visitor, in a reportedly moving performance; the superb Frank Langella (the most romantic Dracula ever!!!) for Frost/Nixon; Sean Penn, apparently turning in a terrific performance as the title character in Milk; for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt (another wonderful actor, a concerned humanitarian and just a great human being, along with his partner Angelina Jolie); and Mickey Rourke on the "Redemption Ticket" for The Wrestler. Redemption and rehab notwithstanding (and probably to be short-lived), I don't want Rourke to win. I would be happy with Pitt, Langella or Penn. Jenkins may be great, but another year.... The vibes and personal preference tell me it's going to be Sean Penn, although his "maverick" reputation could hurt him with Academy voters.

The Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director are frequently (but not always) related; indeed they are all connected this year, so to wrap up, let's tackle them together. We have David Fincher (his first nomination) directing Benjamin Button; Ron Howard (his fourth nomination, with a win for A Beautiful Mind) at the helm of Frost/Nixon; the űber-edgy Gus Van Sant behind the camera for Milk; twice-nominated Stephen Daldry (The Hours and Billy Elliott) for The Reader; and first-time nominee Danny Boyle for Slumdog. On occasion the Academy has split on these categories ... but I don't think so this year. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that we might see Van Sant and and the uplifting Milk take these awards, but there are still a lot of homophobes in Hollywood and elsewhere (witness the slighting of Brokeback Mountain a few years ago, for which Heath Ledger should have won), and Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon might have a chance ... but "critter of hope" that I am, I've gotta give the gold statues to Boyle and what is touted as THE feel-good film of the year, Slumdog Millionaire. In these times, we all need a little feel-good....

And speaking of feelin' good ... my longtime friend, on-air personality (DJ) and regular blog reader Johnny Goyen, who did the tapes and later CDs for the Class of '63 of Childress High School (which some of you have ... see Raenell's comment to Clara's post) has a free (repeat, free) Internet-accessible slot on Play It, where he's put together a lot of the music we grew up with back in the day. I enjoy listening to it while I'm at the computer, and I think many of you might like it as well. It has a wide range of music, from Elvis and Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry to Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Patsy Cline and others. Click on this for "Good Timin' '50s and 60s":

http://play.it/stationinfo.aspx?id=8255

... then all you have to do is click the triangle-shaped "play" button and enjoy!

As for me, I am cleaning the house (and hopefully will be cleaning up! ... grin) for our Academy Awards "do." And ... as the denouement for the possibly apocryphal story about the filming of the "Exodus" scene from The Ten Commandments goes: "Ready when you are, C.B."

)O(

Procrastination

Written by
Clara Meek

We all know all about it. I don't think I need to link you to a dictionary. When Nicki asked me to contribute to the blog, I was truly sincere about jumping in. Since then I have found LOTS of reasons to procrastinate. I'll list a few.

1) I can't come up with a name. I ran a long list past Nicki............Mindless, Nadaville, Much Ado, Squeek, et al. She contributed many herself, then emailed me back saying I didn't need a name. (I read between the lines----JUST WRITE)

2) I'm not a writer.

3) I'm intimidated by the writing of Jennifer, Nicki, Raenell, Betty. Writing appears to be effortless for them.

4) I have realized how sloppy I've become regarding spelling, punctuation and any other rule of writing I may have learned-----it's just embarassing, and no reflection on the many good teachers we had growing up in Childress.

5) I have a tendency to believe that there are very few people interested in what I have to say.

6) I actually have very little to say.

7) My best ideas occur when I wake up in a fog in the middle of the night. I am amazed at my cleverness, only to wake up in the morning with a very dim recollection of brilliance.

8) Sometimes I actually get a great idea during the day, rush to the computer, pass the laundry room on the way as the dryer is buzzing, stop to take care of that, and forget that I was on the way to the computer with a truly remarkable idea.

9) I can't seem to find the time. YES, I am retired----and totally unaware of the day of the week. I actually began this post while volunteering at the box office for the Boerne Community Theatre. The phone was not ringing, hence a window of time. I began to think about my time. I also volunteer for Threads of Life, painting memento boxes for parents of stillborn babies and babies who die at birth. I am truly happy to share my talents this way. I also spend a great deal of time grabbing volunteers to help me make t-hats (headcovers for women who lose their hair to chemo). I began making them from t-shirts from the American Cancer Society's RELAY FOR LIFE, and the Komen Foundation's RACE FOR THE CURE. All my recruits have come from Curve's ladies. I also volunteer my time for one 9 year old art student.

10) I work out at Curves 3 days a week and take a Tai Chi class one day a week. I love both. I take an Apple class one day a week, and hope to retain a fraction.

11) I waste a lot of time on the computer in a non productive manner.

12) I spend a LOT of time on the computer trying to make sense of what I tried to learn at my computer class from a teenager who was born with a computer, speaks geek at mach speed and thinks I'm an alien.

13) It takes a lot of time to have meaningful conversation with your spouse. "What do you want for dinner?" "I don't know------what do you want?"

14) Two dogs take time. When they are in they want out. When they are out they want in. I can't complain too much. Don is their major caregiver. I dispense lots of hugs & pets.

15) Personal hygiene-------people, it takes TIME to tend toenails, fingernails, hair, skin, teeth.

16) Facing the day with eyebrows takes effort and time. I refuse to leave the house without them.

17) Then, there is worry. That list is endless. It takes time to counterattack with positive thoughts, mantras, deep breathing exercises, prayer, and whatever works for you.

18) I also read lots-------we'll talk about that later if anyone is interested.

Speaking of time, if you have read this far, I've managed to waste a few minutes of yours---------which can be a good thing.

Talking Technology: Twitters, Tweets, and Facebook

Tea Time

Written by Nicki Wilcoxson

Because it is getting to be late evening, I am now enjoying my last cup of tea for the day. This is the time for a hot cup of green tea-decaffeinated. I hope you will join me as I prepare to spend a little time with one of my favorite topics, the wildly changing, but totally fascinating world of technology.

I have long since ceased to be shocked or totally amazed by what I can do or what I can find on a computer connected to the Internet. Instead I find myself constantly challenged and sometimes struggling to keep up with an ever changing and burgeoning Internet/technology vocabulary that at times seems to makes no sense at all. Over a period of time, I have come face to face with such words as widget, apps, blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, tags, and furl just to name a few. Additionally, I find myself using a whole new set of words or non-words when I am engaged in email, text messaging and even blogging, posting, publishing or other forms of communication on the Web or cell phones. What a headache it must be for English teachers of today to convince students to spell “correctly,” to use complete sentences, and to punctuate correctly! But as Jennifer would remind me, “I digress”.

The technology related words that I want to focus on with this cup of tea are colorful and close to my heart as a bird lover, “Twitter” “Tweeter,” and “Tweet.” These words relate directly to the newly evolving social Web. Whereas in the beginning the Internet was used by individuals in isolation—searching via powerful search engines that sent “spiders” speeding around the Internet searching for the desired key words or information, today the key word for Internet use could be “social.” As author Will Richardson states in his book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Web Tools for Classrooms,"the biggest most sweeping change in our relationship with the Internet …is the ability to share and connect and create with many, many others of like minds and interests.” “The social Web says that we have many friends out there just waiting to be found and connected to, and those friends have other friends (friends of a friend or FOAF) who can just as easily connect with us and point us to new and interesting information or learning.” (pp.89-90) Enter, blogs and blogging, and now Twitter and Tweeter and Tweet. All of these apps (applications) are defined as social software.

Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in “real time.”

Tweeter is a Twitter interface that allows the user to post new “tweets” through possibly the Internet’s most popular social program (along with You Tube and Blogger), Facebook.

Twitterific is the Twitter version for the iPhone

One explanation for this wildly popular program is that people are compelled to make connections or to reconnect with the people in their lives. While Blogger serves much the same purpose as Facebook by providing a vehicle for reconnecting and communicating through posting and commenting, it is not done in “real time.” Users are often reluctant to write or to share on a blog for a variety of reasons. In using Twitter as its foundation, Facebook has adopted a key element of communication via “tweetering” and that is the need to answer only one question (tweet)! “What are you doing right now?” This one question can be answered once a day or as often as desired. The rationale is that answering this one question will often bring comments and questions from friends, family, and strangers that lead to getting to know one another in most unexpected and interesting ways. Most communication is short and informational or fun.

For example, if I tweet or answer the Facebook question, What are you doing right now? , by writing, “Nicki is reading The Shack.” Someone in my network might comment, “I’ve read that too and it is great.What else do you like to read?” The tweeting can progress from there with everyone in the network learning more about each other through short comments and discussions.

Now that we are all thoroughly confused, let me emphasize some points. It is NOT necessary to know about Twitter or any of the Tweets, or Tweeters at all. Facebook does it for you and here are the basics:

1) As humans we are social beings. We want or need to be part of a group (s), network, or community. At some point in our lives we often feel a need to connect or re-connect with family, friends, and even strangers. We want to be known or acknowledged. We want to connect with other like-minded people. We often feel isolated in our world. We seek ways to communicate.

2) Facebook by using social software has devised an easy and interesting way for the users of the program to accomplish connecting and communicating with friends, family, and strangers.

3) Facebook has an amazing number of features that allow security for users as well as the ability to build networks of only the people users want to have access to personal information.

4) Facebook facilitates conversation and communication between users by asking one simple question, “What are you doing right now?”

5) Facebook communication is done in real time when users are logged on to the Facebook. Chatting is another option for users.

6) Facebook members can personalize individual home pages by decorating or adding numerous features to their own “walls”.

7) Facebook offers members or users multiple options for sharing of all kinds.

8) Networks of friends, family, and strangers are done by invitation only with the option to accept or decline.

9) For the new user, patience and a willingness to learn and explore are needed. Take baby steps and don’t get frustrated.

10) When all else fails, call in the grandkids or teens in the family or neighborhood for a lesson.

My immediate family including our girls, our sons-in-law, our grandson, their aunts, uncles, cousins, old and current classmates, friends (old and new) have become Facebook users. I lurk (read without commenting) on their “walls” quite often and it is amazing how much they are learning about one another and their lives today. The atmosphere is supportive and fun. My son-in-law working in Norway for 2 weeks keeps us constantly updated on what he is doing and seeing. Our grandson, Jordie, is building a list of relatives, many of whom he has never met, and has become very interested in finding how everyone is related. He is asking questions and is pretty fascinated to learn that he has after all a much bigger family than he ever dreamed. I see adults—old and young—communicating with one another and getting acquainted.

So why all the twitter and tweeter stuff? This is our world today. If we want to be a part of that world, if we want to keep up with our children and their children, if we want to reconnect and connect with friends and family and to meet new people, we have choices to make: To Blog or not To Blog; To Tweet and Twitter or not To Tweet and Twitter; To Network or not To Network; To Keep Up or not To Keep Up; To be A Part or To be Apart.

All of you with email will at some point, if you haven’t already, receive an invitation from someone you know or someone you love to become a part of a network, possibly Facebook. What choice will you make? Are you ready for a "twitter experience?"

My cup of tea is long gone and it time for this tweeter to find her nest. Have a tweeterific day!

Meeting "Marvelous Martha"

Bits and Pieces

by Betty Smith Merritt

One of the most important events in my life happened at an early age.

Martha Fordyce was a retired school teacher in Ardmore, OK, who had devoted her life to teaching and was particularly interested in helping young ladies acquire social skills. When I was 13, my mother enrolled me in an etiquette class at the local YWCA. And that's where I met "Marvelous Martha".

As I've said before, I was extremely shy (no one seems to believe that now), but it was very true. In fact, looking back at myself today, as I was then, I'd change that description to "painfully" shy. I blushed fiercely (and still do occasionally) and stammered a lot if a boy, who wasn't one of my brothers, so much as looked at me. I was tall for my age, and skinny to the point of having no figure at all.

My loving brothers called me "Stick" and not because of my love for hockey! My much adored grandfather called me "Olive Oil" - does that give you a clue??

Anyway, off to "deportment" classes I went each Wednesday after school. For an hour each week, we'd hear all the ways young ladies "deported" themselves. It was an 8 week class and bless her heart, Marvelous Martha certainly had her work cut out for her.

She had been blessed with a class of 10 girls between the ages of 12 and 15 who had grown up in rural Oklahoma. Girls who thought nothing about climbing a tree in a dress, could scoot under a barbed wire fence with nary a scratch and excelled at running faster than the bull in the pasture!

The first week, we learned how to sit like ladies. Not plop down in a chair, mind you - SIT! It took me about a dozen tries before I finally managed to get my rear in the chair to Marvelous Martha's satisfaction. And then came the rest...I didn't know it was considered "improper" to sit with your legs sprawled out in front of you or cross your legs at the knees! The muscles in my legs ached the first week from sitting in a chair with my knees together and ankles primly crossed! I begged my mother to let me quit - it was just too hard for me! She said no.

The second week, we learned to walk properly - have you ever tried to walk across a room with a Webster's Dictionary balanced precariously on your head, head held high, eyes in front of you, without tripping over your own feet while everyone in the class stared at you intently and mentally willed the stupid book to fall on your feet?? I still carry the emotional scars!! The only dictionary I have in my home today is the one inside my computer!! And if that wasn't bad enough, I inadvertently caused the class to get another lesson...no walking while chewing gum...in fact, no chewing gum at all! Because it is "particularly unladylike" to blow bubbles and pop them! Again, I begged my mother to let me quit. She said no.


The third week when we arrived for class, there was a beautifully set table in front of the room..linen draped, with gleaming crystal, silverware you could see your reflection in, white china with little pink roses on it, with flowers and candles for a centerpiece. That was my first tea party, and the day I fell in love with Marvelous Martha! I'd quit complaining about sitting and walking if I could just learn how to make a table look that beautiful! Now, mind you, my mother didn't own linen tablecloths, crystal, china or silver, and the only candles I knew of at home were the ones we had in the cellar in case of tornadoes, but we did often bring her flowers out of the field, so I thought I at least had a chance to succeed! I soaked up that lesson like a sponge! I was the first (and only) one who volunteered to set the table for "dinner" every night afterwards. I also shared my knowledge with the family and explained the difference between supper and dinner. My mother grimaced. I think she was beginning to realize she might have created a monster.

The fourth week, there was another table in front of the classroom - this time, it was covered with makeup, mirrors, hats, gloves, scarves of all colors, shapes and sizes and purses! Lordie, Lordie, they were pretty! I'd never seen so many beautiful things in one place at one time in my entire life...needless to say, there were no shopping malls in Ardmore, OK in 1957! But even if there had been, I wouldn't have known about them because the feed store was the only place we ever went when we came to "town". Marvelous Martha had my complete attention that day as she demonstrated the art of discreetly applying makeup, choosing hats that fit your face, 99 ways to fold and wear scarves and how to chose the purse that fits your needs. When I got home with my discreetly made up face, wearing a perfectly tied scarf around my neck and opened my donated purse to reveal brand new white gloves (still in the plastic bag) and powder compact (with a mirror!), my mother sighed and said I might have to miss class the next week because she needed me to help her at home. I begged her to let me go. She finally said yes.

The fifth week was all about hygiene. That was the week I came home and announced that in the future, I'd take my bath first because the water would be dirty after the boys got in it! My brothers had a fit because I told them that from then on, I would be putting bubble bath in the water so I'd smell good. Daddy said the boys would have to take turns being second so they'd all have a turn at smelling sissified. My mother cringed and said she really needed me to skip the next class because she needed help canning the vegetables out of the garden and they couldn't wait. I begged and pleaded, and promised her the next three Saturdays of my life to help her with the canning if she'd only let me go to the next class. She gave up and said yes.

The sixth week was about choosing clothes that fit your body type. I didn't know I had a body type, so when Marvelous Martha classified me as "tall and slender", I loved her just a little bit more! That sounded so much nicer than "skinny as a stick"!! That was the class where we learned to "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative" so to speak. JC Penny's had donated a dress to each of us, so we took a field trip to the store two blocks away and got to select the dress of our dreams...as long as it cost no more than $5.99! Since all of my clothes to date had either been hand-me-downs or homemade, I felt like a queen in my new store bought dress. The only bad part was we weren't allowed to wear them home, or at all, until our "graduation" two weeks away. I proudly carried the dress home in it's purple JC Penny's bag, held high, like a banner going before a victorious army! I couldn't wait to show my mother the pale pink dress with a full skirt, belted waist and Peter Pan collar I'd selected! My mother cried, so I cried because she cried, and I told her I wouldn't go to the class anymore if it upset her. She said, no, she was just being silly, and I should go to class.

The seventh week was a recap of all the things we had learned and practice for the graduation exercise. We wrote invitations to mail to our loved ones we wanted to attend and learned the meaning of RSVP! Wow! It was thrilling to know I'd mastered French! I found so many occasions to say something in French (as if I knew!) the next week, she pushed me out the door the following Wednesday saying "Learn something in English this time, OK?"

Graduation day finally arrived, and I, dressed in my new JC Penny's frock, wearing donated gloves, carrying a second hand purse, proudly walked across the room to receive my diploma as my mother and grandmother, seated across the room, smiled at me.

The lessons I learned from Marvelous Martha have served me well, but life has given me a slightly different perspective.

As I see it:

By the time you've walked a mile in someone else's shoes, either your feet hurt really bad or you're comfortable enough in them to call them your own.

A little bit of paint helps any ole barn.

Hearts and fine china can be broken with careless handling.

The truly poor people are those who allow hope to wither and die on the vine.

You may not have the best of anything, but soap and water are cheap and plentiful, so be sure to use them often on everything.

Neglected people, like pieces of silver, will eventually grow dull and tarnished but a little bit of attention makes them sparkle and shine like new.

It's true, a Zebra can't change it's stripes, so thank God we're all human and quite capable of changing.

If you're a mother hen, it's okay to cry when you realize your chickadee is growing up.

Jim Smith: The Retiring Kind ....

We just received these pictures from Raenell of "house-hubby" Jim's recent retirement party. And don't miss Raenell's first post for Voices, "The Joys of Retirement" (just below). Enjoy!!!



Jim about to indulge his sweet tooth

The sweethearts ... Jim and Raenell on the dancefloor

Jim about to take the microphone at his retirement party

The Joys of Retirement

From the Heart
by Raenell Wynn Smith

Gold pocket watch with hunter case and watch chain.
Photograph by Isabelle Grosjean

Well, here goes my first addition to the blog. I do hope you enjoy reading it.

Yep, as of the first of the year Jim is officially retired and on the loose about town during working hours. We laugh a lot about his excursions and adventures at his favorite hangout, Walmart. Who knows? Maybe they will hire him as a greeter. So on your visits to Childress he may be the first person you see when you enter Walmart.

We laugh a lot about his excursions and adventures. There are advantages to this as well, although I admit it is hard to leave him at the kitchen table drinking coffee while I leave for work. We do get to have lunch together everyday and he is getting pretty good at fixing grilled cheese sandwiches and soup. Occasionally, he will finish the laundry, do things around the house like clean the vents, shower tile, clean out the garage and storage and at times has dinner ready when I get home. Yep, I think I could get used to having a "house husband".

Jim retired as Airport Manager at the Childress Airport, and worked for the City of Chldress for 24 years and three months. He was recently honored with a retirement party given by our children. Some of the band members that Jim played with in the past gathered and played for the event; Alan Magouirk, his son Jay, John Moss and Dickie Nations, Jacky Petty and also sitting in for awhile was Mike Heckathorn on the drums. We had a great time and Jim was thoroughly surprised. Good food, good friends and great fun.

Jim sang some of the oldies but goodies, (the real county music) and I was impressed that he still remembered all the words, but I guess there are some things you just don't forget, especially if you've sung them thousands of times. The surprise was a success and Jim just couldn't get over how everyone in town knew about it for weeks and he didn't have a clue. All of our children and 4 of our grandchildren were able to come; our daughter Kelley and husband Bobby Morris from Houston and her son Tyler Lane from Amarillo; along with our son Jeff and his wife Lauri and children Kambri, Jade and Straton from Amarillo and our son Todd, also from Amarillo.



Party Balloons

I do have to tell you a funny story. One of those mornings when I left for work Jim was sitting in the recliner drinking coffee and watching his favorite morning shows Fox and Friends and Good Morning America. I came home for lunch and he was sitting in the recliner. I came home after work and he was sitting in the recliner (do you see a pattern here?). I asked him how his day went and his response was "I really don't understand it, I've not gotten much done today." "Umm" was my remark, "I think I can enlighten you about that."

Retirement is looking good and in October, if all goes well, I plan to join him. We hope to travel more, be able to attend our grandchildren's events and visit those places that we've grown to love in this great county of ours such as Branson, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona and other places we've yet to see.

Until next time, this comes to you straight from my heart to yours.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Blog Note: We want to make sure you all know to check the Bulletin Board appended down the right side of blog, if you haven't found it already. The Bulletin Board will be used to post short notes and notices of interest, such as the recent death of Charlene Beierschmitt Clouse's mother, a mention about JoAnn Lathram, upcoming blog features, and the most recent additions, the notice of the death of the father of Ricki Turner Greer (CHS Class of 1962) and a note from Phillip Tutor about his trip to Africa on February 18. Anyone who wants to send Phil an e-mail can click on his name at the end of his message.

As is the nature of a Bulletin Board, notices will be put up and taken down within a finite amount of time, so they will be frequently changing. We hope you will all develop the habit of checking there ... and that you will send us any notices or messages which you think would fit the format, as well as being pertinent and of interest to our readers. See you on Bulletin Board...

Also, we've had a couple of inquiries from people wanting to know how to access the comments, so for anyone who doesn't know.... At the end of each post, you will see an indication of "0 comments" or "3 comments" or whatever. Click on that and it will take you to the comments, and also a place where you can leave a comment of your own. Or, if you don't want to bother with that, just send an e-mail to Jennifer or Nicki with your comment and we will take care of it. Be sure to check the comments to see if any have been published since your last visit, as comments add so much to the blog ... and don't forget to leave one if the spirit moves....

)O(

Cold Extremities ... Warm Memories ... and Slip-Slidin' Away....

The Looking Glass
by Jennifer Johnston

Inside Phong Nha Cave, Vietnam ... now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Super Bowl Sunday ... day without end ... unless you're really involved with one of the two teams playing, or at a really great party!!! I haven't watched a Super Bowl since the last time Dallas won (Super Bowl XXX, back in the mid-'90s) ... and even then, it wasn't as much fun as it used to be back in the 1970s, when we knew and partied with some of the players. It was a day to give thanks for our DVR and PPV. Among other things, we watched an interesting History Channel "Cities of the Underworld" ... that particular episode focusing on Vietnam and documenting the tunnels at Cu Chi (claustrophobia to the max!!!), the underground complex at Vinh Moc, and the beautiful caves at Phong Nha, a redoubt of the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, ice came to Dallas, and most of North Texas and Oklahoma, along with great swaths of the Midwest. Those were days to just hunker down with a book, or watch TV, to sit in front of the roaring fire in reverie and remembrance. We got down our photograph albums ... of the two of us (separately and after we met) when we were younger, of our children when they were children and later as they matured into married parents of their own progeny, of our travels all over the world ... sharing "do you remember" stories with each other once again. In late afternoon, we even roasted marshmallows in the fireplace (something we hadn't done in years) and that evening enjoyed fresh blackberries in heavy cream, conjuring decadence as we gazed at the ice outside. But mostly we just enjoyed each other's company, and felt wonderfully blessed again by the good outcome of Yahn's recent health problems. Of course at our age, "health problems" will likely become more and more frequent, absent any sudden severing of the invisible cord tethering us to this life ... but for the moment, I digress....

As I frequently do at reflective times in winter, I flashed back to the Bobcat band bus trips to away games, or competitions ... somehow the memory is always of cold weather on the old bus, its heater struggling mightily to stay up with the penetrating chill, friends huddled together under blankets and talking, breath coming in cold clouds from our warm mouths ... or frequently, a group joining in singing really old songs ... of course the round, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Bicycle Built for Two, Goodnight Irene, You'll Never Walk Alone and Sentimental Journey ... mostly songs of our parents' and grandparents' generations. I can hear the sweet harmonies of the King twins, Jean and Joan, with Linda Jane Denny, Carol Fromm, Dana Purcell, Katherine Crain, Marilyn Baker ... Eddie Huddleston and Larry Harris and Ronnie Day and Gary Dorman and Gale Sisco blending their voices with those of the girls. And gradually, after sitting back in Freshman shyness, the rest of us would join in ... Linda Kay, Pat, Clara, Sheila, Linda Sally (Lynn adding her voice a year later).... In my memory, we sounded pretty darn good ... and the melding of notes and tones always seemed to give us a sense of warmth, and camaraderie and belonging.

I also thought of winter in Childress itself ... the main memory being of a howling, haunted, biting wind ... blowing cold through the streets and across the fields outside town. Perhaps the memory is just sharper because that wind cut such an crevasse into my young mind ... but I don't remember ever being as cold in my life as it was every time a "Blue Norther" roared into the Panhandle. It just seemed that there weren't enough layers ... coats and scarves and hats and mittens ... to keep that cold from slicing to the bone and then settling there, chilling you from the inside out. Sometimes, if it was cold enough and windy enough, the car (like the band bus) was simply incapable of warming its occupants, occasionally curtailing the nightly ritual of riding around, dragging Main and down through the Fair Park and around the Dairy Mart ... and the only thing that would dispel that misery was to head for home, where there was a warm fire and warm faces and warm hot chocolate if I asked my grandmother to make it. (Somehow it never occurred to me that I could actually make my own hot chocolate ... after all, Frances Long had taught us how in Home Ec. But, as I've said before, I was unbelievably spoiled by my Mamaw....)



Photograph by David Lombardo

One winter in the early '60s, there was an ice storm in Childress. There were a few such storms during the years I lived there, but this one is lodged prominently in memory because the wise cancellation of school for a couple of days seemed to me and Linda Kay and Lynn and Pat and Linda Sally the perfect time to go out and deliver band candy that we had sold that Fall to raise money for new uniforms. Off in the Studebaker we went, full of teenage immortality, and I remember slip-slidin' all over town ... fortunately the only things we collided with were curbs when the ice clawed the car's traction into submission ... although we did have a couple of scary spinouts. As we knocked on the different doors to deliver the candy, people looked at us as if ... as they frequently expressed ... we were "nuts" for being out on such a day. My grandmother's BFF, "Sis" McClendon (Max's mother) actually tried to forbid us from leaving the warmth of her living room ... but we exited laughing and sliding on the sidewalk, tempting fate once again.

When it is cold, I always recall with silent tears the loss of a truly twindred spirit with prodigious gifts but a crippling duality of nature and a paralyzing inability to seize and truly embrace the possibilities of living, to find out what might have been, who "signed off" from growth and life (though he continued to breathe), who once dreamed of love and fireplaces and drifted powder and ski lodges in the heat and the horror and moral ambiguity of Vietnam....

I met my darling Yahn in the deep snows of Colorado Springs (when I probably shouldn't have been driving again) on February 15, 1967 (the day after Valentine's Day), and when I moved there to be closer to him almost a year later I took a funky (cheap!) little house in the hippie haven of Manitou Springs. The usual street approaching my house went almost straight up, and when there was snow and ice on the pavement, there was no way my little Mustang was going to make it up the hill, so getting home required a round-about approach to a street where, if I could rev the car just right and hold the pedal to the metal, I could just manage to navigate a slightly lower hill and approach the little house from the back.

Yahn and I had fun remembering the snow and ice storms that visited Dallas when we (and our children) were young ... sliding on the ice (with a pratfall or two thrown in as comic relief and fortunately, no broken bones), and making snow angels and snow ice cream with Shannon and Chiara and some of their friends.

Our first year in Houston, we went to sunny Acapulco for Christmas/New Year ... wonderful days lying by the grotto pool (with the swim-up bar!) at the Acapulco Princess hotel, which overlooked Revolcadero Beach. On our return trip, as we approached Houston International Airport, the pilot announced that the ground temperature in Houston was 18 degrees (and he wasn't talking centigrade!). By the time we got to the car (in our shorts and short sleeves ... it was 87-ish when we left) we were frozen. There was no heat on in the house (fortunately our pipes had not burst, as they had in houses all around us) so we had to crank it up and go back to the car and drive around for an hour or so until the house was habitable.

One of my favorite cold memories is of New Year's Day and night in Zurich, Switzerland (1988), where Yahn and I found ourselves on an unscheduled stopover (again with no winter clothes) on our return from our first trip to Egypt. Snow and ice notwithstanding, we were determined to see as much of Zurich as we could, so "layered up" to brave the chill. We made frequent stops in eating and drinking establishments along our route, where we were welcomed so warmly and solicitously, and after a few mulled wines and some Irish coffees, we found ourselves "toasted" indeed....

And of course there was the nonpareil New Year (1994-95) we spent in Paris ... with thousands of lights lining the Champs Elysees, twinkling in the bitter cold, as we walked among the revelers and ate dinner at L'Alsace (where we were given New Year's wishes enunciated very carefully in English by an old French couple who had determined that we were Americain), before retreating to our warm hotel room and ushering in the year watching fat, puffy snowflakes fall into the picturesque streets as we sipped champagne and kissed at midnight. One of my favorite, most romantic memories ever....

Ironically, ice and cold seem almost invariably to kindle a desire for warmth and love ... family, friends, home. I've often thought over the years that "home" is anywhere where you are carried and held in love and memory.... Of course the poet Robert Frost posited (in his The Death of the Hired Man) that "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."

And as I recently sat sleepily nodding by the fire, dreaming of the soft look and deep shadows in lovers' eyes, and pilgrim souls with sorrowful changing faces (with a nod to my old friend William Butler Yeats), of course my thoughts turned inevitably to this blended autumn/winter of our lives ... "the days dwindling down to a precious few" ... more days behind us than are ahead ... the fact that we will now likely lose more friends than we will make again ... all the sad, sweet, terribly beautiful poignancy of this time and these days ... the memories "of splendor in the grass and glory in the flower" (thank you William Wordsworth) weaving ineluctably and seamlessly with our speculations and beliefs of what lies in store for us. Lest this sound just too maudlin, let me assure you that I don't dwell on death ... although I do ponder a lot about what may come ... but I recognize the inevitable. I am not afraid of dying ... indeed, I am more afraid of living longer than my body and my faculties hold out ... a "living death," in my mind, and much more frightening than the idea of my soul passing from this life to the next.



Alfons Mucha poster of Maude Adams as Joan of Arc, 1909

I believe that love transcends life ... and lives.... I believe love is eternal and immortal ... and that we will find again (and again) those we have loved. And in that frame of mind, I recently wrote a poem, the first poem I've written since high school. I will share it with you here:

Waking soft in a spectral vision—

Cloud cobra coils 'round waning moon

With ancient rhythm, cold precision—

Her somnolent gaze arrested soon

Upon a feral, darkling garden drowned

In shades and shadows, sorrow's sighs.

A silver trail on leaf-strewn ground

Lights her escape 'neath restive skies.

His whisper carries on the air,

Twin souls rejoin in melding breeze—

Their final promise tendered there

In lives reborn, past memories.

-- Jennifer Johnston Smith, 2008

General Douglas MacArthur wrote: "People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope or as old as your despair. In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber. So long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer and courage, so long are you young. When your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then and only then are you grown old. And then, indeed as the ballad says, you just fade away."

For now I shall choose to fade away (at least temporarily) ... before this grows to unmanageable length ... until my next post (about medical and legal matters which are becoming increasingly more important and more urgent at this time of our lives)....

Stay warm, and young, and hold love and hope and all the sweet gifts of life close to you....

)O(