musings a go go

Went to the doctor this morning and he prescribed me Flonase and Allegra. I feel better already. It also rained this morning--for only 10 minutes, which was not long enough to wash away the pollen. There is some good news, though, I have lost some weight since my last visit, and have lost a total of 13 pounds since October. Woohoo!

Did anyone see Paula Abdul on QVC Friday night selling her jewelry? Typical Paula--you can only imagine. Saturday, I watched Tammy Faye and Jan Crouch on TBN that morning--it was so sad to see how bad TF looked--she has lost a LOT of weight--and I guarantee you if you saw this show, you would never make fun of her makeup while she was next to Jan with her pink/purple wig, false eyelashes, gaudy makeup and plastic surgery....Anyhoo..they were doing a fundraiser for TBN and they were bawling, mascara going everywhere, and it was touching to see TF back on TV raising money that I started squirting out the tears, too! LOL So, that begins my sinus problems....after crying I went outside to the bad pollen and ever since then, my eyes have been almost swollen shut and the sinus problems have made me feel wacky--like I'm floating and not really there. I have a doctor's appt Thursday morning and I will mention this problem to him--I never have had my allergies act up this bad before. Also, has anyone watched "So NoTORIous" on VH1 starring Tori Spelling? It really is a cute show and she is playing herself and it is a parody of her life--check it out--Loni Anderson plays her mother--it is hilarious. Let's see...also, "The Karen Carpenter Story" came on Sunday night and I had to watch that over again--I guess you can call the Carpenters my first "fascination" or "obsession". I remember my family going to Bastrop to eat at Slayden's BBQ and we were in my dad's truck which only had an 8 track and on that trip, I heard the Carpenters for the first time--I LOVED the music. Ironically, when we got home and the news was on, they said that Karen Carpenter was dead. I will always remember that....it was in 1983....anyway, everyone have a good day and please forgive my stream of conciousness writing today--I feel so weird that I can't even think straight due to this sinus pressure.....

Queen Elizabeth is celebrating her 80th birthday....I have been fascinated by the monarchy since I used to read about Diana in the tabloids. I still find the queen to be amazing. Happy Birthday! God Save the Queen!

After watching "The Eyes of Tammy Faye", a documentary I recommend everyone to watch, I have been interested in the goings on of Tammy Faye. She has been up and down in her life so much and regardless of your beliefs I believe that her perseverance can be an inspiration to everyone. Right now she has inoperable cancer and she is still going strong being her usual perky self. She has a website that keeps everyone informed of her ongoing treatment and general health along with her current projects. It is http://www.tammyfaye.com/. She will be on TBN tomorrow night with Jan Crouch doing a telethon. I am going to have to tune in and watch--can you imagine those two drag queens together? LOL This is her new note:

April 17, 2006
Dear Friends,First a much needed apology from ME! I am so sorry I’ve gone so long without an update that you have been asking for. It’s hard for me to write to everyone when I’m not feeling good because I like our time together to be uplifting and happy. There is enough SADNESS IN THIS OLD WORLD WITHOUT ME ADDING TO IT.I know that many of you already know what my situation is as you heard me tell about it on Larry King. I received thousands of beautiful cards and letters from you, which I spend every evening 3 to 4 hours reading and crying and reading and laughing. Thank you from the bottom of my grateful heart. You have been such an encouragement to me. I read EVERY CARD AND LETTER AND I PRAY FOR YOUR REQUESTS RIGHT ON THE SPOT!We have received 15 of those big white boxes filled with your love from the post office. It takes a long long time to get through that much mail. But, it is a joy!As most of you know I have an egg size tumor just above my left breast that has had both radiation and chemotherapy used on it. The treatment killed the cancer we thought, until the last time I had an x-ray that showed cancer activity in the top half of the tumor. As I told you before for 3 months I have been almost over whelmed with sickness. Thank God, as a result of YOUR PRAYERS the panic attacks have subsided, I no longer have to clear my throat all the time and I have been able to swallow so now I can eat again. My weight went from 116 down to 95 pounds – I’m NOT COMPLAINING! Ha! ha! As of this writing I’m back up to 98. That is a good sign!My doctors have put me on an oral chemotherapy where I take one pill a day for 7 days and then I’m off them for 7 days etc. The pill is called XELODA. It is my understanding that it is supposed to kill tumors and prevent new ones from forming. The pill makes me very sick to my stomach so it makes it hard for me to function. They just prescribed another pill for me for my stomach that I hope and pray will work. At this time I am on my off days.I KNOW I need a miracle and I often quote the verse from the Bible that says “When I am afraid I will trust in thee”. I trust God completely and feel at peace.Thank you for your continued prayers for me and my family. PRAYER CHANGES THINGS! I’ve seen prayer change things all my life. And prayer will also change things for YOU! God is no respecter of persons.I don’t know if you know this or not but I have my own TV show along with my girlfriend Joanne Thompson. We have a fun cooking show called, what else, “YOU CAN MAKE IT!” Ha! Ha! And we don’t just make food we do a little bit of everything. I will let you know as soon as we know when and where it will be airing. We have already taped 10 shows and I leave for Greenville, SC today to tape 6 more. On Friday April 21st I will be on TBN for 4 hours doing a telethon with Jan Crouch. I’m looking forward to thatYou can look in your TV guide to find out what time that will air. That’s the TRINITY BROADCASTING NETWORK (TBN).Thank you again for all your love and your kindness to me. I wish there was a way I could hug each one of you individually. You have become such a big part of my heart.

Love, Tammy Faye

Remember the big tiff between Donald Trump and Martha Stewart a little while ago over "The Apprentice" where Martha said she was under the impression that she was going to take over from Donald and continue the show as a sequel with her show the only one on the air? Trump said that Martha made this up as she had made up her ImClone stock sale. I was on Martha's side, because I thought Trump was mean spirited in his attack on her show and about her daughter--I thought he got too personal in his attack. I just finished reading Martha's book that I got for Christmas, "The Martha Rules" which was published in 2005 and here is a very interesting excerpt from the book that proves that she was right all along....

"You might think that would have bristed at the idea of hosting "The Apprentice". My edition was to be a sequel of sorts to the original and popular show that starred Donald Trump. I have never played second fiddle. MSLO specializes in creating and originating ideas. I thought that my friend Donald had done a very nice job on his version of "The Apprentice". Did the world want or even need another version of this reality show? Did I really want to follow someone else's act? And what about creative control? We had never given that to anyone before. Could we trust Mark's standards? Would his standards equal mine? Would his way of doing things show off my company at its very best?
But remember what I said about change: When you're through changing, you're through. I liked and respected Mark Burnett immediately. In trying to convince me to do "The Apprentice", he made me his customer, and he connected with me. When I was in Alderson, he visited me several times. In our conversations, he inspired me to think about all kinds of new things we could try on my new live show, and I agreed to let him serve as my executive producer. He had convinced me that he was, indeed, an expert in this form of television, that his work ethic was excellent, and that his instincts were sharp. He also seemed to understand the big picture of my company's story while so many others were focusing on the short-term details. "People told me it was a risk to work with Martha," Mark has said. "I could see that her brand was way more full of integrity and future value than anyone was giving the company credit for. I looked at the situation and said, 'This will pass.'"
Working with Mark involved some interesting image decisions for me, as well. For one thing, we talked about showing more of my personality than I have revealed in the past on my television shows, in part because Mark spent many hours studying tapes of me and said he thought I seemed much more at ease when I was a guest on other peoples' shows, like with David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Conan O'Brien. Here are a few more tidbits that henoticed about me: I like a good laugh. I love a good practical joke. I like to goof around a bit. Would it hurt to show that side of me? Mark and I took a well-calculated risk that a new, more spontaneious format with a live audience was a wonderful way for me to come back from my difficult experiences.
When it came to the making of "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart", I could really see the wisdom of doing this program. As I focused on the show, I realized it provided us with a different sort of platform to display the excellence of the company, its philosophy, its beliefs, and its commitment to Good Things. Clearly, we have created an original, fabulous, very American company within the American dream. I am so pleased that I took the risk, that Mark was wise enough to take this risk, and that we embarked on this television adventure together. Mark has a favorite North African proverb that he repeats to would-be entrepreneurs who would like to follow in his footsteps. He tells them, "Choose your companions before you choose your road."

This weekend was very melancholy---Jared and I did nothing for Easter--we went to Albertsons and racked up on their 10 hour sale on Saturday and got plenty of food. Something that happened there tickled me to death--a bagger lady told a customer "Have a Good Easter!", and he said, "I'm Jewish." After that comment, she looked at him and said, "Well, that must make life a lot easier then!". I thought it was so funny, but so true....no worrying about Christmas presents, no worrying about Eggs, Easter Bunny, ham, Easter clothes, etc...I really see her point. BTW..the title of this post was on a restaurant on the way to the grocery store...

I have been here and I like it a lot, so this is kind of neat.

You Are Austin

A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. You're totally weird and very proud of it. Artistic and freaky, you still seem to fit in... in your own strange way. Famous Austin residents: Lance Armstrong, Sandra Bullock, Andy Roddick

I got this test from Champ--it is cool. Going to try the American city now.

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

Here's another one for you---when I was little we always went to family reunions in Texas---I'm talking about a town out in the middle of nowhere called Throckmorton which is an incredibly small town. One thing that stuck out in Texas was that every little town had a Dairy Queen, so I have been fascinated by Dairy Queens since a child. I even had a restaurant playhouse with a Dairy Queen sign on it. Mind you, I have never been a fan of their food, but their ice creams are nice--the photo of the one in my town (with the little Dairy Queen on the top) gives everyone a free ice cream cone when they come up to order (there is no drive thru). Anyway, Dairy Queen or DQ has undergone a radical transformation as well. Look at the old style versus the new DQ Grill and Chill style.

Over the years, of course, brands change their logos and style and sometimes they lose track of what they are known for. Remember when KFC quit having the bucket in their restaurant and then they started having it back and eventually put it back on their sign?? As a child I was FASCINATED by the old Holiday Inn signs--I loved it's gaudy flashy neon colors. I remember staying at one when I was little and waited outside until dark until I could see the sign "light up". I had put a post earlier about this on here, but thought it was stupid and delete it, but Steph said it was pretty good, so I will kind of put it back. Holiday Inn signs changed in 1983 to what we are used to now--the plain jane blah square sign. Another thing that I was commenting on is how Howard Johnson's or HOJO as it is now called, was known for its pointy orange roofs with orange and turquoise paint on the outside. I am very dissapointed in the new logo for Howard Johnsons--it is tres blah...Does anyone remember? Maybe like KFC, one day they will bring back the bucket or (gasp!) like Burger King, bring back the king.....Let's hope so for Americana nostalgic sake....

I'm so sad about Katie Couric leaving the Today show. I wake up and get ready every morning with the super team--they work so well together. Now Meredith Viera (from the View and Millionaire)will take her place. Even though Katie is moving on to bigger and better things, I will miss her on the Today show. Remember, Tom Brokaw used to be on the Today show before NBC Nightly News....

Well it is a good thing that I didn't watch Idol last night, because I would have come to work this morning in a bad mood (actually I am anyway, but that is beside the point). Mandisa, the large black girl was voted off last night. I am very disappointed because she was my favorite girl on the show--Chris Daughtry is my favorite guy--Mandisa has a very powerful voice and I can picture her in the future belting out praise/gospel songs and dance songs a la Martha Wash. Good luck Mandisa, I'm sure you will continue to sing and hopefully you will have an excellent career in front of you.

This is a bad bad picture of me with my family at Rainbow Springs--notice that it is my dad, mamaw, and Mollie, my parent's dog.

Rainbow Springs is a beautiful place with crystal clear blue water a few miles down the road. Like Silver Springs, it used to be a theme park (although Silver Springs is still one). It is a state park now and people swim in the springs and go canoeing and kayaking---the old relics of the theme park are still there (piqueing my urban exploration instinct)--there are rotting animal cages there (where there used to be a zoo and aviary), there are old restrooms that have been torn down and you can still see the old tile, the monorail blocks are still on the ground--there is so much ruin of the old theme park, but it is really a beautiful place with trails and all kinds of things. The blue water is from the phosphate that used to be mined in the area at the turn of the century. I will be posting pictures of the old remnants of the theme park but here are some pictures of the past and I am including the link to the state park. Please check it out. http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/default.cfm

Six Gun Territory was an amusement park in Ocala that shut down in the early 80s. There is a shopping center now on the old park called Six Gun Plaza, but if you go behind the parking lot in the woods, there are still some train tracks and old trash cans. It is very interesting--it is supposedly haunted because during the early 80s a few people died on some rickety rides when the park was well past its prime. Here is a link to what it used to look like.
http://www.lostparks.com/sixgun.html

I have always been fascinated by "scary" places, or what I've perceived to be scary. Around here there is a lot of historical homes supposedly "haunted", some hotels, and even where the 6 Gun Territory used to be is supposedly haunted. Fortunately, along with my "urban explorer" friend Stephanie, we have found this type of exploring to be such a rush and highly satisfying. It all started in 1994 when Montgomery Ward's was having a sale that extended into the old mall (tillers, lawn mowers, etc that wouldn't fit in the store) of Twin City Mall (which at that time had been abandoned for over 10 years) but Montgomery Ward's still operated in it's original anchor position outside the mall. Well Steph and I went into the mall part to "take a look at the lawn mower" (LOL) and walked over the ropes to keep people out of the mall--we wandered around this abandoned mall--the signs were still over the stores, even Orange Julius fake oranges were in the old cooler--we saw where the train took us on rides every Easter with the Easter Bunny, saw where we sat on Santa's lap every Christmas and even saw the "infamous" tiki bar that had been legendary (according to my Uncle Robert). On the way out however, we tripped over some laser beams and set off some alarms--we HIGHTAILED it out of there but we did get a souvenir each--I got a plaque off the old mall directory for the old store Hiller's. That was the beginning of our urban exploration, now here in town, Bonnie will take me to some "haunted and spooky" places--Woo hoo!! Let's look here in this old house!!

This picture was taken a little while ago, but I am posting it on my blog so I can have a url address to post my pic on my profile....

This is from a mother in Vermont--thought it was worth posting--

"Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people. I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.

My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.

He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called "fag" incessantly, starting when he was 6.

In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn't bear to continue living any longer, that he didn't want to be gay and that he couldn't face a life without dignity.

You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don't know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn't put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it's about time you started doing that.

At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won't get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don't know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.

If you want to tout your own morality, you'd best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I'm puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that's not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?

A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I'll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for "true Vermonters."

You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn't give their lives so that the "homosexual agenda" could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.

He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn't the measure of the man.

You religious folk just can't bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilitiesthat he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.

How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage. You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.

The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about "those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing" asks: "What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?"

Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?

Did anyone see the movie Doc Hollywood? I did so long ago, it is hard to remember......BUT, anyway, Sabrina took us to the little town of Micanopy (Me-can-OH-pee) where the film was shot. This is a photo of the "garage" where Michael J. Fox's car was being "fixed". Notice they kept the sign of "Garage" up on the building even though it really is a shop. A little interesting lagniappe for you.....

No, do not adjust your monitor--this is a VERY common sight here in central Florida. Sometimes I feel like it is, as Jared calls it, "God's waiting room" and get frustrated with all the slow moving traffic, but if I were retired, I'd probably move here--with all the new construction of 55+ communities, I feel like I would have it made being older and living here in Florida--it is strange--even though it is geographically more southern than where I'm from, it is like a "Northern" state that is hot. Immigrants from all other states (and provinces from Canada) are moving here all the time, and believe it or not, people are fascinated by my "southern" accent. Especially with Jared, they can't get over how country/southern our accents are--people from around here are from New York, etc, so it is a completely different world....

Well, Sabrina won't be able to attend our "Gone With The Wind" matinee with heavy appetizers tomorrow, and Pat Boone is performing at Silver Springs today, and we wanted to avoid the Spring Break crowd at Daytona so we decided to visit Sabrina and Rob and sit around and relax on their fabulous sun deck and catch up on old times. Sabrina has to attend a Gainesville Spring Festival or something tomorrow--Jared and I still may slip off to Silver Springs tomorrow since the concert is over (remember, this is Florida and everyone is OLD here so Pat Boone is the shizz....) Anyhoo, I am going to attach some fab photos of Sab and Jared. Sabrina is entering into her eighth month of pregnancy and we are all awaiting the arrival of little Alexander Abbott.