Monday, September 10, 2012

Inspirational 49 Year Old Med School Graduate

I am so proud of this dude, and I don't even know him.   I was totally pushing for him to get a good match, and boy did he it it home! He is truly an inspiration.


Sunday, September 9, 2012

My Favorite Things & Dear Memories from my Past

So, besides naturopathy, some of my favorite things are science fiction sci-fi novels/movies/TV (especially dystopian and post apocalyptic stuff), 70s horror films, 70s sitcoms, PBS educational children's shows, ,ALL genres of music (especially '80s), and obviously, writing.

My favorite place to get my "sci-fi fix" is YouTube.  People post some really great stuff on there, and watching it has become somewhat of an addiction of mine as of late. I would much rather watch whats on YouTube than anything on television most nights of the week.

When I do watch TV, it is usually only a handful of shows such as PBS' "Nova" and "Downton Abbey," HGTV's "House Hunters, The Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives," and "Good Eats," reruns of "Law & Order: SVU" on TNT, and of course....."The Walking Dead" on AMC.

When I was a kid I absolutely loved TV shows like, and I would spend most of my weekends watching sci-fi anthology series like "The Twilight Zone," "The Night Gallery," "Tales From The Darkside," and "Ray Bradbury Theater."

My absolute favorites were the "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."  These shows bring back all kinds of good memories for me, because I used to watch them with my aunt Barbara when I was a kid.  My aunt Barbara is gone now, but I will never forget sitting in her den watching the master of suspense and being moderately scared, but totally entertained.

Then there was my grandmother on my mother's side, Jessie Mae Sanders (nee Lamar) was her name, but to me... she was my Grandma Jessie.  Oh, how I loved that woman. From the time I was about 5 until I was about 11 or 12, my weekend evenings were spent half listening to "grown folks talk" while she visited her neighbor across the street (Mrs. Morrison) and half watching "The Carol Burnett Show," "Sonny & Cher," "Sanford & Son," or "Maude."

My earliest memories are of my great grandmother, her name was Flora Mae Davis, but we all lovingly referred to her as Granny.  I was lucky enough to have my great grandmother in my life until I was about 14 years old, so I remember her well.  Every morning before I would go to school we would watch "Sesame Street" together, and when I came home we would watch "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" and "Zoom."

By the mid to end 70s, I had developed a love of Norman Lear comedies, Neil Simon plays, horror films, and science fiction, and I was way into music.  My television was constantly blaring "Good Times" and "The Jefferson's," my bedroom walls were decorated with pop stars, and I had trunks full of vinyl and cassettes (yeah, I'm that old folks...).

Then...enter the 80's, by then I was a fad loving teenager who watched endless hours of MTV (when their entire line-up was 24/7 music videos).  I even had a General Hospital comforter and bed-sheet/pillowcase set during the "Luke & Laura" craze.

When it came to music, I had everything from Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, and Boy George and The Culture Club to The Smiths, The Police, Journey and Run DMC.  If you were my friend and you ventured through my music collection, you would have also found Nat King Cole, Patsy Cline, The Scorpions, and Luciano Pavarotti co-mingling with Barbara Streisand, show-tunes and operatic performances led by greats such as Kathleen Battle and Maria Callas.  I can truly say, I really do love all musical genres.

YouTube is great because folks have posted hundreds of hours of episodes, films, and music videos that bring back many fond memories for me. I upload them to my iPhone/iPod and watch (mostly listen to) them on my hour long weekday walks and my 2 hour long weekend walks, and I am transformed back to my childhood and the people who colored it.

Are there TV shows, or songs, or smells that transport you to your past?  I truly hope so...

For now, sit back and enjoy one of my favorite episodes (This one totally freaked me out when I was a kid) from one of the series' directed by the Master of Suspense (Sir Alfred Hitchcock)