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Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Peach Buzz: Love, money, muscles all worth thanks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanksgiving 2007. This year, Peach Buzz readers — both in sickness and in health — are thankful. And as always, some of your submissions caught us a little off guard. But as some of you point out, even horror movies, moves not made and the occasional obscene phone call are all reasons to celebrate today. Read on!
Jerry Niemeyer, Acworth: “I am most thankful for Sandy, my wife of 36 years. She’s been my strength for a long time. We met almost 40 years ago through an obscene phone call.”
Joni Pelta, Atlanta: “To live in one of only four cities in the U.S. with pandas at our zoo. The pandas, especially the antics of 1-year-old Mei Lan, never fail to make me smile and feel great on my frequent visits to Zoo Atlanta.”
Jerry Schwartz, Alpharetta: “Every Thanksgiving, I take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side I list all the events that year that were happy ones and on the right, I list those that were unhappy. I’m thankful that the left hand column is much, much longer than the right.”
David and Billie Sims, north Fulton: “For the wonderful public school teachers that have worked with our daughter, Ali, who was born with Down syndrome. She will graduate this year from Centennial High School, thanks to the efforts of many teachers.”
Vicky Hagan, Marietta: “One year ago, I joined a women’s gym. I never thought at 50 I could develop muscles in my arms, but I have a nice set of pecs now. I love this feeling of strength. My husband calls me Mighty Mouse. I am thankful I have taken control and hope to be hotter at 50 years old than I was at 40.”
Meta Shore, Smyrna: “After being almost deaf for nearly 30 years, I had a Cochlear implant, and now I can hear birds, music, phone, the doorbell ring. Conversations with friends and strangers have been a pleasure.”
Marie McIntyre, Monroe: “Last Thanksgiving, my husband had just completed months of chemotherapy and was facing a stem cell transplant. This year, because of the remarkable people at Emory Winship Cancer Institute, he’s in complete remission and feels wonderful. At our house, every day is Thanksgiving.”
Kathy Hooks, Atlanta: “My old dog Abbey. She has consoled me during the two greatest losses I have ever faced. Just when it seemed my heart would indeed heal, Abbey became very sick. But it wasn’t our time to part, and I am thankful I got the chance to return the favor by never leaving her side.”
Lenny Player, Sandy Springs: “I’m highly appreciative of the highs and lows I experience as my mom’s caregiver. She has Lou Gehrig’s disease. The experience has helped me see what’s good about her as well as my deficiencies as a man and son. It has all been extremely worthwhile.”
Virginia Ashmore, Monroe: “In July 1999, my husband had emergency open heart surgery that required quadruple bypasses. In February, he was diagnosed with an intracranial bleed. After months of healing and many, many prayers, my husband is alive, walking and talking, without any physical hindrance.”
Jane Wilgus, Atlanta: “To be a part of a blended family. We may not be the Brady Bunch, but we have such fun when we’re together and respect each other.”
Carole Hager, Smyrna: “For cheap wine, the money I buried in my backyard and the ability to laugh out loud and at myself.”
Stephanie Vaughn, Atlanta: “After many terrible years, I found love and news that I was expecting a baby. I never thought I would be able to have another child. In September, I welcomed a baby boy. I’m thankful for the life of my beautiful children and the God that has allowed my life to completely transform when I had admittedly lost faith.”
Ric Burnett, Doraville: “For a wonderful wife, Betty, for 27 years and no kids for 27 years. But I’m not thankful for stores that have 20 cash registers and only two are being used.”
Barbara King, Doraville: “My husband was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer. After his first round of treatments he was stable for a year and a half. Now the cancer has now metastasized. He feels well and will be alive for another holiday season. We will travel out of town to be with family.”
Sandy Perkins, Roswell: “My husband and I decided to ‘retire’ in our family home rather than downsize. Our many cul-de-sac neighbors chose to leave, and now we have several new younger families. We are so very thankful for them because they think of us as the ‘older fun couple’ who they invite to parties and family celebrations.”
Ted Shomake, Lawrenceville: “For the example my father, Don, has set for me on how to be a good husband and father. Soon after his retirement, my mother contracted senile dementia, a condition which has forced him to quit his dream retirement job at a golf course. He has demonstrated to me what real love is about as he cares for my mom.”
Harriet Harris, Atlanta: “My son — when he was about age 8 — offered this as we went around the table expressing our gratitude: ‘I’m thankful for the Earth because it gives me a place to stand.’ “
Steven Warren, Atlanta: “I’m thankful that I got to torture young men for fun and profit as the star of ‘Scarce,’ a Canadian independent horror film that premiered in Toronto last month. It’s the first feature in which I’ve received top billing in my midlife crisis career as an actor.”
Permalink | | Categories: Thanksgiving
Grateful day brings home what matters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top of the day to ye. Thanksgiving Day is a holiday for everybody, a family day, when all get together around the bountiful table, eat, drink and be grateful. Have you noticed that airlines are busier around Thanksgiving than any other holiday? Thank heaven to be home already and not have to suffer through the clutter that airline travel has become. Sorry, shouldn’t have brought it up. That is the day to be especially thankful, sometimes with a bit of whimsy. So …
I’m thankful that the Dow Jones averages mean more to me than batting averages.
I’m thankful when the dentist tells me this isn’t going to hurt a bit — and it doesn’t.
I’m thankful that I used to be able to go out into the woods and cut our own Christmas tree.
I’m thankful that I grew up when radio stations entertained and didn’t talk your ears off.
I’m still thankful the side I was on won World War II — now if they could just get this mess cleared up.
I’m thankful we have our own well, and it doesn’t know there’s a drought.
I’m thankful when a football player scores a touchdown and acts as if he’s been there before.
I’m thankful when the doorbell rings and it’s our grandkids.
I’m thankful for backroads — “blue highways,” somebody called them — any escape from the interstate race tracks.
I’m not thankful for those things they call “wraps.” (Like eating cardboard, though I’m not an authority on that.)
I’m thankful I grew up having to milk the family cow — now I have a deep appreciation for where milk comes from.
I’m thankful when, on my monthly statement, credit leads debit by a one-sided score.
I’m thankful when the noise in the middle of the night turns out to be the ice-maker. (And if you’ve heard that before, it still goes.)
I’m thankful that when I was young, poetry was poetry, when it rhymed, not some rambling drivel going nowhere.
I’m thankful we still have a dial phone, and it’s always in working order, through sleet and storm or whatever.
I’m thankful I knew the days of Kaltenborn, Heatter, Thomas, Edwards, Blair and their kind, when news was news and not a “show.”
I’m thankful, that as I grow older, I’ve come to realize that cleaning off our roof is a job for somebody else, not me.
I’m thankful that we have our squirrel menace under control. (Applause, applause, for my wife, not my 16-gauge.)
I’m thankful for buttermilk, but don’t try to order it in a New York restaurant.
I’m thankful for my old Royal typewriter, which still gets plenty of use.
I’m thankful I finally quit waiting until tomorrow to stop procrastinating.
I’m thankful for my first good-morning kiss.
I’m thankful, in parting, to be able to offer a solution to Georgia Tech and the Falcons in their football dilemma: Swap coaches, Gailey for Petrino.
Permalink | Comments (15) | Categories: Thanksgiving
“Nutcracker:” You be the reviewer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey all you “Nutcracker” nuts. “Nutcracker” season has officially arrived. This year, almost 20 different productions of the classic ballet are taking the stage across the Atlanta metro area, from the Atlanta Ballet at the Fox to a Southeast Indian version called “Swapna Vijayam.”
You can find detailed listings here.
How many “Nutcrackers” will you see? Do you prefer the high-end professional performances or the more humble amateur/school productions? And what did you think of the show(s) you did see? Do you recommend it or want your money back? Play critic and give us your review.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Christmas
Why do you need white bread in corn bread dressing?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No, this isn’t a trick question. I really don’t know.
Some corn bread dressing recipes call just for crumbled dry corn bread, which you moisten with stock, butter and eggs (which raises the question, why are you drying it out — just to add fat to it?) before baking. But I digress.
Other recipes call for anywhere from one to six slices of stale white sandwich bread or six biscuits. Do you use white bread or biscuits in your corn bread dressing? What difference does it make in the texture?
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What do you have to be thankful for?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together and give thanks.
Are you thankful for good health, a promotion at work or the safe return of a son or daughter from Iraq?
What are you thankful for?
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The good - ‘Enchanted,’ ‘Christmas’ - and the turkeys
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s my indubitable list of new and recent movies for the Thanksgiving holiday:
YES
“Enchanted” — Fun, wink-wink, fish-out-of-water fairytale sold by the charming performance of Amy Adams.
“This Christmas” — A holiday feast with the best trimmings — R&Ber Chris Brown singing “Try a Little Tenderness” and, count ‘em, two “Soul Train” lines.
“No Country for Old Men” — Carnage, more carnage, memorable actors and one of the best movies of the year.
“Margot at the Wedding” — Noah Baumbach’s blistering family drama with devastating dialogue and on-target Nicole Kidman.
MAYBE
“Beowulf” — A gorefest certainly not for everyone. Crispin Glover’s Grendel is cool. Angeline Jolie is cooler.
“I’m Not There” — Kinda draggy Bob Dylan biopic with Cate Blanchett the best of six actors playing the enigmatic singer.
“Hitman” — Call it “The Bourne Wannabe.” At rare times, it actually succeeds.
NO
“The Mist” — Director Frank Darabont makes his horror movie long and boring instead of campy and scary-fun.
“August Rush” — Many people will be suckered in by this music-centered, bring-the-hankies drama. But its sappiness and senseless script make it offensive.
“Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” — It’s not magical. It’s simply tragical. Dustin Hoffman is just weird.
Read more MovieTalk blog entries
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Is this a cash-crunch Christmas?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Call me a cheapskate (and I am) but every year around this time, I read surveys that say how much the average American will spend on holiday gifts.
The National Retail Federation and BIGresearch have forecast we’ll be spending an average $816.69 on holiday-related things and gifts this year. That’s up from the average $791.10 we were expected to hand over to retailers last year.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never spent that kind of money and with me paying $30 a pop to fill up my Civic (when it used to cost $12) I’m not about to start a tradition of big spending now.
Some of my friends’ families get together, agree to a pre-set budget and pull one name each out of a hat and get that person a gift.
In my family last year, we just called one another and asked what we wanted. OK, so that means no “wow!” factor when opening gifts. But because you know exactly what they want, you tend to do less impulse buying.
Are you planning to spend a lot this year or cutting back? Do you have a system or rules in your family on how much to spend?
If you have a budget, do you leave anyone off like co-workers, the letter carrier or that relative who never apologized for breaking your Mickey Mouse wristwatch when you were nine?
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When do you start playing Christmas music?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You know the stores are going to jump the gun on the holiday season. That’s a given. The decorations are decking the halls of retail outlets everywhere, even before we ignite the lights on our jack-o-lanterns.
The garland and tinsel have been deployed, but what about music? It isn’t even Thanksgiving, yet you can hear the strains of “Jingle Bells” and “Winter Wonderland” in the air. Is it too soon to haul out the holiday tunes?
When do you start playing those old familiar songs? Is Thanksgiving Day the appropriate time, or do you wait for the big shopping day that follows? And when the time is right, which album do you pull out first?
Permalink | Comments (58) | Categories: Holiday Music
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