Manuscript. Head. Drawer.

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, definitely had his personal issues. (Don’t we all, though?) But, what cannot be disputed is the man was a pioneer in the music industry during very dangerous times, an influencer of several music genres, a true master of the stage during his heyday, and earnedhis Legend and Icon stripes the hard way — opening a door for people of color when opening a door for…

[daughter chronicles] Slice 2: Living with Vascular #Dementia when you don't have it. #ENDALZ #Every65Seconds #Alzheimers

Photo by Peter Bravo de los Rios on Unsplash.

“What do you mean you have nothing until January? Thanksgiving’s this week! It’s not even December and every appointment you have is booked until January?” I stopped mid-bite while wrangling my cell phone off of SPEAKER and to my ear, and dropped my pizza. It missed the plate on my lap and hit the carpet face down.

Surely, she was kidding.

“I’m sorry,…

One-Liner Wednesday: Siri(ously)? #writingprompt #amwriting

Photo by Przemyslaw Marczynski on Unsplash.

THIS IS A TRUE STORY. I swear to you! It happened just last week, when I was driving the six-year-old grandson home from his cheer practice.

LJ (in the back seat, on his iPad): Siri, change my nickname.

Siri: OK. What do you want me to call you?

LJ: Mister Five Nights At Freddie’s.

Siri: OK. I’ll call you Mister Five Nights At Freddie’s.

LJ:Ehhh. Siri,…

[daughter chronicles] Slice 1: Living with Vascular #Dementia when you don't have it. #Alzheimers #Every65Seconds #ENDALZ

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash.

Thanksgiving week in 2018 started out normally. Well, as normally as it could without Mama. Holidays naturally revolved around her where our extended family was concerned, until her cancers bore her quietly away from us in early 2012. Let me start again.

Thanksgiving week in 2018 began somewhat normally. But then, Daddy said that thing.

“When are we going…

He Said, She Said: Bloggers Edition #8.

“Write what you’re fired up to write, even if it’s not what you’re ‘supposed’ to write or perhaps won’t sell as well. It won’t sell at all if it’s not written.”

— Allison Maruska in her blog post Where Writers Get Stuck: Drafting

“Have have only two veins that work, and I know exactly where they are. I can tell which one will be easiest for them to stick. Their names are Sasquatch and Mothman…

[prompt] Love Is In Da Blog 26: My favorite love song from a musical.

Image: us.sunsetboulevardthemusical.com

There are precious few musicals after the year 2000 that I have liked. Don’t know what that says about me, or about them. But, before that time, I loved me some musicals. My favorite of All Time is the 1994 Broadway version of Sunset Boulevard(I adore the 1950s film version with Gloria Swanson!) and I have worn that soundtrack out. I had no idea that Glenn…

[prompt] Love Is In Da Blog 25: My favorite love song from an opera.

  Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly are my two favorite operas of all time and contain my favorite arias. So, when it comes to my favorite operatic love song, the award goes to “Un Bel dì Vedremo” (One Fine Day We’ll See) from Act 2 of Madama Butterfly, sung by the most phenomenal soprano of all time IMHO, Leontyne Price, in the 1960s.

I fell hard for the song the moment I…

In January 2017, when Korean megastar and icon RAIN (비) threw caution to the wind, bet everything on love and released this very public proposal of marriage to his then-girlfriend of five years, popular Korean actress Kim Tae Hee (김태희), my heart just about exploded with joy.

I’ll tell you why.

For the duration of his career (15 years at that time, I’d been a fan for 10), this phenomenal singer, actor, and dancer had remained publicly single, unattached, and available for his beloved fan clubs that began in Korea when he was the tender age of 20, shot across Asia, and now includes international “Clouds” in countries around the world. Of course, we knew there had to be things going on behind the scenes. I mean, come on now, one of the sexiest Korean men on the planet, saving himself for… what? No way, haha! Those were wild oats that had to and deserved to be sown IMHO, even as he fueled our wonderful fantasies of him and boy, did those fantasies run the gamut. LOL!

Still, there came a time when many of us knew he yearned to find love and happiness with a special someone the way a lot of us had, and be a father, make a family. I wanted that for him, too. I wanted to see baby Raindrops, despite the widespread believe that in Korean popular music, marriage and babies means artists stop producing and go away. (I don’t know why that crap seems to be The Gospel, but I’ll tell you this — Rain could have a gazillion wives and babies but he ain’t gonna stop singing and acting until HE’s ready. And he ain’t gonna be ready for a long time. One of his former reps in the U.S. predicted he would be like Frank Sinatra — never fully out of the limelight for as long as he lives.)

When this man finally bit the bullet in his mid-30s and, with this proposal song, risked alienating his fan base by declaring to his woman and the world how much he wanted to marry her, I and many fans like me were never more proud of him. (Did some fans leave? Yes. And what of it? He has the right to live his life and if you aren’t mature enough to handle that, shove off. It is what it is and there are still plenty of us left.) Of course, Kim Tae Hee said yes. And, nine months to their honeymoon night in Bali — give or take a day or two — their baby daughter was born. I’m not kidding. Rain’s timing has always been impeccable, why not then as well? LOL!

Has Rain slowed down his activities since then at all? Not even a little bit. Do shops still close and people crowd in to see him when he shows up in the streets? Yep. Just watching him still tires me the hell out. 🙂

I give you my favorite love song in a foreign language, “The Best Present” (최고의 선물, pronounced cho-eh-go-ee sun-mul) by the singer who proved he is every bit as romantic as I always thought he was. (He also has a healthy sense of humor, as you’ll see at the end. So silly LOL) ❤️

(Please turn on CCs for English lyrics.)

Something extra: Before “The Best Present” came along two years ago, my favorite love song in a foreign language was “Donde Quiera Que Estes” (Wherever You Are) by Selena Quintanilla and the Barrio Boyz.

(English lyrics are here.)

READ: The Bee Writes, Love Is In Da Blog 24 — My favorite love song in a foreign language

My dad’s beloved hats.

I was watching a local news report today about a charitable project involving the Atlanta Motor Speedway to raise money for our state’s military veterans, and I cheered. I love that there are people out there willing to go to bat for our vets, to make sure that they get all the help and benefits they deserve after they’ve sacrificed their bodies and lives for our freedom.

B…

One-Liner Wednesday: Look! Up in the sky!

  It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a very brave cheerleader in a cupie. 🙂

(My son is a national champion and competitive cheer coach, so it’s completely natural to see him standing around with one of his students — like here, or one of his team mates, or his cheer coach wife on his hand.)

READ: Linda G. Hill, One-Liner Wednesday — I need to get out more

Thank heavens I write. I’m so NOT a filmmaker.

Mother of the Groom: Mama at my baby brother’s wedding reception, and just around the house. (2004)

LOL! I just ran into this bittersweet memory from ten years ago and had a good chuckle, y’all.

My dear mom — we lost her in 2012 to multiple myelomaand breast cancer — and me had just finished a post-stem cell transplant follow-up appointment at Emory University Hospital, and we were waiting for…

One-Liner Wednesday: Stop blaming that clown!

I’m late to the party, but couldn’t resist joining in anyway. *sheepish* This is one of my favorite quotes from WordpØrn. I’ve learned to apply it. Constantly.

READ: Linda G. Hill, One-Liner Wednesday — Good or bad?

One-Liner Wednesday: Santa Cause.

Image credit: Mel Poole @ Unsplash.

Picture it — the middle of December, me and the 5-year-old grandson watching the Nick Jr. channel on TV when a commercial about upcoming kid shows appears. Santa Claus is in it. And Santa accidentally (on purpose) lets out a fart.

Not a small one. A huge, rolling, rip-roaring, red-suited fart.

(horrified and in unison) Me: “Oh, no! Santa, noooooo!” The grandson:

This stubborn leaf was still hanging in there this morning, from where I saw it hit the window screen during those wind gusts yesterday, haha. Resilient little thing. Makes me think about the millions of people devastated and suffering right now in southern Georgia, Florida, Texas, the Caribbean islands, and east Asia because of hurricanes and flooding this summer. Humans…

Was it something I ate, or too much Sci-Fi?

Image credit: Migrationresearch.org In a dream I had this morning, I came out of my house at the start of my day and was abruptly scared stupid by a massive shadow passing over me, the house, and the yard. I looked up and saw a gynormous goldfinch (yes, I said goldfinch, exactly like the one above) in flight. It was so big, it was gliding in slow motion, a la Rodan. And it looked like it was…

Me on... @dramafever