Thursday, September 6, 2018

One Day In History For One Woman On Earth


Now isn't that a beautiful human being? Some people you look at and you just have to be glad they're on the planet. Like a magnificent tree or a majestic mountain or a perfect, clear running river. Just something that came about through eons of growth and change and sometimes just plain old genetics.
That was Burt.
I know he was old enough to die and I know he had a life filled with all of the things humans lust after, want, work for, pray for, and also hope never to experience.
But he was special. To me, at least, and to a lot of people. I always thought he was vastly underrated as an actor and director. He made it look too damn easy. Some actors get up there and just act their asses off and you can see 'em act and you're sort of in awe because, GODDAM! THAT'S ACTING! And then some actors, the best ones in my opinion, get up there and you forget they're "up there" because you're inside whatever's going on and you never, ever catch that person "acting." They are just living it. And you believe it.
And to me, that was Burt.
And Lord, was he funny? Yes. I think he had some of the best comic timing of anyone ever to grace a stage. Could he do drama?
Why am I even asking?
Could he take a piece of shit script and turn it into a classic with a wink and a nod and no stunt double?
You bet.
Was he sexy? To me, he seemed like the best kind of sexy. Of course he was gorgeous and he had a body that was big enough to hold on to and a grin that seemed to promise more fun in bed than the law allowed.
Yeah. I was a fan. And he was a Florida boy and he had big huge issues with his father and he was in a lot of pain from the punishment his body took playing football and doing stunts and he'd made some mistakes both in his career and his love life but he was Burt Reynolds and sure as hell nobody else was.
And never will be again.

So that happened today and it seems like the government is blowing up what with anonymous Op-Eds and released emails and Brett Kavanaugh and his hearings which are getting more and more contentious and of course there's the new book by Bob Woodward.
Are the walls starting to close in?
Fuck if I know. I know we're off the rails so bad that the train's in Nebraska and the track's in Florida.
Here's a piece from the New Yorker that I read online today that says what I'm thinking about the NYT's Op-Ed.  
Basically what it's saying is that no, whoever wrote the Op-Ed is not a hero but is, in all actuality, part of an unelected group of people who are running the United States of America and if that's not treason, I don't know what is. Just speak the truth and fear no man, you motherfucker! Hell, Trump's not even a man. He's a...I don't know what he is.
It does appear that the Democrats are starting to find the balls and spines they've misplaced somewhere. Maybe some of the Republicans actually will too. I honestly think that if the first few brave and truly moral of them cross the line from blind obedience and support to true sanity and desire to preserve our democracy that others will follow.
You can call me a dreamer.

Meanwhile, back here at the farmette I had a great time with Jessie and August and Levon today. A while back August saw a picture of the cookies I'd made for his Boppy when he went gator hunting and he'd said, "Can you make me some of those cookies?"
And so today I did. Mr. Moon is off to Georgia to his hunting camp to do something with a food plot and a tractor and you know that I'm convinced that if I don't send food with him he will die of starvation. So...
Cookies for both Big and Little Boppy.


August was pretty thrilled. 

Levon discovered the toy piano that every one of my children and grandchildren has loved. 


Little Dude is starting to stand up without holding on to anything. 
He is also getting very good at climbing the stairs. 


And yes, his mama was right behind him. 

So we had all of the usual fun. Horse riding, asking the question "why," story-telling, porch swinging, porch rocking, 


getting really, really dirty, and reading lots of books. 
At one point in the book reading, August told me that he couldn't listen right then. That he was "distracted." 
Yeah. He'll be three at the end of the month. 
He also asked me, "Mer, why you so old?" 
"Because I've lived a lot of years," I told him. "And that is very cool."
We had a discussion about age. About how he's going to be three soon. 
"Are you three?" he asked me. 
"I'm sixty-four," I said. 
I might as well have said that I was a million. 
Well. He'll figure it out. 
Levon fell asleep on my bosom as I rocked him in the swing and I thought about how I've rocked all of my grandbabies to sleep in that swing. What can be sweeter than to feel a baby's weight begin to relax and become heavy with sleep as we hold them? 
Not much. 

I found out today that a very, very old friend of mine has cancer and it reminded me once again that we never know and that we just have to love on each other as much as we can while we can. 
I sent my husband off with leftover chicken and dumplings and a huge bag of cookies and I said, "I love you. Please be careful."

We can be so careful, we can be so loved and still, not one of us is immortal, no matter what we think. 

So. Again. Be kind. Love. 
Try to make it as sweet and heavenly as we can while we're here on earth because that may very well be all there is. It is, at the very least, all that we know for sure there is and I believe in that. 
With all of my heart, I do. 

Love...Ms. Moon


21 comments:

  1. I had a poster of Burt Reynolds in his TransAm on my wall. I LOVED that man! And his laugh! Oh, his laugh. I read an article where he said Sally Field was the love of his life, and she recently said the same. I always hoped they'd get back together. In everything I've read today, I saw no mention of his son, Quentin with Lonnie Anderson (he was too good for her, me thinks). Wonder where he is???

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    1. His laugh! The BEST!
      His son was part of his life, which is good. In the book he wrote not too long ago ("But Enough About Me") he pretty much said that he never even really liked Loni but that it was just sort of assumed from the beginning that they would marry. By her. And he went along with it.

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  2. Great post Mary. Somehow you contextualized everything going on in the world, and your beautiful family’s place in it. I agree that anonymous is no hero, but rather part of a slow rolling coup. We sure are in a mess.

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    1. Yeah! Because what if this "resistance" is naught but the group of people who have plotted this whole thing from the beginning to use Trump to achieve their own nefarious means? I'm not a conspiracy theorist but we don't know that's not true. Stranger things have happened although the things going on do seem to be about as strange as things can get. It's so terrifying.

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  3. Mrs moon. You touch my heart everyday with your wonderful words. Xx

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  4. Your sentiments are right on the money, Ms. Moon. Thanks for being here.

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  5. I was shocked when I read in Burt's obituary that he was 84. How on earth is THAT even possible?! I also laughed at his line about Loni Anderson -- that, in all honesty, he never even liked her.

    I haven't read that New Yorker piece but I'll do so now. I agree that Anonymous isn't a hero, but I'm glad someone (several someones, apparently) is/are at least AWARE of how deeply crazy Trump is, and is/are on guard against it.

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    1. OK, so I read the piece. It does take the situation up a notch, into the realm of precedent, and I hadn't really thought about that -- that now we're setting a precedent for administration officials to defy the wishes of the elected leader. That IS alarming, even if -- in this case -- I agree with the need to do so!

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    2. But how do we know that the people who claim to be "the grown-up" in the room have the interests of the US at heart any more than Trump does? What gives them the right to rule? Of course there is need for someone to defy the wishes of this so-called leader but WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

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    3. Absolutely. I agree with you 100 percent. It's scary.

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  6. was never a big Burt Reynolds fan but he was iconic. and the country is chaos. I can't even imagine how it will all play out.

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    1. He was iconic, wasn't he?
      As to how this will all play out- Who knows? Not me. We'll just have to wait and observe and hope for the best.

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  7. Oh Mary. You do thrill us all with your life and your spirit. And, your way of telling it cannot be duplicated. Your grand babies are so lucky to have you.

    I do believe that Bert believed that he was less than he really was. Wish he had taken a couple of those jobs that were offered to him instead of feeling that he could not do it. How I remember the hoopla when he did the nude pose. What a kick!!

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    1. He said he regretted the nude picture because it made people tend to not take him seriously, especially as regards to "Deliverance." He felt that he'd let-down his fellow actors who'd been nominated for awards.
      But the women of American had no such qualms!
      I believe that because his father never, ever gave him his approval or love that he was never able to believe in himself. An old and familiar story.
      I am so lucky to have my grand babies!

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  8. I watched Deadpool 2, the movie, last weekend and my husband and I were discussing because the main character is really an asshole. My husband pointed out that the guy is immortal and just wants the pain to stop and I said to him that being immortal would suck, it's mortality that makes life worth living.

    And cookies obviously.

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    1. You are completely correct. Immortality would be about my worst nightmare. And cookies are helpful in so very many situations.

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  9. I wish I lived next door to you. And my only son and his wife and only child did, too. Then I could see them and you and my husband everyday.

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    1. Hello, Dianne! Thanks for coming by and leaving such a sweet comment!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.