"Ain't rememberin' wonderful?"
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Bad Blake
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A year ago I proposed a Toast to Life's Simple Pleasures. The year-in-review post that followed was then, and still is, one of my favorites. The remembrances that it provided me are treasured and priceless, they filled me with a sense of gratitude that brings me happiness still. And so I quietly resolved . . . to propose such a Toast every year. So what you'll find below are not my big, fancy plans for 2011 but rather a list of the moments that made 2010 one to remember. 2011's got some big shoes to fill.
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To The Laughter & Tears
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The year began with the birth of a beautiful baby girl! My dear friends Sweet & Ben Dupuy welcomed Kathryn "Simmons" into their loving arms. And it ended with a proposal!!! Yes, James Taylor Weatherford slipped her Mother's ring onto Jessica Walden's finger in front of God, Seurat, and Owen Wilson. And in between, Gail Davis, Tony Walsh, and JD Salinger reminded us how important it is to enjoy every single minute of: Cardinale's 100 Point Cabernet at the Aquarium, and Brother Stewart's exquisite birthday party at Walnut Creek, and Champagne on the porch at Charlane Plantation, and my Silver Screen debut in Stuck!.a
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To Somethin' To Talk About
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The night owls chose teams: Leno v. Coco . . . and I missed the whole thing! I'm a Chelsea Girl, one hundred per-Fitty Cent. The headlines tugged on the heartstrings of this former New Orleans Lady when they read "The Nation's Capitol Gets Huge Snowstorm & New Orleans Wins NFL Championship: Guess 'They' Were Right - The Saints Won The Superbowl When Hell Froze Over." And then we all raised a glass or two when Steven Slater grabbed a couple Heinekens and slid.
aThe night owls chose teams: Leno v. Coco . . . and I missed the whole thing! I'm a Chelsea Girl, one hundred per-Fitty Cent. The headlines tugged on the heartstrings of this former New Orleans Lady when they read "The Nation's Capitol Gets Huge Snowstorm & New Orleans Wins NFL Championship: Guess 'They' Were Right - The Saints Won The Superbowl When Hell Froze Over." And then we all raised a glass or two when Steven Slater grabbed a couple Heinekens and slid.
To A Bite To Eat
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Two Words . . . Cheesburger Paradiso! That should keep you busy for a minute. I discovered Gnat's Landing and Bubba Garcia's in Saint Simons. And I stumbled upon a talent for designing menus, afterwards reveling in my newfound penchant from the rooftops of DC to the bank vaults of Georgia. I created my own brand of Guiltless Gourmet via an alter ego named Teensie Weensy. And I took a Nobu-cation that my tummy's still having sweet epicurean dreams about.
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Rememberin' really is wonderful! And, again, it filled me with gratitude to put this post together. But then I read an article that reminded me of the year's gratitude that is dearest to my heart. And this particular remembrance came wrapped in an unlikely sentiment. "Remember the bad" insisted Psychologist Robert Emmons in "Why Gratitude Isn't For Wimps" at Futurity.org. So I did. And it came right to me . . . Straight out of the movies.
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You see, once upon a time I loved a wonderful boy who just also happened to drink a handle of whiskey every couple of days. And to say that watching that was painful would be trite. There ya have it - remembering the bad. And then I remembered that when I watched "That Evening Sun" I felt the push-and-pull of anger and hope that I'd been trying to escape grasping desperately to pull me back in. So that's how I almost never even met "Bad Blake."
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But it turns out that Emmons is right. When we don't remind ourselves of the bad, we're less likely to appreciate the good.
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And when one of your most loyal cheerleaders, partners in crime, and true Yayas tells you that she thinks the 2010 Oscar darling will mean something to you . . . well . . . you suck it up, order the film, and hunker down with a super-sized box of Kleenex. OH believe me, halfway through a movie that played more as a memory, I was ready for a break. I just didn't know if I could take any more.
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And then the sun came out from behind the clouds. I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who hasn't seen Crazy Heart. But it was exquisitely perfect. A Toast to Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal! To Scott Cooper & Thomas Cobb! To T-Bone Burnett!!! To the sort of story that can heal deep wounds. To forgiving yourself for being unable to do anything to help. To putting the movie back in the mail and walking away light enough that you'd fancy a kite could carry you all the way to California. To the girls who know you better than you know yourself. And . . . Yes!
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To Remembering The "Bad"a
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aRememberin' really is wonderful! And, again, it filled me with gratitude to put this post together. But then I read an article that reminded me of the year's gratitude that is dearest to my heart. And this particular remembrance came wrapped in an unlikely sentiment. "Remember the bad" insisted Psychologist Robert Emmons in "Why Gratitude Isn't For Wimps" at Futurity.org. So I did. And it came right to me . . . Straight out of the movies.
a
You see, once upon a time I loved a wonderful boy who just also happened to drink a handle of whiskey every couple of days. And to say that watching that was painful would be trite. There ya have it - remembering the bad. And then I remembered that when I watched "That Evening Sun" I felt the push-and-pull of anger and hope that I'd been trying to escape grasping desperately to pull me back in. So that's how I almost never even met "Bad Blake."
a
But it turns out that Emmons is right. When we don't remind ourselves of the bad, we're less likely to appreciate the good.
a
And when one of your most loyal cheerleaders, partners in crime, and true Yayas tells you that she thinks the 2010 Oscar darling will mean something to you . . . well . . . you suck it up, order the film, and hunker down with a super-sized box of Kleenex. OH believe me, halfway through a movie that played more as a memory, I was ready for a break. I just didn't know if I could take any more.
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"I keep feelin' obliged to apologize for bein' less than you probably imagined me to be"
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Bad Blake
aAnd then the sun came out from behind the clouds. I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone who hasn't seen Crazy Heart. But it was exquisitely perfect. A Toast to Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal! To Scott Cooper & Thomas Cobb! To T-Bone Burnett!!! To the sort of story that can heal deep wounds. To forgiving yourself for being unable to do anything to help. To putting the movie back in the mail and walking away light enough that you'd fancy a kite could carry you all the way to California. To the girls who know you better than you know yourself. And . . . Yes!
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