old blue eyes

Paul Newman died. He was an icon. There were so many different ways that he left his mark on the world. He appeared in 60 movies, but my favorite was his role in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

Even though he was a gorgeous man, he really preferred playing tough guys and rebels. “I was always a character actor,” he once said. “I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood.”

He was famously uninterested in the Hollywood lifestyle and never read reviews of his movies. "If they're good you get a fat head and if they're bad you're depressed for three weeks," he said.

He is survived by his beautiful and talented wife Joanne Woodward. They were married for 50 years.

back in the Bible Belt

It has been so long since I lived in the Bible Belt, I forgot about certain things. This morning I took a new shortcut to work. I passed by a small church and noticed the sign out front. Lots of churches put clever turns of phrase on their signs. Most of the time the words make me smile. This one didn't. It said, "Have you read my bestseller? I hope so. There will be a test at the end." I suppose failing the test will mean a quick trip to the fires of hell. Sigh.

Then there is the inability to buy beer on Sunday between midnight and 6 p.m. (or something like that). Is buying beer actually a sin? I can consume beer on Sunday - there is no law against that. In fact, if I go to a ballgame on Sunday, it is expected that I will both buy AND consume beer!!! But I better not try that in the grocery store!!! Sigh.

There are so many things that I like about the South. This is really where I prefer to be! But some of this stuff really annoys me!!! But you know what the answer will be if I say any of this out loud. "Go home, Yankee." Unfortunately, I am really not from anywhere, so home is where I hang my hat - if I don't miss the hook on the wall because I have had too many beers and I tripped over the Bible that I really and truly DID mean to read!!!!! Sigh.