Bennifer, aka Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez as a couple, are engaged again… almost 20 years after Affleck called off their first engagement, just four days before the impending wedding. Yawn. The first time around he presented her with a 6.1 carat pink diamond solitaire (which was then her favorite gem) valued at around $2.5 million. The second time around with Affleck, her lucky color was green, and her 8.5 carat green diamond ring from Affleck is valued as much as $10 million, because green diamonds are exceedingly rare. Prior to reuniting with Affleck, Lopez’s ex, Alex Rodriguez, proposed to her with a flawless 16 carat emerald-cut diamond ring worth $1.8 million. No favorite color mentioned. First husband, Ojani Noa, gave Lopez a $100,000 ring. Quite nice in 1997. Second husband Chris Judd gave her an emerald-cut sparkler worth an estimated six figures, then third husband Marc Anthony presented her with an 8.5 carat blue diamond valued at $4 million. Yes, I spent at least 30 minutes researching all the above just so I could add this little tidbit at the end of the paragraph. Jennifer and Tom Brady were seen and overheard at Starbucks recently. Over coffee, Brady was very sweetly explaining, “Well, yes, Jennifer, I understand you have quite an extensive collection, but I happen to have seven rings of my own.” (OK, not really. I made that up, but it really works, doesn’t it?)

Diamonds were once a girl’s best friend… then yoga pants happened.

According to the Leibish Diamond Education Center, “natural fancy green diamonds are completely natural and caused by exposure to atomic radiation” and are second to red diamonds in terms of rarity. Hmmm. Red diamonds. That could be Jennifer’s favorite diamond color in the future.

A California woman put $40 into a Lottery Scratchers vending machine when a very “rude” person walked by, bumped into her, did not say a thing, then walked out the door. Because of the bump, she accidentally hit the wrong button on the machine, and she got a $30-dollar 200XScratchers ticket, something she did not want. Irritated, she went to her car and began scratching, only to find that she had won the top prize of $10 million. Oops.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Will Smith will be barred from attending the Oscars for 10 years (meaningless) because of the harmful behavior he displayed when he struck comedian Chris Rock, then continued to angrily curse him after he sat back down. Come on, there were kids watching. We instruct our children not to hit people. Please tell me where this type of violence comes from and what makes it now acceptable? Will Smith must have thought he was at a bar brawl instead of a lovely primetime televised affair that some actors had worked their entire life to achieve and did it all without ever hitting a single person. And, what about the Williams family? He was also representing them, and their story. Poorly representing them, I might add. So, he has resigned from the Academy following his violent outburst. The Academy did praise Chris Rock for “maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances” and thanked others involved for “their poise and grace during our telecast.” But something is still not right about the whole thing. Our society seems to be more accepting of unruly behavior lately. Sigh. See below.

One of the men accused of being involved in the shooting of Lady Gaga’s dog walker was mistakenly released from prison “due to a clerical error” after a court proceeding. James Howard Jackson had been charged with robbery and attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, second degree robbery, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. According to booking records, his case has been dismissed. The LA County Sheriff’s Department said, “The investigation is continuing and the LASD Major Crimes Bureau is actively working to get Mr. Jackson back in custody.”  Hmmm. You think!?! As we go to print, I am not aware the situation has been rectified.

RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Joel Grey is 90. Master of Ceremonies in musical Cabaret on Broadway as well as in the 1972 film adaptation. American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, and occasional actor Herbie Hancock is 82. Actor Louise Lasser is 83. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. She was married to Woody Allen and appeared in several of his early films.  Actor Peter Riegart is 75. Donald “Boon” Schoenstein in Animal House. Musician John Kay of Steppenwolf is 78. Musician Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane is 78. Actor & sculptor Tony Dow of Leave It to Beaver is 77. Actor Andy Garcia is 66.

Actor Ron Perlman is 72. Beauty and the Beast. Actor Ricky Schroder is 52. Country singer Loretta Lynn is 90. Actor Julie Christie is 81. Actor Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond is 62. Actor Claudia Cardinale of Son of the Pink Panther is 84. Actor Emma Thompson is 63. Actor Emma Watson of Harry Potter is 32. Singer Bobby Vinton is 87. Actor Ellen Barkin is 68. Country singer Vince Gill is 65. Gill joined the Eagles in 2017 and continues to serve as a member of the band. Talk show host David Letterman is 75. Singer J.D. Nicholas of The Commodores is 70.

Musician, pastor, record producer Al Green is 76. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including “Take Me to the River”, “Tired of Being Alone”, “I’m Still in Love with You”, “Love and Happiness”, and his signature song, “Let’s Stay Together”. After an incident in which his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music.

Author Henry Patterson, known by his pen name Jack Higgins, died at 92. His novel, The Eagle has Landed, sold more than 50 million copies, and was adapted into a movie in 1976. His 85 novels in total have sold more than 250 million copies and have been translated into 55 languages. Pittsburg Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was fatally struck by a dump truck in Florida and died at 24. Kathryn Hays who starred on As the World Turns for nearly 40 years, died at 88. Houston real estate pioneer Martha Turner died at the age of 81. Gilbert Gottfried, the comedian with the unmistakable, shrill voice, died at 67 from a rare disorder known as Myotonic Dystrophy type II.

Spring is Nature’s way of saying Let’s Party. Robin Williams

Actor and former wrestler Mr. T tweeted, “I just received my 2nd Moderna booster vaccine, and I feel good! I am still going to wear my mask and keep my distance because the virus ain’t over, Fool! Grrr.” That seems simple enough to me. Mr. T is a cancer survivor and over 50 years of age. Senator Ted Cruz pulled himself away from checking the weather in Cancun and tweeted in response. “Bizarre. 535 Members of Congress can attend the State of the Union without wearing masks, but it’s still not good enough for Hollywood.”  Mr. T. did not personally respond but posted this. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11.” Go, Mr. T. Classy response.

H&M is coming out with a line of baby clothes that are fully compostable organic cotton, priced from $4.99 to $17.99. They will be 100% biodegradable, including the pigments used to print design on the clothing, plus all the pieces have no buttons or metal trim. “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 17 million tons of textile waste, with discarded clothing being the main source, was generated in the U.S. in 2018, the latest data available. The recycling rate was just 14.7%, with 2.5 million tons recycled. Landfills received 11.3 million tons of that 2018 textile waste, which represented 7.7% of all municipal waste that ended up in landfills.” Good grief. We are such wasteful people! Recycle by donating, shop for used clothing when you can, then pass along clothing and goods for others to wear and use. Choose quality over quantity.

In the past, I think I have informed and entertained you with a story about how I like to put gardener’s salve on my hands and around my nails, then surgical gloves, then my heavy-duty garden gloves. At the end of the day, it is almost like having had a manicure, but not quite. This past weekend I worked in my flower beds both Saturday and Sunday, weeding and clipping back everything that seemed to have died during the last freeze. I lost many plants, but some of the Ixora seem to be putting out tiny green bits of color. I lost 18 new plants with the first freeze, so there was no excuse for me planting them again, but I guess the older I get, the more dangerously I like to live. The surgical gloves that I am using right now are much thicker rubber and quite nice. I can take them off when I am finished, set them aside and use them again the next day. What I forget to do on gardening days is eliminate my cup of coffee, so I take quite a few bathroom breaks. I always remove my dirty gardening gloves but keep the surgical gloves on when I go inside the house. I was wearing my favorite pair of camo shorts (so no one can see me while I work) but they have a ridiculously small zipper in the front. What I did not prepare for was getting those thick black gloves stuck in the zipper on one of my very necessary potty breaks. I will not bore you with the details, but I could really use a bathroom in the garage. 😊

It is no longer Box Wine. It is Cardboardeaux. (I just LOVE that!)

Pinterest is prohibiting users from sharing climate misinformation on its platform. Doris Day would have been 100 years old this month. Elon Musk will not join the Twitter Board of Directors after all. In Central England, a newly uncovered 1,100-year-old graveyard is supplying new information about Viking history. Sexual violence against Ukrainian women is “the new weapon” used by Russian troops.

Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy once told a story about visiting a Ritz-Carlton. Whenever Mr. Cathy thanked a hotel employee, the worker would smile and respond, “my pleasure.” Cathy was struck by the phrase and decided to employ it within his own business, believing that it was a show of great customer service and an exceptional business. It turned out to be an enormous success within his business. According to an annual drive-thru report, Chick-fil-A employees were considered the most-polite out of 15 different fast-food chains, saying phrases such as please and thank you to their customers, as well as smiling at drive-thru customers. This tells me you can close on Sundays and still make a profit by being nice.

As I left the post office this morning, I saw a sign in the ‘gift store’ where I now pick out intriguing and very available cards to send. The poster said: Lake Jackson Community, Neighbors, and Visitors… We are indeed very grateful that you are here. We hope you will enjoy your experience here today and that you will return to your homes with pleasant recollections of what you have seen and done here. If there is anything that we can do which we have not already done to make your visit more pleasant, we are yours to command. Please gently state your need; we are members of the local community as well. We all care here at the Lake Jackson Post Office. To be a host to such a gathering is an honor of which any community might well be proud. Sincerely, Your Local Postal Workers. Wow. I left there thinking about how we could just change our attitudes about chores vs. opportunities. Today I had the opportunity to let them host me for quite a long gathering. Why did not I start a conversation with the gentleman in front of me or the gentleman behind me! Because I treated standing in an awfully long line as a chore, instead of an opportunity. The two hard-working individuals behind the counter were helping customers as fast and politely as they could. Freida had to explain a few details to an obviously new employee. She was kind, generous, and understanding. Let’s take them cookies or flowers or small gifts the next time we visit the post office… they deserve it. Thanks for reading and shopping with us this week.

LISA

Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com