What I Heard This Week 06-15-2023
A very close relative (my sister says I can’t say who…) is constantly having problems with urinary tract infections. This woman has been on a crazy amount of antibiotics for the past 6-8 months, including an antibiotic that made her so sick she ended up in the hospital. So, her current doctor’s office had recommended, and was getting ready to send her to a new gynecologist. The nurse at the first office was sharing the new doctor’s information, speaking in a very hushed voice, “They call him the Vagina Whisperer.” The yet unnamed patient was so excited when she told me about it… I’m still giggling. Can’t wait for the update about this new doctor.
“When I was a kid, I said to my father one afternoon, ‘Daddy, will you take me to the zoo?’ He answered, ‘If the zoo wants you, let them come and get you.’” – Jerry Lewis
According to research from the British Cardiovascular Society, the most serious types of heart attacks are more likely to happen on Monday than any other day of the week.
My daughter flew in from NC to work at a HOBY leadership conference in Houston. So, I got to see her for a day before she left, then four days later she came back to drop off the car she borrowed, so I could take her to the airport. Very little time for much, but on Sunday evening, we met at the movie theatre to see The Little Mermaid. (Anne-Elisabeth was Ariel in a school production of The Little Mermaid so it has a special place in our hearts.) There were so many little girls dressed in their Ariel costumes – several that could barely walk. There were moms (and many dads) that enjoyed the beautiful update of the 1836 Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, and Disney’s beloved story. It is visually gorgeous with spectacular water scenes. Halle Bailey did a terrific job and such a beautiful voice; Melissa McCarthy was a hoot… with us laughing out loud at her delivery and a little scared. Lin-Manuel Miranda says, “We wrote three or four original tunes, replacing none of the ones you like.” Yep, some new music and lyrics, that he and Alan Menken worked on together. Lin-Manuel Miranda says The Little Mermaid was the movie that made him fall in love with musicals. Perfect. All in all, it’s definitely worth a trip to the theatre to see for yourself. No matter your age, gender, or political preference, you’ll like it.
“But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more.” The Little Mermaid
The problem of space waste is called many names, space junk, space pollution and space debris. While space debris refers to natural meteoroids as well as human-caused pollution, orbital debris is now a term specifically used for human-created waste that now orbits our Earth. We filled up our own beautiful Earth with trash, so now we are doing the same thing to our space.
Sometimes you just forget how good something can be. Last Friday, I needed just a little something to eat mid-afternoon because I had special plans for the evening and didn’t want to fill up, ruining my appetite for dinner. I had just taken pictures to be framed at Plantation House on Plantation Drive, so when I left there, I turned right and headed straight to Dairy Bar. I explained my time circumstance to the nice young man at the window, and he said, “Tacos! You need one or two tacos!” Perfect. At last, a man who understands me. By the time I arrived back at the office, those tacos were still hot, with melted cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and perfectly seasoned taco meat. When my kids were home, we had taco night… often… but now that I’m cooking for just myself, I forget about tacos. I think I have a solution… Dairy Bar! FYI
Sometimes I am amazed that my wife and I created two human beings from scratch yet struggle to assemble the most basic of Ikea cabinets. – John Kinnear
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Richard Thomas is 72. I saw him recently in the national tour of To Kill a Mockingbird playing Atticus Finch. Great show. Actor Jim Belushi is 69. Actor Helen Hunt is 60. Actor Courteney Cox of Friends is 59. Actor Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother, Doogie Howser, M.D. is 50. Actor Joan Van Ark is 80. Singer Gino Vannelli is 71. Actor Laurie Metcalf of Roseanne is 68. Actor Peter Lupus of TV’s Mission: Impossible is 91. Singer Barry Manilow is 80. Comedian Joe Piscopo is 72. Actor Greg Kinnear is 60. Musician Paul McCartney is 81. Actor Isabella Rossellini is 71. Country singer Blake Shelton is 47. Singer Ann Wilson of Heart is 73. Keyboardist Larry Dunn of Earth, Wind and Fire is 70. Musician Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys is 81. Singer Anne Murray is 78.
Singer Cyndi Lauper is 70. Actor Nicole Kidman is 56. Actor Bernie Kopell of The Love Boat is 90. Actor Mariette Hartley is 83. Musician Ray Davies of The Kinks is 79. Actor Meredith Baxter of Family Ties is 76. Drummer Joey Kramer of Aerosmith is 73. Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 87. Singer Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon is 79. Singer Eddie Kaylan of The Turtles is 76. Singer Todd Rundgren is 75. Singer Alan Osmond of The Osmonds is 74. Actor Meryl Streep is 74. Actor Lindsay Wagner of The Bionic Woman is 74. Actor Tracy Pollan of Family Ties is 63. TV personality Carson Daly is 50. Actor Frances McDormand is 66. Actor Michele Lee is 81. Drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac is 76.
Cormac McCarthy died at 89. He was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who encountered years of poverty before Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2008 adaptation of his 2005 novel “No Country for Old Men” put him in the limelight; it starred Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, and won Oscars for best picture, director, adapted screenplay and supporting actor.
Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, died of suicide at 81. He was serving eight consecutive life sentences after being convicted of killing three people and injuring 23, with 16 bombs detonated over a 17-year-period. He was called a child prodigy and at 16, was accepted into Harvard for his undergraduate, then later earned a PhD in math and was named an assistant professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Hmmm.
Treat Williams, famous for the film version of Hair, Everwood and Prince of the City, died in a motorcycle accident at 71. Hours before he died, he posted a photo of himself taken from the seat of his lawn mower, along with, “Mowing today,” he wrote, “Wish I could bottle the scent.”
Pete Brown, British poet, musician, and lyricist for Cream died at 82. I Feel Free, White Room, Sunshine of Your Love.
Sheldon Reynolds, soul and funk guitarist of the Commodores, and Earth, Wind & Fire, died at 63. He began playing the guitar when he was eight years old, and by the age of 12 was considered a prodigy.
Wrestling legend “Superstar” Billy Graham died at 79.
Actor, singer, impressionist painter, and heartthrob George Maharis, who portrayed Buz Murdock in TV series Route 66, died at 94. Route 66 earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1962.
Barry Newman, best known for playing the muscle-car-driving Kowalski in the cult classic Vanishing Point and defense attorney in Petrocelli, died at 92.
Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch. – Jon Stewart
Pat Sajak (76) says that after 40 years, his upcoming Wheel of Fortune season (41st) will be his last. Sajak has been the host of the game show since 1981. His co-host, Vanna White, 66, who operates the board and reveals letters as they are guessed by contestants, has been on since 1982. I remember not calling my grandparents around 6:30 because they would be watching The Wheel. Then I discovered that I couldn’t call my mother and step-father at that same time either because they were wheeling.
In China, a street photo of a couple that were holding hands and shopping, was posted by a street photographer, exposing their affair, since they were not married to each other. Both of them lost their jobs, but it was the dress that the woman was wearing that everyone talked about. They’re calling it the Mistress Dress or the Dismissal Dress; a body hugging, floral print that has sold-out online, creating a debate on the moral decline of our society. Hmmm. The shopping mall has now banned all street photography. I have a sidewalk picture of me and my mom in downtown Waco when I was about three. My mom has another sidewalk picture of my grandma and her when she was about 15, in the same location in Waco. When I was pregnant with my daughter, Gage and I reenacted the same picture. Fun.
Four-year-old: Tell me a scary story!
Me: One-time little people popped out of your mom, and they never stopped asking questions.
Four-year-old: Why? – James Breakwell
A custody battle is now ongoing with the children who survived the plane crash and 40 days alone in the Amazon jungle rainforest living on cassava flour, seeds, and fruits. Th children’s maternal grandparents have now accused the father of beating the mother. Speaking to reporters about the domestic abuse, the father said that the couple had verbal fights but very little physical fights, characterizing it as a private family matter and not gossip for the world. Well, buddy, it is out there and it’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
“I rescind my early statement, ‘I could never fall in love with a girl who regularly poops her pants.’ I hadn’t met my daughter yet.” – Dax Shepard
Country Music Hall of Famer Garth Brooks, says he will serve Bud Light at his new bar, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk in Nashville, Tennessee. “I know this sounds corny,” he said, “I want it to be the Chick-fil-A of honky-tonks … I want it to be a place you feel safe in, I want it to be a place where you feel like there are manners and people like one another. And yes, we’re going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It’s not our decision to make. Our thing is this, if you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you’re an a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway.” Good job!
The worst part about being a parent is when one of your kids’ farts, and you have to pretend it wasn’t cool. – Rob Delaney
The Brazoria Heritage Foundation Santa Anna Ball is July 15th. There will be a fajita dinner catered by On the River. Period dress encouraged but optional. Silent and Live Auction, dance with music provided by Darker Side. BYOB with set-ups furnished. What a fabulous fun-raising evening!
The Okra Festival 2023 (9th annual) will be August 5th at the historic Galveston Water & Electric Light Community Center. This sounds like so much fun. A cocktail hour with specialty OkraFest cocktail and open bar, hors d’oeuvres, buffet dinner, live and silent auction. All attendants are encouraged (but not required) to create and wear their own okra hat; crown, bowler, sombrero, porkpie, tiara, pillbox or other, for the Okra Hat competition. And get this, the proceeds benefit Galveston’s own Farmers Market.
JPMorgan has agreed to pay up to $290 million to settle one of two lawsuits over its 15-year relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which accused the bank of profiting from human trafficking by ignoring multiple internal warnings about their former client’s sex crimes. An LA family found around 1 million pure copper pennies in a basement crawlspace when cleaning out their father’s home. (That’s $10,000 but there could be super valuable pennies there.) Houston’s fourth gun buyback collected more than all of the previous events with over 1,400 firearms. Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there.
😊 LISA
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
