Boyfriends

I read my first post today and what was I thinking when I was seven? What parents who let their first grader stay up and watch The Smother's Brothers would vote for Nixon? Please. I myself never voted for a winning president until Bill Clinton. I was on my way to vote for Jimmy Carter in my first Presidential election when I heard him concede the election on the radio. I voted anyway, but it took a little of the fun out of it. The democrats in Hawaii probably just stayed home. But, back to The Smother's Brothers because I really need to confess something. Tommy Smothers was my first boyfriend. I was madly in love with him. Sadly for Tommy it didn't last long before Tom Jones stole my heart. That voice and that accent was more than an eight year old could handle. In between Tommy and Tom there were week ends with Bobby Sherman, Michael Nesmith and David Cassidy, but they never really meant much to me. They were just sort of flings. It was rather late in life, thirteen, that I met the man who was destined to change me forever, Clark Gable. I had read Gone With the Wind so I was really excited when my mother took me to see the movie at the Fox Theater in Anaheim. The first time you see Clark is the barbeque at Twelve Oaks. The camera pans down the stairs and there he is grinning up at you. I gasped out loud and my thirteen year old body slipped down the chair almost on to the floor. My mother just reached over and picked me back up without saying a word. I sat there silently sobbing tears of joy that I had finally found my soul mate. Sorry Tommy, Tom, Bobby, Michael, and David, I have left you for Clark Gable. I realized, of course, that he was dead, but it didn't matter to me, not even the grave could keep us apart. My relationship with Clark ended up being one of the longest of my life (including my first marriage). I don't remember how it ended. What twisted act of fate made me lose interest? It was not sudden, it was gradual and pretty heartless on my part. Actually, thinking back, I was pretty cruel to all of them. I would profess love one day and then casually move on and not even tell them I was leaving. I hope they have forgiven me and have learned to cope with the loss. Hopefully, I have softened through the years and when I break up with Steve Martin I can be a bit more kind.

Vote For Nixon

I am embarrassed to blog. I thought I was embarrassed because I didn't want people to think I was so arrogant I thought they should read what I have to say. But, the truth of it is, I am embarrassed because I am so arrogant I think people should read what I have to say. I probably always have been. All that pontificating I did in the first grade when I tried to get my democratic family to vote for Nixon should have been the first clue. I have never publicly admitted to anyone that I tried to get my mother to vote for Nixon (very loudly in the voting booth) until now . My family has never mentioned it again except for my Grammy Lu who referred to it as, "The Unfortunate Incident". Actually, I really wanted Pat Paulson to win, which segues perfectly into explaining the title of my blog. If you know who Pat Paulson is you were watching the Smother's Brothers in the late 60's. Which means you are over fifty or pretty darn close. Well, I am pretty darn close. I thought that by fifty I would be successful, have raised my kids, and could now travel and read alot. At 49 1/2 I have only finished raising one kid, I have a thirteen year old and a five year old at home. I am not successful by societal measures, but my husband is, which makes me successful by default. I do read a lot, but lately I seem to be playing a lot of Sneezies on my IPad ( a game an infant can play) and the only travel I am doing is driving south on I-5 to Disneyland. Fifty doesn't look anything like I thought it would when I was thirty. Thank God. I am happy and the reason, at least for today, is I have learned I can do anything I want and what I want is what I am doing. Go figure. Me, former shortest showgirl in the world, Disney Princess, and Equity Dinner Theater Star would throw up if I had to go on stage again. I like it in the audience. I like watching my kid on the stage and I have passed the torch. Oh, but what a glorious torch it was! I am very much hoping for another fifty years and I have little to no regrets about the first fifty, except, of course, for "the unfortunate incident" in the voting booth in 1968. All in all, not bad.