A Year Ago Today

No Richard Armitage in this, but I had to commemorate for myself if nothing else.

SO got a kidney transplant. About this time of day he was conked out, and the doctor came out of surgery to tell me everything was great and SO would be up in a couple of hours.

Then the fun really started as a roller coaster ride with SO’s meds, his condition, Social Security, Medicare, and ah, those trips to the ER. In the middle of all of it, I started a business, which I thank God is doing very well.

Crazy as all of that sounds, I would do it again if it meant SO would be as he is today — returned from the near dead. And every part of the experience has made me much more grateful for everyday from here on out. It’s not knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow or even the next few hours which makes me ever conscious of basking in what is good and not getting my knickers in a twist about things that do not matter.

And there’s our friend Mike, who was so kind and gracious to donate his kidney. For that I can never give enough thanks, but I’ll keep trying.

Thank you also to all of you who have sent me so many kind words of encouragement and often at times when I needed it most. You will never know how much that means.

February 27, 2014
Categories: SO, Tangents . Tags: . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 15 Comments

#12 Todd Garner

It’s 12 days until Thanksgiving in the U.S., and I have so much to be thankful for that I can’t get it into one post. I’m starting today with yep, you guessed it, the first of 12 posts. And please note these are not necessarily in order of importance.

836910702f7c15f7d73fd81128a13291Todd Garner. I think it’s obvious why I’m thankful for Todd Garner. But what some of you don’t know is he loves to laugh. That immediately made me really like him because I love to laugh too — even when it may not be appropriate.

Things falling down around your ears? Life not going the way you had planned — at all? It’s just kicking your ass? Start laughing and things will look better immediately. Yeah, we’ve all heard that, but how many of us practice it?

As my life goes on, I’m practicing more and more, and I get the sense Todd Garner practices regularly too. My memory of talking to him is our conversation began with laughter and there was more as we went. Oh yeah, sure it passed through my mind that he may have been amused at talking to a crazy fan, and well, he was talking to a crazy fan. But it was more than that. He seems happy. Whenever I see his tweets, I always think of him with a grin on his face, and it makes me grin. And that was even before he changed his avatar to a smile.

So where does all that smiling and laughing leave Into the Storm? Will it be a comedy? I don’t think so, but there may be a little bit of snark. Not enough to make it a comedy, but if Jon Swetnam is any indication, it’s hard to think a little snark won’t be present. Some of you may have noticed I do like my snark, so I can handle it. : D

And before anyone begins to think Garner has no traffic with a serious piece, one of the movies where he served as a producer is an excellent serious piece and a favorite of mine — Radio with Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding Jr. For those who haven’t seen it, I encourage you to watch it. And for those in other countries who want to be more conversant in American culture, it’s a real slice of what life can be like here. A definite must see.

Will Into the Storm be like that? Not entirely although tornadoes are a way of life in some parts of America and taken very seriously. If you had to replace your roof regularly and came home after a tornado to see that your house was standing and your next door neighbor’s was not, you would take it seriously. Plus, the damn things are unpredictable. Tornadoes do their own thing. Even weather watchers who study them will tell you they are only predictable to a point and then, all bets are off. Given that, Into the Storm will be a bit of a thrill ride and especially considering one version of it will be in 3D.

GarnerTweet20131116

For now the ride is the build up to the movie. It’s fun, and I know many of you are getting a kick out of it as well.

Todd,

Thanks for making the waiting for this movie enjoyable. I’m having a blast.

And I hope you realize the import of myself and others being fangirls. That’s what we do, and now you are in our sights. ;-)

Oh, and a picture would be nice. : D

Sincerely
One of Richard’s crazy fans

P.S. Love the avatar. It’s perfect.

note: this has the fake fan letter tag, but I’m sincere.

November 16, 2013
Categories: Black Sky (Into the Storm), Movies . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 2 Comments

Thoughts on a Sunday Morning

For some time now I’ve been working on something else, and I’ve mentioned it a few times. I do have some things I need to finish here, and I’m still going to run this blog for a bit longer once I make my jump. How long I’m not exactly sure, but I may make it to my third anniversary next April. Not entirely sure of that, but it’s possible. Frankly, every time I’ve tried to quit this thing, something happens to keep me from it. That’s not a complaint. It’s always something good that occurs. Why that keeps happening I don’t know. I don’t post every day. I’ve inhibited the Google bot. I don’t have RA’s name in my blog name and have seldom put it in a title until recently. I have had significant help from some of the RA fan sites and from my fellow bloggers. I appreciate them all very much! I am also on Twitter although statistically a small number of those who surf the Net are on Twitter. So to all of you who find this place and continue to read it, thank you for that and for continually drawing me back into this marvelous ride. And thank you to Richard Armitage for just being Richard Armitage. LOL!

If someone had told me when I started this lark that so much would happen and so easily, I would have scoffed. Not to say that this isn’t work. It is. But contrary to what some may think, I’ve asked for very little from others in the last two and a half years. Thanks to those of you who answered when I made a request, and to those of you who took it upon yourselves to give me something unasked. Your participation is the icing on this cake, and cake it is because it’s helped evoke and sustain an aspect of me I hope will create something fine with my next project.

Until then, SO continues to smile and quirk his eyebrow at me. It’s the whimsical way he’s always had that makes me want to get in his head, and when I finally do get in his head, it’s one of the most pleasurable things imaginable. This morning is our anniversary, and I can say with conviction that I’ve never been bored. Not once. Irritated or disappointed at times but never bored. And I have it on good authority he’s never been bored with me. I’m very thankful for what’s occurred between us, and after all these years together, it refreshes me to say that this morning.

September 16, 2012
Categories: SO . Tags: , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 27 Comments