American Idol - Saturday Night Live

It just came to me that "American Idol" is becoming so much like "Saturday Night Live". You know......SNL started out captivating all who saw it and, when current players did not measure up to the last, the show still went on. Same with Idol. I thought SNL was done with the departure of Chevy Chase, Mike Myers and, Will Ferrell, to name a few. And, I certainly thought Idol was done when Simon left and, the past five winners could only dream of the career of Carrie Underwood.

Interesting fact, in 1985 at the tenth season of SNL, there was a decision to bring in more seasoned comedians when some growing names had left the show. Season 10 of Idol...... seasoned singers were brought in to judge when there was only one original left standing.

Idol like SNL has had some down years but, in the end could possibly be around for another 25 years as well. We love our satire and our music and, a quest to keep moving on and getting better will make Idol something our grandchildren will know about. SNL premiered 10 years before my children were born and, today we all watch it.

If SNL had ended when Eddie Murphy left the show, would we have known Tina Fey? If Idol had ended when Simon left, would we have known how great Steven Tyler really is?

I predict that Scotty McCreery could soar to the heights of Carrie Underwood. So, like SNL....when Idol was dying, someone came in to breathe new life into it. Long live them both!

Oprah

Today marked the end of an era and a quarter century of afternoons with Oprah. Sure there are the naysayers who didn't get what the fuss was all about. All I can say about them is they wanted to be different and, Oprah would have applauded them for their views.

If we all had a nickel for every time her name was mentioned on TV or in the movies we would have amassed quite a tidy sum. All these notices were not of her own promotion but, just the fact she is and always will be the ultimate household name and icon.

We all know her story of less than humble beginnings, the difficulties she endured and, her coming of age in the genesis of the civil rights movement. There is no need to point out that she is of African American decent because that would be stupid. I think history will cite Oprah as one of the pioneers of race relations. She truly showed us that we are all the same.

Of course you can't be rich and powerful without someone coming in to dissect your actions. She gallantly arose from very serious issues in both her professional and private lives. But, again, we all know her story.

This is about my story with Oprah. I started watching at the beginning when I was a stay at home mom with two babies in tow.....She was my age, we had absolutely had nothing in common but, she intrigued me..... She showed me aspects of the world that were never in my scope..... She got excited about things I was excited about..... She taught me how to primp and preen and, be confident enough to face the public without makeup or a hairbrush.....She made me read books and see movies that I would have never bothered with.....She made me either laugh, cry, be thrilled or, show compassion every time I saw her.....She influenced what I bought, what I ate and how I lived.

So, thank you my BFF who I never met. My favorite thing ever said about Ms. Winfrey was ......"Oprah is the Queen of the Chicks"..... So here's to you American Queen Oprah......"May your coming reign but as significant as your first".

It Has Happened Again!

Come on you men out there, if you have an insatiable, roving eye and can't keep your zipper up.......don't get married. All you Average Joes can go under the radar and your philandering only hurts and humiliates your wife in front of her family and friends. There will never be a mention of it in the newspaper, the news in general or, segments on "Entertainment Tonight" about your lust. Oh sure, your children will be devastated and you could possibly loose your job but, your indiscretions only effect those who counted on and believed in you.

I can even understand finding a "soul mate" in a woman other than the one you chose to marry. Situations and circumstances can very well lead you into an affair. Not OK but, it doesn't make you a total CAD. Example.....Governor John Sanford, what he did was so wrong but, his wife did not have to start over with a bevy of his affairs slapped in her face. They will both survive.

Still can't figure out why Jackie O put up with her husband's "Alleged" affair with Marilyn Monroe. It's obvious that Hillary's best interest was to overlook Ginnifer, Paula and, Monica under the desk in the Oval Office. I lost a lot of respect for her and, it amazes me that Bill continues to be a revered statesman when he broke one of the "Ten Commandments".

Tiger and his story, which is history now, single handedly ruined the PGA Tour for me. He got the what goes around comes around when his game hit the dirt and good riddance. He, like Jesse James, publicly humiliated a great woman and, I admire these ladies for the way they handled it. I wouldn't hire John Edwards to clean my septic tank as his "love child" was conceived while his wife was dying.

Now the "Governator" to whom I spent lots of money seeing and even purchasing his movies and, another I once admired .....has now become the lowest form in the above listed. Becoming a father with two women who lived under the same roof while being married to one and the other being the maid probably makes Maria the most humiliated woman ever.

Of all the ones listed and, I could name so many more, it is really sad that only two whose reputations survived from scandal were our Presidents. But, I suppose that's how powerful a CAD needs to be to get away with it.

So, to you almighty gentlemen and, you Average Joes, think about it before your inflated egos lead you into something that could quite possibly ruin your lives. People will find out. No amount of money or careful planning will keep it from those who make their living by finding out what you do.

Live Like You Were Dying

I vividly remember being a child and calculating that by the year 2000 I would be 45 years old but, as a friend of the family reminded me each time I saw her.....the world would end by then. That lovely lady is almost ninety years old now. She expects the second coming any day but, she has chosen to live her life, as Tim McGraw put it, "like she was dying". She needs some help walking, terrifies all who ride with her at the wheel but, she continues to move, learn and is always willing to grasp the new concepts that keep coming her way.

I suppose how well we age is about making the right choices..... There are a percentage of us who are either overweight, smoke, drink, don't wear sunscreen, don't get enough exercise and, go through extremely stressful situations.......Then there are those of us, who eat only what we know is right, consider the body a temple and work hard to keep it moving and, go through stressful situations.......Then there are those of us who have chronic illnesses or, have abused our bodies in every way possible and, go through even more stressful situations.

No matter how well or badly we treat ourselves, our lives could end tomorrow. Or, we could live to be 90. You can choose to "Think this might be the real end" and consult a physician, have a surgery or, take a pill for every little thing that doesn't seem quite right.

We could "go sky diving" and, fight past every little ache, pain and,ignore some serious issues. But when it's your time.....you go. I back this up by witnessing two dear friends with so much life ahead of them, taken away from cancer while in their thirties. I've grieved when people I knew were killed by an accident or an act of nature. I've known people who have been murdered.

All of them "never had the chance to live like they were dying". It's a good idea to love deeper, speak sweeter and give forgiveness you've been denying because tomorrow is a real gift...........My 90 year old friend obviously has been living that way her whole life because she has always believed that the world would end tomorrow. She has lived like she was dying.

Waiting Rooms

Did you ever notice that doctor or dental offices who have reputations for making you wait a long time for your appointment have the worst magazines? I had an appointment yesterday with a huge orthopaedic practice and, again, I waited more than an hour to actually be called.

The waiting room was as large as a spacious apartment with, easily, fifty plus seats. The magazine choices were local freebies which are mostly ads, a couple of outdated "TIME"s, "HIGHLIGHTS" for children and, of all things a "SKIING" publication. That one certainly did not seem appropriate for a lobby full of people with casts, canes and, other ortho issues.

I thought I had struck GOLD when I stumbled across a "COUNTY LIVING".....That could entertain me for a while. A few pages in I noticed a "Got Milk" ad featuring a 15 year old LeAnn Rimes, confused I checked the date on the front cover.....March 1998!

Come on you prominent orthopaedic practice, you have patients of all ages, they have physical issues and generally not contagious at all. You have a muted 32" inch TV in a corner of an 1100 square foot room......please spring for some decent magazines.....you can afford it! Sure we should have known by now to bring a book and, we do have our cell phones but, we were supposed to turn them off upon entry...help us out here!

I also find it funny when I take my 90 year old Father-In-Law to his geriatric practice that the magazines are "ARTHRITIS TODAY" and other publications not on aging but, about being fully aged. Most of the very elderly are exhausted by the trip from the car to the waiting room and either snooze or enjoy new surroundings and could care less about reading while they wait to be called. On the other hand, there are just as many middle aged people who brought them there who, again, have to fight for those few outdated magazines scattered about.

Then you go to the doctor when you are really sick.....magazine selections remarkably get better but, you feel like crap and the person next to you looks worse than crap. Do you really want to touch anything around you here?

When you advance from the "Waiting Room" to the exam room in all of these situations there waits the "Pot of Gold" of publications. You go from waiting an hour with nothing to read to all this stuff you can't wait to get into......then the nurse and the doctor finally give you their full attention and you never have the chance to pick one up.

I have to give the dental profession top honors for their magazine selections. In most offices I have been in everything is interesting and current. My own "Primary" dentist has at least three magazines of interest for men, women and children in his eight seat waiting room but, the chair barely gets warm until I am called back with a suggestion to bring what I am reading. In the exam room there is actually a TV that is tuned into something worth watching. I don't even have to turn off my phone.

I wonder if all this could be one of the reasons that I will go to a doctor at a very last resort and, never go a day past my six month teeth cleaning?

For Those Who Hate Yard Work

You either love or hate working in the yard. For the "Haters" you have been blessed with people who make a living taking care of other people's lawns. I am certain that there isn't anyone prefers dead grass and wilting flowers to lusciousness and blooms.

You "Haters" may say that paying a professional comes from funds that are just not there. I feel your pain. You work all week, come home to family or other obligations and, you certainly need to work out. Been there, done that.

If you are thinking about buying a home don't opt for one with a massive yard if you are a "Hater" and don't have the funds for a service. If you currently have more grass to take care of than you think you can handle.......hear this.

1. Grass needs to be cut, at the very least, once every two weeks. If you have no concept of lime, plugging or feeding, pray that your weeds are green and a regular mow job can disguise them as grass.

2. Leaves need to be raked or blown away unless you want you lawn to look like a forest.

3. Any afternoon spent planting with a fortune's worth of flowers is a total waste of time and money if your only future commitment to them will be some water now and again.

4. There is a reason why church groups and boy scouts sell mulch or pine straw as fundraisers. Everyone needs to put some out.

5. No matter how you look at it......dead is not good. Plant life is the same as a human's they don't come back. Take time to dispose of the departed.

If you follow these simple rules yard work will still take some time but, certainly no more than a hour a week for three out of four seasons. You may hate those certain neighbors who continually weed, plant, water and mow. Believe me they hate you more.

You can always tell what the inside of a home looks like by seeing the outside. It's time to take pride in your home you "Haters". Every little bit helps.

More About the Royal Wedding

The wedding of William and Kate is now history. The cynics say good riddance as they feel bombarded by all the hoopla leading up to these nuptials for months and, rightly so. These people do not even live in our country or the countries of the millions of people who tuned in today. What is this fascination with the Royals?

I bet if you asked ten people, nine of them would be able to name most of the British Royal Family. You may say because news of them dominate our Television and Internet. How could one help not knowing? Which is true. Funny thing I know almost as much about Charles and Diana's wedding as I do William and Kate's.

This is amazing as at the first wedding in 1981 we only had TV, radio, newspapers and magazines to tell us about the events leading up to the big day. I recall the secrecy behind what gown Diana would wear, who did and did not get invited to the wedding, what food would be served and, on and on. Things did not change that much this go round.

I have no shame in admitting that I was completely wrapped up in both weddings. I watched and read tons about them. I think it is because it's a "Girl Thing" or, for "The Girls at Heart". What little girl has not heard a story of marrying a handsome prince? The British certainly know how to pull off a fairytale wedding.