Me and Scarlett

Tara! Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all... tomorrow is another day.

 

I was visiting the journal of a new friend, Marc, and I learned that Margaret Mitchell’s estate has selected an author to write another book using the characters that she created in Gone with the Wind. The working title is Rhett Butler’s People and it is told from Rhett’s point of view.  I wasn’t impressed by the authorized sequel several years back entitled Scarlett.  It didn’t live up to the continuation in my head of the saga of Scarlett and Rhett.  I did enjoy the tale, told from Mammy’s point of view with the clever title, The Wind Done Gone, published amid great controversy as the Mitchell estate tried to prevent its release. Eventually the courts ruled that it was a parody and as such could be published.

 

I first read Gone with the Wind when I was eleven-years-old.  I fell in love with Scarlett O’Hara with her first “fiddle-dee-dee” to the Tarleton twins.  I read the entire book in two days, pretending not to hear my mother call my name when she wanted my help with some household chore.  I suffered with Scarlett as she and Melanie fled from the Yankees, and lusted with her as Rhett  Butler put a blush on her cheeks with his

 

                               

 

suggestive comments.  Of course, I was only 11 so I didn’t really know what he was suggesting. I cried my heart out when he left her at the end and felt Scarlett’s defiant sense of hope as she turned her eyes towards Tara and vowed to get him back, “After all… tomorrow is another day.”

 

That summer, my dad took us to the Starlite Drive-In Movie Theater and I saw Gone with the Wind on the big screen.  It was one of those rare cases of the movie being as good as the book.  I was enthralled and swept away as Atlanta burned.  When Scarlet threw that vase at Rhett Butler’s head, I knew that I was in the presence of greatness.  I wanted to be Scarlet.

 

I spent hours in front of a mirror trying to arch one eyebrow in pursuit of my best Scarlet impression.  To my great disappointment, I never mastered raising just one eyebrow.  Eventually, I came to realize that my inability to replicate Vivien Leigh’s quizzical eyebrow lift was not the only bar to my becoming Scarlett O’Hara.  In spite of my childish ability to ignore the obvious, the face that stared back at me as I vainly worked my forehead muscles, was that of a brown-eyed, brown-skinned girl, who looked a lot more like Prissy than Miz Scarlet. 

                                

 

I’ve never completely rid myself of my Scarlett O’Hara obsession. I recognize that it is rather absurd especially as I was raised in a mid-sized southern town, Wilson, North Carolina that is divided by a railroad track.  In my childhood, blacks lived to the east of the track and whites to the west. However ironic it may be, I love my south--grits, the summer heat, and the way that y'all sort of rolls off your tongue like molasses. Sometimes, when I think that no one is watching, I still practice arching one eyebrow, but I have grown to love Prissy.

 

Butterfly McQueen (Prissy)

 

 

Tags: Gone with the Wind, Vivien Leigh, Butterfly McQueen, Scarlett, Rhett, southern culture, contradictions, irony

Kindergarten Enrollment May Be Delayed For Many Children in NC

Following is an article that I recently wrote for publication in the NC Black Leadership Caucus' monthly newsletter. Its focus is on NC politics; however, I suspect that this issue isn't limited to NC.

 

If North Carolina state legislators have their way, more than 15,000 children who turn five between September 1 and October 16 in 2009 will not be eligible to enroll in the state kindergarten program. House Bill 150 (H150) and an identical Senate Bill 751 (S751), propose to change the cut off date for initial school enrollment in kindergarten from October 16 to August 31, effective fiscal year 2009-2010.

 

Under the current law, as long as a child will be five by October 16, that child may enter kindergarten in August of the school year in which the child turned five.  A child whose fifth birthday is as late as October 16 may enroll in a state funded program when school begins in August prior to the child reaching age five in October. The proposed bills, both entitled Every Child Ready to Learn, would not allow a child to enroll in August of that school year if he or she will not be five by August 31.  If this legislation passes, a child who turns five after August 31, 2009 will have to wait until the school year beginning in August 2010 to enroll in a state funded kindergarten program. The fiscal note accompanying H150 estimates that the change would result in 15,360 fewer children statewide beginning kindergarten in August 2009

 

Based on the long title of H150 and S751, AN ACT for modifying the school admission requirements to ensure that every child is ready to enter kindergarten and thereby reduce student dropout rates in later grades, both bills are being presented as having the potential to address some of the troubles that currently beset public education in North Carolina--an unacceptable dropout rate and school readiness.

 

However, there is insufficient evidence to conclusively support that delaying initial enrollment in school will decrease the dropout rate in the future. However, there is research that suggests that low income children are disadvantaged by lack of a quality pre-school experience and that the disadvantage magnifies as they age, leading to higher dropout rates. A student that is older than his or her peers in that grade level is more likely to become a dropout statistic.  The student who is six when beginning K or turns six within the first two months of beginning K, will reach the current legal dropout age of 16 nearly a full year before his or her peers.

 

The other stated purpose of these bills is to make certain children are ready to learn when they begin school.  Unfortunately, there is no solid scientifically based research that conclusively supports the notion that a six year old is automatically more ready to learn than the same child was one year earlier without some intervening experiences designed to prepare the child to be ready to learn.  In other words, just hanging around the house another year does not correlate with improved academic readiness for children who are already at-risk of academic failure.

 

A 2006 study on the impact of delaying initial entry into school, concludes that positive gains in achievement shown in students who are older when they begin school are more likely connected to their experiences prior to beginning school than any effect from delaying kindergarten for a year. In other words, middle class and higher children who have educational experiences prior to entering kindergarten benefit from the delay but no such benefit is seen for lower income children. (http://www.ilir.uiuc.edu/lubotsky/Elder%20Lubotsky%20June%202006.pdf)

 

This change will most seriously impact children from lower income and working class families who are unable to afford private day care or pre-school, depriving them of any significant formal educational experience for as much as an additional school year.  Under current law, the mandatory school age is seven; parents already have the option to choose not to send their child to kindergarten when he/she turns five.  Some parents choose not to do so based on their beliefs as to the physical and emotional maturity of their child. The proposed change will only force parents who do not have options for providing a solid pre-school experience for their children to delay access to education for their children. 

 

In addition, it is essential to weigh the economic costs to families of the proposed change on low-income and working class parents.  They will have an extra year of child care expenses while waiting for their child to reach school age.

 

According to the fiscal note attached to H150, the proposed bills will have an economic benefit to state and local government. Assuming all factors remain constant regarding average daily membership, the fiscal note anticipates reduced state General Fund expenditures and reduced county government expenditures in public school spending for a period of twelve years beginning with implementation of the bill in 2009-10 fiscal year. (http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2007/FiscalNotes/House/PDF/HFN0150v1.pdf)

 

There is an additional bill, House Bill 130 that proposes an earlier cut off date of June 16 and would be effective for the 2008-09 school year.  There currently is no Senate equivalent for this bill.

Tags: kindergarten entry, initial school entry, NC State General Assembly, delayed school entry, public education, public schools, kindergarten, school enrollment

So little time!

In a conversation with my sister this weekend, she pointed out that I hadn't posted anything to my journal in more than two weeks. I explained that I had good intentions to do so but that I couldn't seem to find the time to follow through on my intentions.

I really like my new job but it is rather time intensive, especially in the past few weeks. North Carolina's state legislature has filed a record number of bills this legislative session, nearly 40% more than in previous sessions. My job is to read a significant number of those bills and write a digest entry that explains how the new bill affects current law and/or what the new bill does.  My written analysis is published in a subscription publication called The Daily Bulletin, distributed by the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Bill drafters receive special training in how to write a piece of legislation that bears little or no resemblance to the English language. However, I'm not complaining. If they wrote in plain English, then I wouldn't have a job. Because the bills are written in legalese, the belief is that it takes a lawyer to translate the legalese into standard English.  They pay me well to do this and I have the satisfaction of feeling that I'm doing a public service. The subscribers to our publication include members of local and state government, including state legislators. I take a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that I help our elected officials understand the bills that they submit for passage into law. I think that there may be something ironic about my previous sentence.

I also attend committee meetings where a legislator presents a bill that he or she sponsors and other legislators pick the bill apart and make the bill sponsor cry. Okay, I'm exaggerating, no one has cried, so far. However, there is often intense discussion about the issues that arise in the bills that are presented. There was great concern expressed as to whether or not the Collard Festival held in Ayden, NC should be designated as the official state collard festival. After all, it's not the only collard festival in NC and other communities might feel slighted. There has also been concern as to whether or not the bullfrog should be named as our state frog. I'll keep you posted on that one.

As you can tell, I've been busy monitoring great affairs of state and have had to curtail my journal entries. I hope to return to J-Land full force as soon as the state legislature is done with passing laws.  I've tried to keep up with your journals and I apologize for not taking the time to leave comments.  I'm reading your wonderful words even when I don't comment.

Note: This piece is meant to be humorous. The NC state legislature has proposed some solid legislation this session that if passed will aid the economic growth of the state, improve the quality of education, and improve access to health care. Of course, there have also been bills about collard festivals and bull frogs.

Tags: work, keeping busy, state government, North Carolina, humor

ill spoken words

(Background note: Broadcaster Don Imus made a set of insulting remarks on his program about female basketball players at Rutgers. Many are calling for his resignation or that he be fired. I just read about the controversy today and sent an email to my sister and some other friends expressing  my belief at the moment that he deserved to be fired.  My sister called me and gave me her insights into the matter.  This entry is a result of my conversation with her. The details of Imus' comments are included in the entry.  As always, your comments are welcome.)

 

I just spoke with my sister, Rhonda, about the Imus mess. She had a surprising response to an email that I sent about the Imus controversey, which has given me pause.  Surprising only in that it wasn't what I expected from her.  However, I respect her opinion a great deal, so it has made me pause and reflect.

 

Rhonda actually listens to Imus' broadcast; I don't.  I used to but grew disgusted with his "in your face, because I insult everyone it's okay brand of journalism." I was introduced to Imus when I was in college, by my friend Rick.  He was from Connecticut and came to NC to attend the law school at UNC.  He was the resident advisor on my floor at Ehringhaus, the south campus dorm where I lived.  I was a freshman and thought Rick, at age 22 was quite sophisticated and he listened to "Imus in the Morning."  For a few years, I was a faithful listener, but never really a fan.  I confess that it has been more than 20 years since I've heard more than a few snippets of his radio show.

 

My sister says that Imus should be given the benefit of the doubt, that his apology is sincere.  She points out that he is equally irreverent towards all; it's his style as a radio personality. She was surprised that I jumped on the fire Imus bandwagon. She reminded me that I had defended the white teacher who had elected to read a book called "Nappy Edges" to her elementary school class.  I thought that the book, written by a black woman, was a positive affirmation that the natural kinky hair texture of many black people was beautiful. The teacher read the book to her mostly black students because she also believed that it was about promoting a positive self image for young black girls.  The author of the book spoke out in support of the teacher because she felt that the teacher "got" the intent of her book. 

 

Rhonda, who has beautiful locks, says that she doesn't find the term nappy offensive.  She expressed her frustration with the schizophrenic nature of black people when it comes to hair; controversies like the black sorority a few years back who didn't want to award the first place prize to the young woman who had fairly won, because she had locks. I think that my sister has a point, but I don't think that Imus' remarks added anything positive to the mix.  I don't think that it was his intent to make a positive commentary on the beauty of black women's hair when he referred to the women on Rutgers' basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."

 

However, as I previously stated, I really respect my sister's opinion and I've been rethinking my original support for firing Imus.  I still don't like what he said; I think it was an ignorant remark.  But when taken in the context of the times, perhaps it is less an indication of any personal racism on Imus' part and more of an indicator of the pervasive disrespect for women, black or otherwise that permeates our culture.  I confess that I am dismayed that all of the criticism of Imus for his remarks tends to focus on his use of the word "nappy" and not on the reference to the women on the team as "hos." Rhonda pointed out that denizens of the rap music world frequently refer to women as hos.  I think that they are also ignorant and I don't buy that it is some sort of artistic expression thing that is supposed to be regarded in a different light. When I read Imus' remarks, I became angry.  I'm still angry.  I'm angry that he would think it acceptable, in the name of humor, to once again belittle and demean black women.  I'm angry that too many men, white and black, publicly speak of women in derogatory terms and call it entertainment.

 

I decided to try and find the entire interchange between Imus and his producer about the women's basketball game and went to YouTube.  It was there; you can always rely on YouTube to have the latest. The entire context of Imus' remarks was in talking about how rough looking the Rutgers' team members are. In his dialogue with executive producer Bernard McGuirk, Imus said that the Rutgers' team members were rough and had tattoos.  McGuirk responded and said that they were hos; Imus countered with that they were nappy headed hos.  But it didn't end there, Imus goes on to say that the Tennessee players (Rutgers' opponents in the championship game) were cute (when is the last time anyone referred to the cuteness of a championship men's basketball team?). McGuirk concurs and avows that it's kind of like a Spike Lee thing and comments that it's like the jigaboos vs. the wannabees. Imus agrees.(They incorrectly identified the Spike Lee film which they were referencing as "Do the Right Thing."  The film is "School Daze." A central theme in "School Daze" has to do with the internalized color complex among black folks, the light-skinned versus dark-skinned obsession that has beset us since skin color became such an important part of the hierarchy of place in American society.  Jigaboos refers to dark-skinned blacks and wannabees to light-skinned blacks.) Finally, Sid Rosenberg, filling in for an absent sports announcer, comments that the Rutgers' women look like the Toronto Raptors, and then McGuirk chimes in and comments that the team looks more like the Grizzlies (a Memphis team). If you want to watch for yourself:

 

I confess that after watching the video, I'm finding it hard to understand why all the heat is directed at Imus; Rosenberg and McGuirk should share the hot seat.

 

Maybe firing Imus is not appropriate.  Maybe it's not reasonable to label him a racist because of his remarks.  Imus has said that he realizes that he pushed the envelope too far; he was just trying to do what he does, be funny.  He acknowledges that his comments went over the line.  I do think that he needs to personally apologize to each of the young women on the Rutgers' team.  In a society where we are continually bombarded with information telling us that we are a nation of couch potatoes, these young women should be commended for their athletic abilities and their team spirit, not publicly insulted with name calling. They played well for an entire season, well enough to play for the championship.  They lost the game to Tennessee and I'm certain that the loss was devastating.  They deserved better than to be publicly insulted in the pursuit of so-called humor.

 

Tags: Imus, nappy-headed, hos, women, insults, race, gender, sexism, news, youtube, opinion, media

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

The Internet allows us to maintain a degree of anonymity that ironically, makes us willing to reveal far more of ourselves than if we met at some social event or public outing.  In this journal, I talk about my insecurities, something I rarely do even with my closest friends and certainly not with people that are acquaintances.  I think it is the veil of anonymity that makes so many of us willing to share who we are and that leads to forming bonds with people that we've never met face to face, but whom we count as friends.  I feel fortunate that I've actually had the opportunity to meet two of those people in person, dear Bea and Caroline.  There are others of you that I have not met, but I feel a connection to you nonetheless.

I want to tell you about my friend River.  He is a member of J-Land and I don't know his name, other than River.  It suits him; he runs deep like a river. We've never met, but I count him as a friend.  I like visiting his journal because it is full of charity, of love for humankind. River has been absent from J-Land for the past few months and has recently returned.  I didn't want to pry, but I noticed that at the top of his journal there was a count: 79 days homeless.  That was three days ago. Perhaps because the Internet allows us to skip some of the amenities of societal interaction, I sent him an email and asked directly if he was homeless.  Like the gentleman that he is, he promptly responded and confirmed that he was indeed referring to his own homelessness.

Today I visited River's journal and he has chosen to share his story with us.  I admire his bravery in doing so; he is a private person and I am not certain that if were in his shoes that I would be so brave.  River lives in Las Vegas, and he has gained access and insight to the homeless in that city of excess in so many ways, except when it comes to providing for those who need assistance. I hope that you will visit River's journal frequently and follow his story.  He has much to tell us. 

Many of us celebrated Palm Sunday today and next Sunday is Easter. When I was a child, I thought of Easter as a time to get a new outfit. My mother was a very good seamstress and one Easter she made my sister and I matching navy blue capes with a white satin lining. We wore white dresses, little white hats, and white gloves.  I think that I was around eight and my sister was six. We loved the way the capes swirled out when we spun around. I'm not a child any more and I no longer believe that Easter is about wearing new clothes.  I thank River for sharing his story and reminding us what Easter is truly about. We are all our brothers' and sisters' keepers.

Tags: charity, agape, Christianity, homelessness, responsibility, Easter

birthdays, beauty, and learning to love me

My birthday is Monday, March 26. I’ll be 52. It’s also Diana Ross’ birthday.  When I was a girl, I thought that it imparted a bit of celebrity to me to share a birthday with Diana Ross.

 

In the summer, my mother would allow us to play outside until it was dark and the fireflies began to tantalize us as we tried to capture them in our hands. On those hot summer evenings, my sister and I would recruit a neighbor to join us and we would become the Supremes, hands on our hips, stepping to the beat, and singing lyrics that we didn’t fully understand—“Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Touch Me in the Morning,” “Love Child.”  I loved those summers and I loved those songs.  I didn’t really know anything about love but I would tilt my head back and sing with all the enthusiasm that I could muster about love lost or won. My grandest desire by the time that I was 11-years-old was to have a gold lame dress and a bouffant hairdo.

 

As I moved into adolescence, my perspective began to change. I was awkward, uncomfortable in my own body.  I don’t recall wearing training bras. I woke up one morning when I was twelve and I had breasts; my first bra was a C-cup.  I was also fat and it was no longer cute. There are photos of me when I was four that show a solemn-faced child leaning against an old Buick and she is thin. My class photo for kindergarten shows a solemn-faced child with chubby cheeks and she is not thin. I have no memory of being thin; my life begins with being fat. When you’re a fat little girl, people still call you cute; old ladies like to pinch your cheeks and refer to you as a “chubby little thing.” Puberty is totally different.  I turned twelve, got breasts, and became in need of dieting. My sister still danced around and sang the Supremes’ latest top ten hit, but I stayed quiet.  The only thing worse than being fat is being a fat girl who calls attention to herself.

 

By the time that I was 16, I understood that there was something shameful about being fat and that all that love in all those songs was not meant for fat girls. I discovered Joni Mitchell and purchased one of her albums, “Blue.” I also developed a crush on my best friend. There is no one more woebegone than a 16-year-old who fancies herself in love with a boy who sees her only as a good friend.  I was privy to all of his secrets, including knowing who he had a crush on. I listened to Joni’s recording of “A Case of You” until I knew all the words, “You’re in my blood like holy wine, you taste so bitter and so sweet, and I could drink a case of you, darling, and still be on my feet.”  When I went away to college, I took care to pack all of my Joni Mitchell albums.  They came in handy; on lonely Friday nights, Joni kept me company. 

 

There have been times when I’ve told myself that my feelings of inadequacy have been self-imposed, but when I look at our culture's obsession with appearance, I find that difficult to believe.  As I’ve surfed the Internet, I find that insulting people because they are fat is perfectly acceptable in many circles. It goes something like this--fat people are ugly, lazy, and worthless and have no reason to exist.  I addressed my feelings to one J-Lander about entries and photos in his journal demeaning people for being fat but I don’t think that he understood at all.

 

I’m not sure what I expect or want, maybe it’s just to be judged for the person that I am and not the size of my body.  As I approach turning another year older, I have made peace with my body for the most part.  On occasion a cruel remark made by a stranger will turn me back into that insecure teenager but it passes.

 

Today, I’m feeling not just okay about my body but downright beautiful, thanks to a J-Lander named Russ.  He is a talented cartoonist that I encountered via Gerry’s journal.  He had drawn a cartoon that I thought captured her essence so beautifully that I pleaded with him to waive his deadline and do a drawing of me.  He kindly agreed to do so and the result is below.  Russ is not only talented; he has a kind heart and a generous spirit.  He has another journal that is also worth checking out. Thank you Russ; I plan to have a very happy birthday.

Tags: growing older, beauty, weight obsession, acceptance, body image

At the movies

I've had good intentions for more than two weeks to write a journal entry.  However, as you may have heard, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. But here I am today, visiting journals, immersing myself in the myriad voices of j-land and finally getting around to adding my own voice.  I planned to write an entry on some pithy political topic but I found myself fascinated by a meme on movies that I ran across in Paul's journal. 

I have had a love affair with movies since I was a child.  Before Sunday afternoons on television were filled with images of grown men chasing balls, the local stations would show old movies.  My dad was a fan of westerns and war movies.  On Sunday afternoons, I would join him in watching John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Audie Murphy save the farm, the ranch, or the world and steal a kiss from Grace Kelly or Maureen O'Hara, before all was said and done.  I liked the westerns and the war movies, but my real love was for the women's films, movies starring Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Marilyn Monroe, and of course, Vivien Leigh.  They loved, schemed, lied, and suffered in grand fashion and I was entranced.

The first Marilyn Monroe film that I saw was Niagara.  I was around twelve years old and after watching Marilyn toy with Joseph Cotten, I wanted to be blond and walk in high heels with a wriggle in my hips.

I was enchanted by Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca  and wept buckets when Humphrey Bogart let her go in the end. I still get misty-eyed when I hear As Time Goes By<AHREF="HTTP: target="_blank" ? photobucket.com>

One of  my favorite Bette Davis films is a 1934 film called Of Human Bondage.  Her co-star is Leslie Howard, who plays a young medical student who becomes infatuated with Davis' character, a waitress with a heart of stone.  One of the taglines on a movie poster for the film was "The Love That Lifted a Man to Paradise...and Hurled Him Back to Earth Again." But the Bette Davis movie that I watch over and over again is a bittersweet romantic film, Now Voyager. She plays a lonely woman who finally blossoms and finds love, but with a married man who has obligations to care for his daughter.  His wife is an evil shrew and without him, she will destroy their child. Bette Davis, gives him up, and her chance at true happiness, for the sake of the child. I cry a river every time that I watch it.

Ms. Davis has some of the best on screen lines of any film actress--"Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night," "I'd kiss you, but I just washed my hair," "What a dump,"Oh, Blanche, you know we've got rats in the cellar," "Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon--we have the stars." I intentionally left out the names of the movies to give those of you who like trivia games as much as I do a challenge.

I think of Vivien Leigh as playing quintessential southern women--Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche Dubois.  Ironic, as Leigh was not only not southern, she wasn't even American. I was totally entranced by Scarlett from the first fiddle-dee-dee out of her mouth as she flirted with the Tarleton twins. When she threw the vase at Rhett Butler's head after catching him eavesdropping on her declaration of love for Ashley Wilkes, I knew that I wanted to be Scarlett.  My Scarlett obsession led to many hours in front of a mirror vainly trying to master the arching of one eye brow. I was convinced that Rhett eventually came back and that he and Scarlett lived happily ever after.  I think that I was in college before it dawned on me that the likelihood of my being Scarlett was zilch.  Mammy or Prissy maybe, but not Scarlett.  I'm still wrestling with the emotional trauma of this realization, but tomorrow is another day. (For those of you who still sometimes miss my twisted sense of humor:  after years of therapy, I no longer want to be Scarlett O'Hara. [I'm joking people!])

Movie meme

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
Out of Africa, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in one of the most romantic movies that I've ever seen.  The first time that I watched it, I had just had my heart broken.  The movie was cycling through on Showtime and I watched it every time it played  over a period of two days.  Spoiler alert: Redford's character dies in the movie but he dies loving her!  I wish that I had thought to buy stock in Kleenex.
2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater.
Annie Hall, I loved the movie and wanted all my friends to see it.  It was summer and I was a carefree college student, so I'd go with anyone who had not yet seen the movie.  I saw it four times in threedays.
3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington (I couldn't decide on one)
 

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
No one, I have been pleasantly surprised with performances by an actor in one film that I didn't care for in another.  I don't write off a performance or a movie without witnessing it for myself.
5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
Casablanca and any movie starring Bette Davis
6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
Funny Girl, I love Barbra Streisand.  I first watched Funny Girl when I was in college.  I immediately went out, purchased the soundtrack, and listened to it non-stop for an entire weekend.  It's a wonder that my suite mates didn't throttle me.
7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
Funny Girl, why spend all  that time learning the lyrics if not to sing along?
8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
I can't.  I love movies and I think that selecting movies to view is a very personal thing.  I will recommend a few films that I think merit viewing but I can't say that they will suit everyone's tastes--Oscar and Lucinda, Casablanca, Malcolm X (the Spike Lee film), The Piano, Agnes of God, The Crying Game, The Color Purple,The Mother, Inside Man, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Enforcer, Dr. No, The Letter, and Now, Voyager.
9. Name a movie that you own.
Gone With the Wind
10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
 Barbra Streisand
11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Yes, when I was a child, Wilson had the Starlite Drive-In Theater.  My dad was on the local police force and one  of the perks was that he got free movie passes to the  drive-in.  We'd load up the  car, my mother would make Kool-aidin a red and white insulated jug, pop a big container of popcorn, and off we'd go. (My dad didn't believe in spending any money at the concession stand.)  I saw many movies at the drive-in but the one that stands out is Gone With the Wind.                      

12. Evermade out in a movie?
Yes. What, you expected details?
13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.
The Last King of Scotland
14. Ever walked out of a movie?
No.  Once I've paid my money, I'm there until the end.
15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
Forrest Gump
16. Popcorn?
Yes, large, with butter and a diet coke.  The diet coke is health food.
17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?
Around 8-10 times a year,before HBO, Starz etc.  I used to go 3 or 4 times a month.
18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
Dreamgirls
19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Hard question, I love adventure/action movies. I've seen all of the James Bond films and I never pass up an opportunity to watch a Clint Eastwood film, no matter how many times I've seen it.  But I also love romantic comedies, musicals, docudramas, foreign films...I'm a movie genre slut.
20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
The Sound of Music
21. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
Saw II, I found it pretentious and full of pseudo psychology meant to suggest that something of significance was being revealed amidst all the gore and violence.  I haven't seen the other two Saw movies and don't intend to do so.
22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
Bitter Moon
23. What is the  scariest movie you've seen?
The Exorcist
24. What is the funniest movie you've seen?
I've seen quite a few funny films but the  most recent film that made me laugh out loud was The Wedding Crashers

Tags: movies, Bette Davis, film, women's films, romantic comedy, Gone with the Wind