10 Pretty Neat Things About Me

Writing about politics, social injustice and the disenfranchised are definitely my first loves when it comes to writing; however I decided that today I’d write something purely for fun just because I can. I believe that it is David Letterman who has his own set of top tens in his show. Hopefully, that is correct and I am going to take a note from his playbook in terms of top tens, not sexual scandals, and write about my top wishes, a combination of people I’d love to meet, some dead - some living and also the top things I’d love to do before I leave this earth. The list is not  exhaustive by any means - just fun, neat, weird little things about moi.

1. I would love to go to Las Vegas of yesteryear at a time when the mob ruled supreme in Vegas and perform on a Vegas hotel stage with non other but Frank Sinatra. I wish that I could sing “My Way” with Frank Sinatra. I’m not exactly sure why I have such a love of Sinatra but that would be one of my wishes.

“Regrets, I’ve had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption…

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way…

I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried.
I’ve had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way…”

I love how the music swells and swells and by the end Sinatra is belting out “I did it my way.” I get chills every time I hear the song. I am a huge Sinatra fan so there are no less than a million other Sinatra songs that I love but this one is my favorite.

2. Via my literary time machine, I was able to sing with Sinatra. Next stop on my time travel journey is with heart throb Mr. Blue Eyes aka Paul Newman - one of my all time favorite actors. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Long Hot Summer are my two personal favorites. My dream would be to have Elizabeth Taylor’s role as Maggie. In my opinion the sexiest part of the movie is when Maggie thanks Brick (Paul Newman) for remaining quiet and not revealing her secret that she was not pregnant and could not possibly be pregnant because they weren’t sleeping together and then Brick says, “Maggie, we're through with lies and liars in this house. Lock the door. “I will watch this last scene over and over again and swoon as if it is the first time.

3. Since these are my dreams, hopes, wishes and fantasies I will continue to make allowances here and there. For example, this one number three is a two for one, sort of. I would find Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird and tell her how much I love the book and have her sign a copy for me. And then try to explain in my sometimes inarticulate way why my favorite quote in the book is when Atticus Finch says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” On to the cheating part, I would also want to sit on a porch, somewhere in Georgia and drink sweet tea with Flannery O’Connor. I’d tell her that I have Lupus. The first thing I thought about when I was given that diagnosis was her, “I thought Lupus just like Flannery O’Connor” and that made me smile. I’m not sure why - perhaps that’s the southern gothic writer in me.

4. I’d use my time machine to go back to my early twenties and do those years over again. This time with a lot more confidence and wisdom and a lot less heartache and drama. I’d be more appreciative of good health and good friends. I would definitely love myself more the second time around and above everything I would not have spent all of my twenties in love with the wrong men. I’d live as a twenty something with a thirty something’s sensibilities.

5. I’d like to talk to Martin Luther King Jr. and ask him if we were living his dream. I’d ask him why we seemingly have made so much progress and yet there are days when I feel the approaches to racism/ discrimination have changed but not the underlying foundation which is hate. I’d tell Dr. King that racists, some racists of today have indeed traded in their white hoods and robes for congressional seats. Jim Crow laws have been replaced with institutional racism. I’d tell Dr. King that in one speech he was able to accomplish something that most of us wouldn’t be able to do in several lifetimes. I’d tell him that I have never been able to get through his “I Have A Dream” speech without tears in my eyes and hope in my heart and I’d say thank you for that.

6. It should come as no surprise that number six would be to meet Barack Obama. I would love to shake his hand and tell him that he is the personification of a dream for many people including myself. I’d tell the president that I am praying for him that strength and wisdom be with him. I would tell him how hurt I feel inside by the way something so inspiring and wonderful that happened in our country is tearing us apart at the seams. I’d tell the president to please never give up on hope, change and optimism. Those things that he gave back to us that inspired us to go out and vote in droves. I’d tell the president that for all the people that don’t believe in him there are millions of people all over the world that do. I would ask the president to remember that these same people or groups of people didn’t think MLK was worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize he won a few decades ago. Now all these years later they are saying the opposite as if that some how justifies the belief that you don’t deserve yours. I would tell the president that my dad always tells me that, “to whom much is given, much is required.”

7. For number seven, I’d have to say that meeting Anderson Cooper, the silver fox, is my next dream. I must admit that prior to hurricane Katrina I had no knowledge of Anderson Cooper. During that time my television stayed on CNN and thus my one sided love affair with Anderson began. I have never in my life been so touched by a reporter’s coverage of any story. That is not to say that I’ve never been moved but not at the level that Anderson Cooper touched me with his reporting in New Orleans. When he attempted to talk about the carnage that surrounded him in Louisiana and how much it was affecting him his voice cracked due to genuine tears and human emotion, Anderson has a fan for life in me. I love Cooper’s modest personality and how he seems truly oblivious to how great he is. It was a year or two before I even learned that his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt. How does one maintain such modesty when your mother is a Vanderbilt? Whatever the secret Anderson has mastered it. Being a fan and admirer of Cooper, I will read anything about the man in an effort to learn any and everything about him. I had no idea that he had suffered so many losses in his life but I think that might be why he is so good at reporting and connecting with people. I often say that I don’t believe anything unless I hear it from Anderson. This generally gets a laugh and that’s the intent but it is also sincerely how I feel. I speak of Anderson Cooper so often that my closest friends sometimes jokingly say, “why don’t you marry Anderson Cooper then?” I smile and say” given the right opportunity I just might.”

8. My dream job would be to be a television writer for either General Hospital or Grey’s Anatomy. The General Hospital dream would be a stretch and would pose a conflict of interest for me because I’d demand to do scenes with Maurice Bernard and Steve Burton; with me having creative control the show might be a little too much for daytime!

9. Since I am so close to number ten, I think I might just cheat here a little as well. One thing that I would love to do is be in Ellen’s studio audience just because she makes me laugh. I would love to be in Oprah’s studio audience because she makes me cry. One day I’d love to be at the finale of American Idol and hug Ryan Seacrest and pinch Simon’s cheeks. Oh I’d wish that night that Elton John would be one of the guest star performers so that I could meet him.

10. And finally for number 10, I want to find a way that surpasses all words and deeds to tell my mother how much she means to me and how much I appreciate her in my life. My mom has made many sacrifices for me so that Lupus is just a part of my life and not my life.