This morning (after making my bed, brushing my teeth & pouring a cup of coffee), I sat down on the couch, woke up my sleepy laptop and opened my email.
I had several messages waiting for me (from Best Buy, Amazon & Verizon) and one sent to my gmail from an online friend. It was very brief & to the point. “Are you hibernating?”
I knew he was talking about the teepee here, and the lack of recent activity. I thought about it for a minute, how to respond (hmm...something clever but honest) then gave up & shut it down and decided to watch some tv instead. What can I say? It’s not like I’ve been in prison, or a coma. I didn’t bump shopping carts with my soul-mate at the market or quit my job & take off for parts unknown (though I admit I think about that one—a lot). No, I’ve pretty much been doing what I usually do this time of year—going to work, watching a lot of movies (have you checked out out my movie review page?) and wondering what my next meal is going to be.
Last week I made these tasty bbq rib sandwiches, and was compelled to post a picture of them on Facebook; it got over twenty responses!
Anyway, there’s no real excuse. And even if there was, who wants to hear it? (Two things that people tend to share but no one cares to hear are dreams “what do you think it means?” and weak excuses.) Earlier last week, my friend Erin and I were discussing our love for ‘The Big Bang Theory’, and where some of the cast got their start in show business. I said “Well, Johnny Galecki started on Roseanne…” and Erin said “Aw no, he was acting years before that. Don’t you remember him as Rusty in ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’?” I said “Wow, really? Never saw the movie.” Erin was actually taken aback. “Doog, you didn’t know that!? How is that even possible??” Easy answer. That’s a Chevy Chase movie, and I never thought the man was funny. In fact I have no problem saying I dislike him, so THAT’S my excuse and it’s a darn good one. Wow, I’m really just rambling on, aren’t I!?
On the other hand… sometime this past week (after Whitney Houston’s untimely passing), I was watching a piece about her on ‘Inside Edition’. They sure did a lot of praising her one moment and vilifying her the next. Then they mentioned her ‘history making’ rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ at the 1991 SuperBowl, and (God’s truth) I was clueless.
I’ve never seen it. Why is that? I’m not a football fan, but that’s no excuse—I’m sure it’s aired again somewhere since that ‘91 game. Maybe I was subconsciously blocking the memory of seeing it, I don’t know.
I have to admit, I’ve never been a Whitney Houston fan either. I never TRIED to be. I have a vague memory of her first music video on MTV in the mid-1980s, but all I remember was a lot of day-glo colors and what sounded like shouting more than singing. I’ve never listened to any of her music or seen any of her movies. I knew she had some type of reality show awhile back with her ex Bobby Brown, but what it was about or when it was on, I can’t say. (Hell, I didn’t even know she had a teenage daughter until this week!)
So getting back to the Superbowl song: I looked it up on YouTube last night, plugged in my earphones & sat here with goosebumps all over my arms for the entire rendition. AMAZING. I replayed it 3-4 times. I began clicking on her other videos (“How Will I Know”, “I Look to You”, “One Moment in Time”) and she really did sound wonderful, and while it hasn’t made me want to rush out and buy any of her albums, her voice DID move me. And I suddenly understood a little better, the real loss here. Not just for her family of course, but for everyone.
I can still remember sometime in the mid ‘80s, the day my sister Shawn came home from her job as a ‘shoe girl’ at our local Murphy’s. She was clutching a record album & said “Doug, do you know who this is?” Nope. At first I thought it was Vanessa Williams (who had been getting a lot of exposure recently over those nude pics in Penthouse, and losing her Miss America crown). Shawn said “No, this woman’s name is Whitney Houston, remember that name because she’s going to be big someday, I mean BIG like Barbra (Streisand) and you heard it from me first.”
It took me awhile, but I’m finally listening. Rest in peace, Whitney.
