Some Days it’s The Little Things …

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Far Be it From Me to Be Serious, But ..

We need to do better, people!

Alec Baldwin is not my favorite person, nor is he the one I dislike the most. But he is a human being who just accidentally caused the death of a colleague. Whether there was negligence on-set, or whether he was goofing around and being stupid - we know he had no intention of hurting anyone.

Yet there it is on social media, people saying really repulsive things just to dunk on Baldwin because of his past statements about them or their opinions. It's gross. It is obvious from statements made and pictures published that Alec Baldwin is a man who is suffering right now.

Then there is the Laundrie family. We know Brian Laundrie killed Gabby Petito. We know that he is now dead as well. Yet the people who have been protesting outside his parent's house, are still out there yelling at them. Their son was just confirmed dead!

Regardless of whether they knew he killed Gabby, or knew where he ran off to, they are still parents and their child is dead. They could not have helped Gabby because she was already dead when Brian came home. But apparently people need somewhere to direct their rage.

We have gotten to a point I fear we may not be able to come back from, with the way we treat each other in this world. It is so sad.

I am not one of the politically correct, need safe spaces, speech is violence, kind of people. But can we show some kindness and some grace? Sometimes?

Conversation With a 4 Year Old

My 4 year old Granddaughter leans over and kisses me on the cheek.  

"I like your nipples." she says.

Me: "Those are moles, Honey."

4 yr old: "Oh."

(Yes, this did happen)

Was it Time for James Bond to Die?

I've heard that James Bond (SPOILER ALERT) dies at the end of the new Bond film, No Time to Die. From what I have heard about this movie, whether you liked the plot or the acting or any of it, there is no disputing this was not the James Bond Ian Fleming created in 1952.

Nope, he was not politically correct, not up to today's standards, and even Sean Connery's personal life was known to be a bit controversial. But because someone somewhere decided to bring Bond up to date instead of creating a new spy franchise, seems lazy to me, there was no way he could survive that makeover. No doubt Connery would have been horrified and had something colorful to say about it. 

James Bond no longer smoking, no longer a chauvinist, womanizing, sexy, spy, settled down with one woman with a child? For those of us who will always consider Sean Connery to be the real 007, this one had been well, essentially neutered.

Seems to me the ending of this film was fitting because the original James Bond would not have wanted to live that way and pretty sure I wouldn't want to watch him that way either.

Come at me Bro!

Late last week TMZ managed to spot Steve Perry outside The Ivy in L.A. having lunch, and filmed him from their tour bus. Who knew TMZ had a tour bus?

Anyway, once the video was published many fans were thrilled to get a glimpse of their elusive,
favorite singer. Fans like me. Others, were not kind. And to that I say - WTF Internet????

Steve has had a long and complicated career. He has been out in front in Journey and on 3 solo albums over the years. He has been very reclusive as well, for years and years at a time. He has had many looks and is somewhat famous for his hair - second only to his fabulous voice and music. Okay third, there is also his song writing. 

To many he is also known for his love of and graciousness to his fans. There are so many pictures out there of him posing with fans, and also photos and videos of him signing all kinds of things, even when it is obvious the 'fan' is going to turn around and sell his signature.

He's a good guy, and does good things with his time and money.

Over the years just like his hair has changed, so has his weight. He was rail thin when he joined Journey, and is usually fairly slim. But sometimes, like most of us, he has put on a few pounds. SO WHAT??? And omg in the TMZ video it revealed that he has let his hair go gray.

OH THE HUMANITY!!!

I have been hoping he would do that, actually. Super dark hair on someone who is older never looks natural, no matter what super duper salon you go to. It's not a great photo because it's a screen cap but to me he looks happy, and relaxed. That is important these days with the world on fire all around us.

Some people were saying that isn't him in the video, that it doesn't look like Steve Perry. The man is 72 years old, people! He has been aging all along, even if we don't see him very often it doesn't mean he has stayed 30 years old and untouched by time. If he had, people would be clamoring for his secret, for sure, and I would be at the head of that line.

What's funny to me is, any time he has put on weight he has always lost it again, so this is actually not new for him. I suspect he is very much in control and consciously decides to not watch his diet sometimes but when he feels the need he jumps back on the healthier road and takes care of business. And if he wants to dye his hair again (hope not) that will take an hour. 

Honestly though, why the hell does he have to fit some ideal for US? Let him be who he is. He has given us so much wonderful music and while we are always waiting for more, seriously, he doesn't owe us a thing, and that includes looking a certain way for us. 

So I am here to defend him. 

Next person who says anything unkind about him is gonna hear from me - like - we can take it outside if need be! Come at me, Bro! (Says the 62 year old gray haired woman) 

Be kind. 

And here, enjoy some of the many faces of Steve Perry, below, and the very first song he wrote with Neal Schon after joining Journey.

I Have One Question …

WHY?

Why NOT Gray Hair??

A friend of mine was horrified when I told her I was keeping my gray hair. My hair is short and the color had grown out enough where I just had the dyed hair cut off. "No!" She exclaimed. "Don't give up!" As if I had suddenly thrown in the towel on caring about myself or how I looked. Ummm... 

Nope.

Jane Fonda was recently celebrated for going gray, Andie MacDowell made headlines when she showed up at Cannes with gray streaked hair, and fans made memes of Steve Carell expressing how much they loved it when he went gray. So brave! So pretty! So handsome! Blargh.

WTH!?!? A lot of us regular folks out here have been living our lives and letting our natural hair shine through for years, and this is what we get? No! Don't give up??? Certainly nothing about being brave.

I get it, they live their lives in front of cameras and their living depends a lot on how they look. But holy cow the difference between "us and them" is stark sometimes.

By the way, Jane Fonda was quoted as saying she had only just started seeing gray hair on her head the year before she went totally gray at .. ahem .. 82. Even Jane isn't a good enough actress to make that statement believable. 

For gosh sakes, people! Grow up! I mean - it happens to all of us.

If we're lucky.

And about that name ....

My name is BetteJo. Think Petticoat Junction. It's not Bet - like Bette Midler pronounces her name, it is not Betty, and it is not Jo. It is BetteJo. Whether I like the name or not is a different story, but it is mine, either way.

Apparently that is very difficult for some people, and I know I have written about this before. How for 25 years I called myself BJ at work in an effort to stop people from making my name something it wasn't. Isn't. Some people call me Beej. That's fine as it combines both components of my first name. 

These days if I call myself BJ, people are way more apt to imply I call myself that after some special talent I have which is - I mean - who would do that?? Probably not a woman of let's say - a certain age. 

So BetteJo it is. 

Or not.

For the last 10 years or so apparently I have become Hispanic. Or Latino. Latina? Or Latinx. Whatever way you want to say it, people have completely changed the ethnicity of my name because of the changing population in the U.S. And it makes me laugh. Every. Single. Time.   

At a doctors office someone will poke their head out the door and look around the waiting room, completely skipping over this totally white bread woman with gray eyes and tentatively say ...           

"Buh-tay-ho?"

                                                                                                              

Yes, really.

I see how they get there, I do put the Bette and the Jo together, and if what they are looking at is all one case without a capital J in there - the J turns into an H (in their minds) and I turn a different ethnicity. 

So if you must screw up my name, and some people just can't seem to help it, please make me Hispanic. It's the only version of my name being messed up that makes me laugh. Always!!