The Queen

Over the weekend, we went to see the film, RESPECT, with friends.  In case you don’t follow movies, it is a biopic of the life of Aretha Franklin starring Jennifer Hudson.  Now, I love rhythm and blues, what we used to call soul music.   Not only did my years in college coincide with the explosion of Motown, in my junior year I joined Beta Sigma Gamma, the first inter-racial fraternity at the University of Connecticut.  As I used to say, almost half of my fraternity brothers were brothers.  I started my junior year listening to the Beach Boys but ended it listening to The Supremes, The Temptations and yes, Aretha Franklin.  So naturally, I really enjoyed RESPECT, filled as it was with Jennifer Hudson’s amazing renditions Of Aretha’s music.  As a film, it was good but a little long … still I learned a lot about Aretha’s often difficult life.  Reading RESPECT: Hollywood vs. History at home after the movie, I discovered that the film understated the ways in which her father and first husband controlled her life and career.

Monday Smiles – 7/6/2015

I have a busy day ahead of me, at least I think I do.   I know I have a phone interview in about an hour with a potential client for my services as an expert in sonar and there is some work that needs to be done on my company’s sole project.  My office is a mess and often what is going on in my brain reflects the clutter in my office.  Today, I clean up the latter and make some progress on the former.  I have written my Morning Pages, prayed a bit and read from the four daily readers I use each morning (not quite daily, however).   I am doing what I like to refer to as getting back on the rails, Older Eyes code for getting back to a disciplined life.  Not one of my strong suits.   If I had a dollar for every time I’ve gone off the rails, I could give away my IRAs.  The point is, I don’t think I have the time this morning to be very creative with Monday Smiles, so instead, I’ll offer something that made me smile this weekend.

Friday Favorites 10/12/2012

I began my college career at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, convinced by an over-zealous guidance counselor that I should opt for the name engineering school instead of the University of Connecticut.  One year later, when the scholarships ran out, so did I, registering at Uconn for my sophomore year.  I’d like to say that it was a brilliant decision based on a thorough analysis of the situation, but in truth, my best friend was transferring to UConn, too, and we wanted to room together.   However, it was a decision that would affect my life positively in many ways, big and small.  This week’s Friday Favorite involves one of the small ones.