As the Beatles Say…

“It was 20 years ago today…”

In the week of July 14, 1990, the following happened:

After meeting with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev reluctantly gives his blessing to a united Germany in NATO, stressing that a united Germany must choose its alliance. President George Herbert Walker Bush welcomed Gorbachev’s change of position. Removing the last big obstacle to a single German state, Poland declares itself “entirely satisfied” with firm new border guarantees. Reunification is expected to come December 2 with all-German elections. President Mikhail S. Gorbachev orders the immediate diversification of the Soviet Union’s state-run radio and television system, so that all political movements will have access to the airwaves, ending the Communist Party’s monopoly.

In news closer to my neck of the woods:

Cincinnati native and baseball star Pete Rose is sentenced to five months in prison and fined $50 thousand for cheating on his taxes. Rose failed to report $354 thousand in income from baseball memorabilia sales autograph appearances and from monies made from gambling, for which he was banned from baseball.

Bestselling books include:

Coyote Waits – Tony Hillerman

The Burden of Proof – Scott Turow

Message From NAM – Danielle Steel

The Stand – Stephen King

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An Inconvenient Woman – Dominick Dunne

Dave Barry Turns 40 – Dave Barry

Men At Work – George F. Will

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton – Edward Rice

Barbarians At The Gate – Bryan Burrough/John Helyar

Top albums include:

I’m Breathless – Madonna

Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em – M.C. Hammer

Poison – Bell Biv DeVoe

Pretty Woman – Soundtrack

Wilson Phillips – Wilson Phillips

Step by Step – News Kids on the Block

Violator – Depeche Mode

Soul Provider – Michael Bolton

Brigade – Heart

Shut Up and Dance – Paula Abdul

I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got – Sinead O’Connor

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And playing at the movies:

Die Hard 2 – Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, John Amos

Ghost – Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg

Days Of Thunder – Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman

Disney’s – The Jungle Book (reissue)

Ford Fairlane – Andrew Dice Clay

Quick Change – Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid, Jason Robards

Dick Tracy – Warren Beatty, Madonna

Total Recall – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Another 48 Hours – Edie Murphy, Nick Nolte

The Jetsons

Robocop – Peter Weller

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Navy Seals – Charlie Sheen, Michael Biehn, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Bill Paxton

Pretty Woman – Richard Gere, Julia Roberts

Betsy’s Wedding – Alan Alda, Molly Ringwald

Thanks to Mr. Pop History for that walk down memory lane.

July 14 is also Bastille Day, named for the storming of the Bastille prison that marked the beginning of the French Revolution. So, for all my French readers and fans of all things French, “Vive la France!”

Most important to me, however, is that July 14 marks the day that I made the most important commitment of my life. It’s the day I got all dressed up in a frilly white gown, rode to the church in a horse-drawn carriage, walked down the aisle on the arm of my tuxedo-clad father, and married my best friend. Several things stand out in my mind about that evening: it was warm, but it wasn’t stifling hot like I expected it to be; the priest presiding over the ceremony had a broken arm; I giggled when I saw there were gnats in my bouquet of silk flowers; the overwhelming feeling of gratitude and love I had when I saw so many of my friends and family in the congregation; looking at the sparkling diamonds on my finger after we exchanged rings, dazzled and amazed; kissing my new husband while flashes went off all around us. It was a beautiful ceremony, a loud, fun reception, and a wonderful honeymoon on the East Coast.

It was 20 years ago today. And it was the start of the best years of my life.

My husband is still my best friend. He’s the one I think of first whenever something exciting happens, or when I need someone to console me. He’s a great listener, a fixer, a get-it-done kind of guy, with a wicked sense of humor and killer blue eyes. He’s a wonderful father to our two boys; he’s an amazing writer, musician, thinker, and partner. He has sacrificed so many of his own dreams for our family, and I couldn’t be more grateful to him for that.

I hope someday I can help him to realize the dreams he has yet to achieve. I hope that, when our boys are out of school and off on their own, we can travel, see the places we’ve dreamed about, and maybe retire in a nice little cottage by the sea or a lake. I hope that we both live to be very old and healthy as horses so we can continue to appreciate our lives and each other. I hope that we’ll have grandchildren and great-grandchildren to cherish, but that we’ll always put each other first in our lives.

Happy 20th anniversary, Keith. I cherish you and the life we’ve built together. Let’s build some more, babe.
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categories Uncategorized | | datetime July 14, 2010 9:54 am | comments Comments (7)

Monday Message from Merlin 7-12-10

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Greetings to you all, fellow pilgrims on the Path of Light! I am Merlin, the Master Teacher of this one called Rose, my beloved companion in this lifetime. I come tonight from the world of Spirit, where there is love, peace, and blessings eternal. It has been many weeks since I have been given the opportunity to speak to you in this fashion, and I am pleased that Rose has found a few moments on this beautiful Monday evening to sit with me. It is often difficult for her to find the time. There are many obligations that often take precedence. This does not anger or annoy me–never think it! Your spirit teachers understand that you are human beings having a physical incarnation, and this means that you must contend with many challenges and many distractions that vie for your attention. But beloved, divine brothers and sisters, never neglect the connection you have to your own divine self! I am humbled to work with my beautiful Rose, and all of your own spirit teachers and loved ones feel the same way. We wish to be of service, now and always, and we wait patiently for you to call on us. We never feel neglected, but your own soul, your own spirit, needs nurturing so that it can continue to grow, blossom, and move further into the blessed Light of Understanding. This Light only comes when you are willing and able to connect regularly with your higher self and the Divine in meditation, contemplation, and prayer. It is never a bother to me, or to any of your spirit teachers, to work with you at any moment. We are ready, always, to assist you. All you need to do is make the effort to connect with us. It is a small task. And your connection to your own inner divine self is even more important! This must become a priority to you if you hope to advance, learn, and grow!

Let me give you an example. If you were injured, you would need to nurse your wounded body back to health. This may entail sitting or resting for extended periods of time to allow your body to mend. You would do this, would you not, because your health was at stake? Yes, of course you would! Now understand, beloved ones, that your spiritual health is also at stake! You must make time for this! You must make it a priority! It is vital to your evolution as a spiritual being. How can you expect to learn anything new, or to take further steps in your growth, if you never concentrate on this task? Does a houseplant grow into a beautiful tree if you do not water it or set its pot in sunlight? Of course not, and most of you would never neglect your plants! Why, then, is it acceptable to neglect your personal spiritual development, when your soul, your spirit, thirsts for knowledge and understanding? Do not abuse yourself this way, my dear friends! Do yourselves the justice and show yourselves the love you deserve by making the time, every day, to connect within yourself to Creator, and to sit in meditation with your teachers to bring you further in your enlightenment.

“But Merlin,” you may say–and yes, I hear you say it, even now!–“I have so many things to do. The children; the spouse; the parent; the job; the neighbor; the pet; the houseplant! These things must all take precedence over myself.” No, dear one–they take precedence because you do not love yourself enough to put yourself first. It is all well and good to say, “Oh, I come first. I always make time for myself” as many in your culture and society do. But it’s quite another to actually promise yourself this time and to follow through on that promise. But, beloved souls, this is the only way that you can commune with the Divine on the most intimate, personal level possible, the means by which the Divine brings wisdom and illumination. Five minutes is enough if it is all you have, but thirty is better. Do not neglect yourself, your true self, that which is your soul, a moment longer. You are waiting!!

It gives me great pleasure, dear ones, to be of service to you in this way. I love you all and hope that my message tonight will help you to understand just how precious each of you are: to your guides and teachers; to all of your loved ones on the other planes of existence; to the bright angels that are the servants of humanity; but, most of all, to Creator, the Infinite Love that consumes and sustains us all.

I take my leave. I send you all blessings and wish you peace and infinite understanding in this great quest called life.

Merlin

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categories Uncategorized | | datetime July 12, 2010 4:58 pm | comments Comments (16)

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