Patrick Swayze's Life Dance ♥

♥ Book of the Season! Patrick Swayze and his wife Lisa Niemi's autobiography written right before he passed, called, The Time Of My Life.  Check it out on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, or your local library!

♥ Life tells a story in various ways, be it written in print or written in dance. Enjoy this breath-taking vid of Patrick Swayze and his wife, Lisa. Miss him so much, as I know, Lisa, his wife of 30+ years does!

♥ Consider making a vid of what you like to do as a hobby! Catch yourself in action!

You might want to scroll to the bottom of this page and turn off the Play list in order to hear the vid better. Clk on the upper icon on the Play list! Thanks!

Copyright © 2008-2010 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Pat and Alan Wilbourn Still Dancing ♥

I thought I'd share this wonderful vid of my precious friends, Pat and Alan Wilbourn, who danced their memories right into Heaven on Christmas Eve.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SIDEBAR, ON THE RIGHT, AND CLICK THE MIDDLE UPPER ICON ON MY PLAYLIST TO TURN IT OFF SO THAT YOU MIGHT BETTER HEAR THIS LOVELY MEMORY ON VIDEO.

Copyright © 2008-2010 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Extraordinary Measures

For certain, I made a memory this week. But not just any memory, but one that my great grandchildren will hear about for certain!  I won tickets to see a private elite screening of the upcoming movie, Extraordinary Measures, starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser, and Keri Russell. 

Along with tickets to the screening was the "bucket list" opportunity to get to greet and meet one of my fave actors, Harrison Ford. Suffice it to say, I must be, as one friend described, starstruck! Days later, can you believe I'm still wearing the band that allowed us into the screening with Mr. Ford? Oh my. And, for certain, I'm still reliving meeting him eye to eye, face to face, smile to smile. What a class act he is.

Mr. Ford is not only starring in this film, he is producing it as well. As a matter of fact, this will be his premiere production. So he can add this to his multiplicity of accomplishments, such as being an accomplished pilot and master carpenter, just to name a few. Geee, I do need new cabinets in my laundry room, and I have been looking for a good flight instructor.

But What's The Movie About?
Based on the true story and book, The Cure about John and Aileen Crowley, Extraordinary Measures unfolds a heart rending movie that will steal your heart. The Crowley's story is not an easy one to watch, yet they bring over the top inspiration to the audience. I highly recommend taking the time to go see this movie coming to your area in wide release on January 22, 2010.


EXtra Sites to Check Out!
Harrison Ford audio interview about the film. Take the time to listen to his audio. I think you'll get a better feel for the movie as well as the ♥ of Harrison Ford.
 
John and Aileen Crowley's personal website.
 
The book, The Cure.

****Remember, before viewing this clip, please go to the bottom of the page and turn off my playlist.

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Dancing Their Way Into Heaven ♥

Just want to take the time to honor a very special couple in our community, Pat and Alan Wilbourn, as well as Pat's mother, Kay Nelson. They were in a serious car accident on Christmas Eve that took their lives from this old earth.

Saying we'll miss them barely covers the surface of the loss we are experiencing. Yet, we are embracing the vast wonderful things they shared and taught us. May it be a challenge to us to take what we learned and live it out in our daily lives. ♥s

PHOTO: Taken from their blogsite. Pat and Alan were avid ballroom dancers/teachers.


Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

A Way With Words

My Newest Found Treasure of Words
I'm loving the radio program called A Way With Words . Maybe you, too, receive the program on one of your public radio stations.

Check out the website. They also have Pod casts available. I think you will be glad you found this treasure.

Who Might The Program Benefit?
Considering the majority of us struggle with the daunting rules of grammar, A Way With Words should be an added welcome to our weekly, if not daily diets.

The Hosts
English/grammar experts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett are the hosts. For certain, we will benefit from their casual and entertaining ability to help us understand the proper way to speak and write.

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

To Apostrophe Or Not To Apostrophe

Continuing on with a previous post concerning the daunting apostrophe, click here for another site that might be helpful in deciphering the English code!

Note that the apostrophe has not always been in the English language. Actually, it did not show itself until the 16th century; it came to us through the Latin and Greek and was used for the marking of lost letters. But it wasn't until the 19th century that the apostrophe was used to show possession. Source

So don't be discouraged if you struggle at times trying to diagnose your plural and possessive problems, with the English language/punctuation, of course.

Continue to practice and become more familiar with what is proper and what is not.

Too, remember that even the creme de le creme of English professors disagree. Factor that in with the changing of times and what has become acceptable and you will have great diversity on what is proper and what is acceptable. The 21st century gives much license to writing as you please. For some, that is what is called slaughtering the King's English.

It is this very thing that grabs people by the jugular, killing their incentive to write.

In my workshop, one of the first things I stress is that while I believe grammar is important, the correct use of it should never stop you from sharing your thoughts on paper. My goal is to provide a safe place for people to enter into the world of writing, and not so much the absolutes of grammar. The first step is to begin. Then concern yourself about editing.

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Good Bye, Mr. Analog, Thanks for the Memories!

More than one million homes will NOT be prepared today for the 60 year old analog TV to be forever in the achieves of history.

Coupons are available from the govt. if you need a converter box for your analog TV. Click here for more detail.

Writing Idea:

Why not take the time today to write about your first memory of watching TV. More than likely, it was analog. Was it in color? Were you the first or last in your neighborhood to purchase a TV? What was the program you watched first? Describe how you felt, using five senses. And a sixth, if you have one!

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Can We Find Fiction In Our Life Stories?

This month, I'm reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. (Kim Edwards)

Perhaps, you have seen the TV movie with Dermot Mulroney. If not, I would highly recommend renting or buying a copy.

No, it's not an autobiography, but elements of it are mirrored in our own lives.

We think we are incapable of delving as low as the father (David Henry) did in Ms Edwards story, but, yet, if we look closely, we might find a piece or two of him buried in our own souls.

If not, we certainly might imagine ourselves to be the divine redeemer Caroline (Dr. Henry's nurse) was for Phoebe (Henry's daughter with Down Syndrome).

Regardless, I would think we might find traces of regret and redemption in our own lives drawn in and through this fictional story by Ms Edwards.

Too, remember, it is advantageous to be an avid reader of many genres as it will serve to improve our own writing.

Writing Idea:

Have you every been abandoned by anyone? Or maybe you were the one who abandoned someone or something. Perhaps, you know of someone who has or was abandoned.

• Begin your draft.
• Describe your feelings using your senses.
• Tell the reader who, what, when, where, why, and how.
• Step away from your writing for a few hours or a day.
• Return with a fresh mind.
• Add or delete anything that seems to bog down what you are tyring to convey.
• Have a trusted friend to read and give you pointers.
• Review and decide if this is your final copy.
• Most of all, enjoy what you have learned about yourself while penning this heart-felt piece.

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Make Us Plural

Often, we find it difficult to know when to use an apostrophe. Remember, if a word is merely plural, you won't need an apostrophe. But if it's showing possession, then an apostrophe would be appropriate. However, even that can be tricky. So goes the English language.

Just as a tip to begin with, if you can place the word "of" and it make sense, often that means you need to show an apostrophe. Example: The dog's hair is uncontrollable. The hair of the dog is uncontrollable. Or you could say, The uncontrollable hair belongs to the dog. Both would show the dog's possession of uncontrollable hair.

How would you make the following surnames plural? Not possessive, but plural. Test yourself and find the answers at the end of this article.

1. Samples
2. Warren
3. Loy
4. Drox
5. Manly
6. Granger
7. Knight
8. Cross
9. Noble
10. Panara

Plural spellings of names-proper nouns/people: Which of the following are correct?

1. Griffith: Merry Christmas from the Griffith’s

2. Williams: Merry Christmas from the Williams’

3. Griffiths: Merry Christmas from the Griffiths

4. Williams: Merry Christmas from the Williamses

5. Griffiths: Merry Christmas from the Griffiths’

6. Williams: Merry Christmas from the Williamses’

ANSWER: Only numbers three and four are correct.

• The first two examples are wrong for two reasons. First, the apostrophe makes the names possessive, and when we send family greetings, the greetings are from us, not from something we possess. The names “Smith” and “Williams” would need to be in the possessive case only if the greetings were from Will Smith’s dog or Bryan Williams’s horse (singular possessive).


• Second, they are wrong because they are singular. The greeting is supposed to be from the entire family, not from an individual. Yet when we place the apostrophe where it is in examples one and two, we have made a singular word possessive instead of making it plural.


• Another example: If their last name was William. It would be, The Williams wish you a Happy Day. Plural possession would be: Mr. William's dog wishes you a Happy Day!

Note: Though it is not acceptable in all codes of proper grammar, you may see adding an apostrophe to a name that ends in s for plural possession. Example: Charles' dog is barking. More acceptable in grammar is: Charles's dog just stopped barking.

Numbers three and four are correct because in both cases the words are plural but are not made possessive. To form the plural of any name that does not end in s or another sibilant (more on sibilants below), we simply add an s. Thus the name "Griffith" becomes Griffiths.

"Williams" is a little tougher because it ends with an s.

Names (and all other words, for that matter) that end with the sounds s, sh, ch, z, or x (what we call sibilants) are made plural by the addition of es. Thus, the name “Williams” in its plural form is "Williamses".

Here are some examples. These names end in sibilants and are thus made plural by adding es:

Happy Easter from the Bushes (plural form of the name Bush).

Happy Easter from the Churches (plural form of the name Church).

Happy Easter from the Joneses (plural form of the name Jones).

Happy Easter from the Foxes (plural form of the name Fox).

The following surnames do not end in sibilants and are thus made plural simply by adding s:

Happy holidays from the Johnsons (plural form of the name Johnson).

Happy holidays from the Chadleys (plural form of the name Chadley).

Happy holidays from the Terrys (plural form of the name Terry).

NOTE: Do NOT drop the "y" and add "ies" to proper names.

Easier Option!
Of course, after all this detail, another option would be to avoid both the plural and the possessive by writing “Happy Easter from the Bush family".

At another time, we may discuss situations in which the apostrophe should be used with names in order to show possession. But for now, remember that when greetings are from the entire family, the name needs to be plural, not possessive.

****I revised some of the above by changing names, and grammar that was incorrect from the original site.

Click here for source

Also, click here for the legit site called Get It Right.

Answers To First Quiz
1. Samples: The Sampleses
2. Warren: The Warrens
3. Loy: The Loys
4. Drox: The Droxes
5. Manly: The Manlys
6. Granger: The Grangers
7. Knight: The Knights
8. Cross: The Crosses
9. Noble: The Nobles
10. Panara: The Panaras

Click here for a link that will be helpful as well.
Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man!

Currently, I'm reading Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man by Steve Harvey.

Some of you may remember Steve Harvey from various films like The Fighting Temptations. He keeps you smiling. My hub cracks up laughing at Mr. Harvey's wit no matter how many times we watch that movie.

So obviously, he brings his keen and unique sense of humor onto/into the pages of this fun read. Accompanied with it is a sense of realness and sincerity. What more could you ask as a reader?

Remember how we have talked about humor playing a serious role in writing well? Well, Mr. Harvey is an excellent example for us in learning how to write something that grabs the attention of the audience.

Check these out on Amazon.com!

While this is not an autobiography, Mr. Harvey clearly shares his thoughts and snapshots of his personal life. So in some ways, there is an autobiographical sense to it. Perhaps, it's autobiographical "license".

I do enjoy sharing non-fiction books with you besides autos. And most of you have made it clear that you want a spectrum of choices in book suggestions.

So this is a freebie! Enjoy. At least take a look "inside" the book on Amazon. Remember your local library gives you great opportunity to read without your credit card. Minus the gasoline it took you to get there! Can you believe the prices?

Which makes for a good lead into an intriguing story: I Remember When Gasoline Was $.25 a Gallon. Well, some of you barely made it into the 20th century, so you won't be able to relate. Why not write a story about the time you ran out of gasoline. Or the time you were late for some grand event because someone else ran out of gasoline! Or the story you told your parents about why you were late getting home. Uh huh. Or was that the flat tire excuse?

Well, how did we get on this subject? I think it's called brain storming, which comes with my "package"!

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

Happy 50, Barbie!

Happy 50, Barbie! For more on this, please go to my Pilates/Health blog at www.pilatesworks4life.com!!!

Book and Author of the Month!
What I want to highlight here is the biography written about Barbie's "mom", Ruth Handler. The title is Barbie and Ruth The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her by author, Robin Gerber, Published by Collins Business, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2009.

I have not read all of Ms Gerber's book, but am on my way! Let me know what you think!!!!

For an AARP interview with Ms Gerber, click here!

The 50 year old Barbie photo was designed by a Brazilian artist. He was creating what he thought she might look like had she aged naturally, according to AARP (3/2009)

Amazon Books carries this book.
Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

The Anatomy of an Author!

Needing to be more advanced on how the body works, we took off yesterday to the Dallas Museum of Arts to hear award winning author David Macaulay.

Of course, you know my mind was ready to dive into the anatomy of David Macaulay. Well, not exactly. The anatomy of his book.

Mom, on the other hand was there with her age old curiosity ready to pounce into Macaulay's lecture.

Fortunately, they actually had headphones that worked for her!!! And naturally, we started out with the vol. on "high". Until Mom bellowed out in a sea of quiet (the lecture in process), "That's TOO LOUD!!!!"

Heads turned, including ours as we pretended we didn't know who that ill mannered woman was. Of course, I'm joshing.


With Mouths Open
The lecture began and Mom sat there with her usual stance: her mouth hanging open. I don't know how much of it she retained, but I'm sure more than we did.
Did I mention Macauley is a genius? To say the least. He's amazing, at 62. Brilliant. Some say majestic, to which he chuckles in disbelief. For sure, he is unpretentiously humble. Refreshing.

He is also a winner of the 1991 Caldecott award (Black and White), along with many other prestigious invitations. How I remember Caldecott. I had to read all of them when I was in my undergrad program. In no way am I saying I agree with all the views of Caldecott or the medal award winning books. But some of them are worth taking a gander into.

Face-2-Face Anatomy

As you can see, we landed in the book-signing lane. Mr. Macauley was as delightful in person as he was at a distance.

I mentioned to him that I had great respect for what he had accomplished with his book, The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body, because of my anatomy work in Pilates. His eyes deepened in thought as he turned to meet mine and said, "You know, I was told when researching for this book that I should learn Pilates, but I just didn't have the time." He encouraged me as he concluded, "But I know Pilates is an amazing way to learn about your body."

I couldn't escape recommending he choose a qualified Pilates instructor! With an educated certainty, he agreed. See you in the studio, David!!!

Then we were off to Mom's fave place: that would be any restaurant where there is food.

While there we not only had great food, but great entertainment: In the bathroom.

More on that another post...coming up soon!

Check out the website above for more info on Mr. Macaulay and Caldecott Books. I think you will find them both interesting, if nothing else.

NOTE: Article on Macaulay in Dallas Morning News (01/25/09); click on names above for webites on Caldecott and Macaulay.

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

History In The Making

The 44th inauguration for the 43rd President of the United States. What sentiments do these different pix evoke?

PHOTOS: Taken with my IPHONE from ABC NEWS, 1/20/09.

• Young boy in prayer during the inauguration prayer.
• Dr. Rick Warren leads in prayer.
• Aretha Franklin sings Let Freedom Ring.
• Young boy looking on with hope for his tomorrows.
• Obama and his wife being sworn in with Abe Lincoln's Bible.
• And none other than Abe himself!

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

English As A FIRST Language???

Forget English as a second language, which by the way, I used to teach at a local college.

What about English as a FIRST language????

I used to tell my ESL students not to worry too much about English speaking Americans. After all, ESA's slaughter the King's English on a regular basis.

Example: Most people have difficulty with verb-noun agreement. You would think figuring out which word is a person, place, or thing and which one shows action would be fairly simple! But when you add to it trying to decipher whether it's a single or plural subject so that you can decide what verb would agree...then comes trouble.

And so the story goes.

Life Example: I was in an At&T store the other day. A young Asian lady suddenly corrected her grammar. Verb-noun agreement. I had to chuckle. I told her most Americans would have never caught that she said it wrong, much less said it correctly themselves! She giggled.

So to get to a simple start, take a stroll over to the side-bar. Check out the new gadget (English Self-Test). Some of it is voice activated, so you'll need to click on the upper left icon. Just for fun. Or is it?

The truth is English isn't the easiest language to master. And just when you think you have it figured out, someone goes and changes the rules! Welcome to the 21st century.

Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.

The King And I

What Can We Learn About Writing From the Previous Article?

We could write about historical events. Maybe not about Elvis' birthday, but we could write about how, if any, that he affected our personal lives. How he affected our culture. We could write about whether we remember what we were doing on the day he died. And how we were impacted.

With just these few ideas, let's look at an example of writing a story.

The King And I

I believe it was August 16, 1977. I was living at my mother's as I was separated from my husband. I recall working on a project in the back of the house, when I heard my little mother exclaiming, "Ellen, the king is dead. The king is dead!" I thought what king? And why is she so upset?

She continued as she was determined to get my audience. "Come quickly, Ellen!" Knowing my mom rarely got upset over anything, I ran down the hallway into the family room where she was watching TV. "Oh, Ellen, the king is dead." My thoughts: OK, I think I got that already!

"Mom, what king?" Her next words defaulted me into a blur for what seemed like eternity. "Elvis, the King of Rock n Roll."

Wasn't he too young? Yes, only 42, or 43. Wasn't he supposed to live forever? I mean he was bigger than life. Or so it seemed. How could this be?

Born To Die
Elvis Aron Presley, born January 8, 1934 to Gladys and Vernon Presley. He was a twin. Jessie Aron supposedly was the first born but died in birth. It was said that Elvis often commented that Jessie gave his life so that he, Elvis, might live.

We all know this little boy, who grew up in poverty became a phenom, a legend. He was given much too soon. How could any of us handled the fame and fortune he was either blessed with or cursed with?

I for one, will not be pointing my fingers at the choices he made. But for the grace of God there go I. I don't know that I would have fared as well as he did. Power does strange things even to the best of people, does it not?

Yes, the end of the story was really in Elvis' own hands. He made the choices. And in ways, it was as though he wanted to die. Was he tired? Was he disillusioned? Was he out of control? Was he still a little boy struggling to find his way to manhood? Was he still not settled from the loss of his beloved mother? Was his prestige too high a price to pay? Yes, I would think to all of the above.

What did he leave behind? Distraught fans. A legacy of music. History made time and time again. Bu mostly, I think, the greatest loss was leaving a lost, forlorn, and confused little girl, his precious Lisa Marie, to unravel the drama that had been played out before her.

Yet, Another King in my Life Tragically Dies
In that, I am reminded of my own loss as a young girl. My daddy's sudden death. I'm reminded as well that I, Ellen Marie, as well as Lisa Marie was a "Daddy's little girl". While my pain was not the same as Lisa Marie's, I do understand not being able to get my mind, my arms around my daddy being gone, not for a day, but forever. I do relate to Lisa Marie's odd behavior, her moodiness, her rebellion, her sad eyes. I do.

Death is a strange thing. We all have to do it. It is as much a part of life as birth is. Yet, it takes us deeper into our souls than anything we can experience. We don't like it. We don't talk about it. We run from it. Yet, it meets us everyday in some measure. Will we ever grow to embrace it?

It's been many years since that cold day in February of 1966, when I lost my daddy. But it's as if it were just moments ago. Daddy died. He left this earth. He left me. Without warning. Yet, what I grew to discover is that everything he ever taught me still remained. I could choose to trace his heart in my life. I could choose to allow his life to live on through me and my children. I think that is when life truly begins.

PHOTO: King Daddy and Ellen Marie when she was about three years old!Copyright © 2008 by Write Memories 4 Life. All rights reserved.