So much awesome.

So this happened last night.

Yep, I got to meet my long-time crush Billy Bob Thornton after a concert at the Franklin Theatre. What a great venue they have created for that place–we sat about 25 feet from the stage. After, the Boxmasters held a signing and I actually got to shake his hand and have a real 5 minute conversation with the man himself.

He was so gracious with his time. If he's not genuine then he's a better actor than I thought. (beaversandducks!)

As an aside, Mr. Thornton, this is the video trailer I told you about last night. I know someone who would love for you to be involved in this project!
Her documentary is called Raised in the South of Normal and is something I am definitely looking forward to seeing!



Anyway, this theater has been around for years. My family lived in Williamson County for most of my childhood and any movie that I saw, I saw in this theater. I saw Benji there when I was about 11 or so and I cried so hard my mom had to take me out and calm me down.

In the late 90s I went there for foreign films, and one ill fated trip to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Long story short we didn't KNOW they didn't want you to throw rice. Oops.) They tried to revive it as a venue space, added food to the menu, and a lot of other things.

This current redesign debuted in 2011 and has been met with much success by all accounts. I have attended several music shows there, as well as movies. The building is now a beautiful venue used as a very intimate setting for movies, music and theater. They have a bar in addition to the concession stand in the lobby and still retain the original charm of the building (like the balcony and theater seating) in addition to the modern upgrades (like bigger restrooms and cabaret style seating in the front).

My hometown in Kentucky has a theater left from the 20's and it is a beautiful space. A few years ago a resident put millions of dollars into restoring it to its former glory. However, no one has ever quite been able to grasp the concept of making it a multi-purpose venue. Since it was deeded over to the local Industrial Authority (because who is more creative than businessmen....not), it sits around empty most of the year and serves as a site for wedding receptions occasionally. Hopefully one day they will see the light, much as the folks did in Franklin, TN with this theater.

When it comes to live music I can't think of a better place to see a show. And we saw Budapest Hotel here a couple of years ago as a new release, majestic on the big screen. If you don't know about the Franklin Theater, check it out on their site at franklintheatre.com

About my dad.....

Today is Father's Day. I've written here in the past about my husband's father, who passed away in 2006. But I've never written about my own dad.

I love my dad very much. However, I have never felt especially close to him. I've always thought it was because of his old-fashioned views about women and my extremely liberal, modern view that we are as good as men. It caused a lot of issues between us and while I've often wondered, as someone who grew up in a family with a very WWII inspired family dynamic, how did I get to be who I am?

The biggest thing I remember about dad from my early childhood is that he just wasn't around a lot. True or not, that's how it seemed. He had a job that kept him on the road a lot. I remember my brother and I would snuggle in and sleep with mom in their huge king-sized bed while he was gone. We would be so disgruntled when he came home and we were kicked out back to our own beds!

But as an adult, I know that he was working to provide for the family and being a responsible dad. So this morning I was thinking, I wonder what else has caused distance between us because I, as a selfish child (lets face it all children are selfish), saw it as a negative. Many of these things, looking back as an adult, are really a positive and have made me who I am today.

My dad has always been a good provider. He was in sales, and he was damned good at his job. The man could sell ice in Alaska. He worked hard to provide for us and while we weren't wealthy by any means, I grew up for the most part in a middle class home. Well, back when there was such a thing. There were times when things were tough, but I know he always hustled to keep us fed, sheltered and clothed.

As a good provider, he set an example of how to be a hard worker. I don't remember a day ever in my childhood that my dad did not get up, put on a suit and tie and leave the house in the morning. This includes an extended period of unemployment in the late 1970's when things were less than ideal economically in our country. I don't know or need to know where he went every day, but I know he was out hustling to find a job. He was never one to sit around and wait for anything.

My dad was always a dreamer. He always had plans and ideas and wishes to make his (and by extension, ours) life better. He liked having nice things, nice cars, clothes, and homes. Though I know it was frustrating for my mom, ever the down to earth realist who had to reel him in, he was always looking for that pot of gold.

My dad is adventurous. He has always had a serious wanderlust and moved around like a gypsy most of his life, following his job or just his instinct. One of my earliest memories is of my mom, brother and me in my pajamas on the runway at the airport picking dad up from a business trip. He used to travel a lot and was gone a lot when I was little, but I know it was just part of earning a living for the family. And it taught me how to change and adapt and make new friends easily.

After he had to take early retirement around 60, I thought he'd wither away without somewhere to go every day. He found something to do part-time and within a few years started a business that has grown to epic proportions. It has provided him and mom with a retirement income that most people don't have, and more than that it has given him a purpose for getting up and going every day. He's now almost 85 and still running that business almost 20 years after it started.

My dad is good with people. He always has a smile, a joke, a story. It's part of what makes him good at sales. He truly enjoys being around people, visiting, joking and talking to them.

My dad knows how to bargain. This is a skill that I believe is getting lost in our culture, and one that I believe every parent owes it to their child to teach. I know how to bargain if I am in a situation to do so, and I don't hesitate to do it. We, as Americans, don't like to do it– we cringe at the thought and as a result are taken advantage of way too often.

I once bought a used Mercedes, offering the dealer $13,000 on a $16,500 pricetag. I called my dad proudly to tell him about my victory. “I got it for 13,200!” To which he replied, “Tsk. He would have gone to 13! If he could do 13,200 he could do 13.” That's the kind of no holds barred bargaining he enjoys, and he's much more bold about it than I am.

My dad was our fearless protector. He did anything and everything to help us out when we were kids. He was one of those dads who took up for us and stood up for us no matter what. And now that we're adults I know we could still count on him.

My dad is a very old-fashioned man. Although sometimes that is a bone of contention for me as a very modern woman and someone who has always believed in women's equality (I honestly don't know WHERE I got it from) I believe it is a virtue, in a way. Because it makes him who he is. He is the type of man who got up, got dressed and went to work every day to provide for his family. He took care of my mom and is her best friend. He took care of us, and still does in many ways.

The thing is, I have always believed that my dad and I were total opposites and that's why we didn't get along great. I always envied the "daddy's girls" that I knew. But only today do I realize that we are so much alike it's scary.

So, happy father's day to my dad, Jack Peyton. I love you very much and appreciate all you've done for me in my life. I know I can always, always count on you.

Climbing the Hill

Well, here we are. It is March 1st. How can time go by so quickly. The weather here in SoKY continues to be a rollercoaster despite the fact that iris, daffodills and lillies are poking up through the ground already. Yesterday I was up early. Despite the fact that it was 60 outside, it was storming like crazy and pouring rain. Today, it is beautiful and sunny, but only 45.

Yesterday I pulled on my rain boots and grabbed my umbrella to trudge up the hill to class in the pouring rain. I had not been looking forward to doing it, and sure enough the water was washing down the hill in a mini river at my feet. I was so glad I had opted for my green plaid rain boots, despite how ridiculous I looked in them. They kept my feet warm and dry. The hill I have to climb for class is steep. Hubby thinks at least a 30 degree slope. I have found that in order to make it all the way up without passing out, I have to take my time and climb it slowly. My breathing still comes faster, and my heart still pounds, but if I just take it one step at a time, at least I don't feel like I want to pass out when I get to the top. I don't feel lightheaded.

Every day once I get to the top of that hill, I stop at the corner to catch my breath. I don't like the younger kids to see me gasping and wheezing. After that first day when I almost passed out, each time has gotten easier. I have gotten to the point that I actually look forward to it, and just park at the bottom of that big hill without trying to find something closer. Although I am cursing myself the entire way up, when I get to the building I just stand there at the top of that hill and congratulate myself for making it. And for feeling just the least bit better about it than the last time.

Yesterday as I stood there I noticed something else. The college-aged kids who were climbing that hill? They were breathing as hard as I was. I hadn't noticed that before. I stood and watched several of them walk up from the area in which I had parked. They walked slowly, like me. They panted and struggled to breathe, like me. But when they got to the top? They just kept on walking. Some of them are dropped off in cars at the corner by friends, or parents, or the shuttle.

Standing on the stone steps yesterday, watching these kids struggle up that hill, this thought occurred to me: There are times in life when everything is a downhill walk. Everything is rolling so fast it's easy to let things, good or bad, slip away from me. Sometimes I feel as though I am on level ground, and everything is running smoothly. Nothing exciting, just life as normal. Then there are the times I have to climb that hill. It ain't easy. I don't want to. I have to. I consider the options. I consider how to get out of it. I try to park closer, I think of taking the shuttle, the easy way out. But in the end I know the hill will make me strong. The hill will get me to my goal. It's painful, but I am no less likely to make it to the other side than the young kids are.

The difference of wisdom that comes with age? I stand at the top of the hill and appreciate the journey. Appreciate the fact that I made it to the top once more time. Appreciate the fact that I posessed the energy required to get me here. I am smack in the middle of climbing a big hill in life right now. Smack in the middle of some seriously uphill circumstances. They aren't the worst I have faced, but they are frustrating nonetheless. Every day I feel worn out from puffing and panting my way up the hill. Everyday I fight feeling defeated about facing yet another day up the hill. But I keep trudging on, looking back, and appreciating everything and everyone at the end of each day. And looking forward to the downhill walk back to my car.

And now for something completely different...


A friend of mine from a very, very long time ago is celebrating today, and I just wanted to give him a shout out. Christopher Rowe's long-awaited first novel is being released today and I know he's terribly excited. I am putting a link here to the novel on Amazon simply to showcase the cool cover art. Don't hesitate to purchase while you're there. 


I don't read SF/Fantasy much (not at all actually) but it's exciting to know a real, live published author.  For those of you who do read it, I am sure this novel will not disappoint. It's a Forgotten Realms/WOTC novel that he's been working on for a while so if you're into D&D check it out.


I know I would be over the moon happy if it were me. Well, I will be WHEN it is me. Anway...


Congrats, Christopher. So happy for you! And don't forget I knew you when...