"…but my money was on Kimbo."

My mom took us to the library weekly.  I really looked forward to checking out new books.  The Adventures of Flicka, Ricka and Dicka were my favorite books to read.  The girls were blond haired blue eyed triplets from Sweden who had nice domestic adventures.  I loved the illustrations as much as the stories, beautifully colorful pages.

I recall a children’s book that I never forgot but I don’t remember the name of it.  In a part of the story (written from the child’s point of view), the family was at the table for breakfast.  The mother served the dad scrambled eggs.  When the dad ate the eggs he ate some egg shell.  He went into a rage, yelled at the mom and told her to get out of the house. Does anyone recall this book?  I promise this is not a repressed childhood memory.

After the Rocky Road shoot, the crew takes the big spoon to Naples…

Hey Mr. wOw!  Love your column.  You and I will be childish together on this one.  I’m not crazy about Cameron either.  The whole "Avatar" thing was ill-fated on many levels.  First, the name Avatar is associated with a great Nickelodeon cartoon (one of my personal favorites).  Second, the battle over the "Avatar" name in court with N. Night Shyamalan settled Cameron as the victor.  The Cameron movie like you said, doesn’t seem very interesting.  Third, Shyamalan’s movie now called "The Last Airbender" instead of "Avatar, The Last Airbender" is rife with controversy over the absence of Asian actors.  The cartoon takes generous liberties from Asian cultures, but the live action movie doesn’t have one Asian actor. 

So my pre-pubescent thought is that Cameron would have had better success if he had used another name for the movie. 

I’m told that I’m photogenic, however I usually shrink away from the camera.  In the past, I used to think that it was weird to see myself in a photo or video.  I sympathize with actors who never see their complete performance in a movie.  But lately I’ve been using the camera to reclaim my confidence since losing all of my scalp hair to alopecia totalis last year.  I’ve taken photos of myself bald and posted them on a support group website.  

There’s a Dove soap commercial that emphasizes the need for girls to have a healthy self-esteem.  At the poignant end of the commercial a little girl says, "I promise to see myself as a beautiful person."  Thanks in part to the camera, I can too.

You’re so kind Patty!  Sisterly compassion is so heartwarming.

You have given me a gracious compliment Lauriate; thank you!  I wasn’t trying to be provocative.  I’ve talked about my interactions with young women who are victims of abuse as part of my work.  I may have vaguely alluded to my own story of abuse.  This question was a good opening to share I guess.  Unfortunately, many women can relate to some form of abuse.  I’m so thankful that I managed to survive that period and reclaim my life. 

Thank you for the compliment Chips!  I wish I could have said a car (like everyone else), but my first vehicle was given to me a family member.

It’s a complicated story that I appreciate you wanting to know Lauriate.  I married at 19 to a man who went from being verbally to physically abusive. To make a long story short, I separated from him (at 24) and he began to stalk me.  I bought the gun for my protection after talking it over with my family and getting properly permitted.  The divorce was final over a year later after we separated, but I never felt safe during that time.   Also during that time, I began training to become a law enforcement officer; I’m still with the force now 20 years later.  That purchase of the weapon was a somber one for me,  I never wanted to have to use it and thank God I didn’t.  As far as the purchase itself, I was really lucky to find a firearm of that caliber at a pawn shop.  I didn’t think about running a trace on it until I was about two years into service with my agency.  Fortunately it came back clean.

My first (real) adult purchase was a Glock 17 automatic firearm.  I bought it at a pawn shop for $210.  I was 24 years old.

Preparing for rain on the Bullet Train.

For months we have been asking in our house *Is Michael Jackson still dead?*

That’s interesting Katherine because when I was a kid, we asked the same thing about Elvis.

I’m not running out to get a ticket either Mr. wOw.  But the music in theatre surround sound should be fantastic—dancin’ in the seats good!

Happy Hall O’Ween!!

No one.  I keep those thoughts to myself.