Month of April 2022: Celebrity Profiles Audiobook (13 hrs) Read by brothers, Ron Howard and Clint Howard
The Andy Griffith Show is still one of my favoriMonth of April 2022: Celebrity Profiles Audiobook (13 hrs) Read by brothers, Ron Howard and Clint Howard
The Andy Griffith Show is still one of my favorite shows today. I feel really sad that I can’t give this a big ol’ fat 5-star. But, I was actually a little disappointed, maybe a little bored would be a better word, during portions of this autobiography. 3 star really…average, take it or leave it.
This was read by both Ron and Clint. I would be listening to Ron, then suddenly out of the blue, Clint would chime in...sometimes on his part of the story, or a part of his life, sometimes it was just a sentence. This actually threw me off a bit. Their voices are so different; I wouldn’t be expecting the change. I was like, “Wait, what? Ron’s story is over?” They were both really good readers, but some parts were very interesting, and some parts literally put me to sleep. I wonder if I would have felt differently about their story if I had read the book myself? Could be that I’m just not really into audiobooks? I am trying a few for the first time this year.
Of course, I knew exactly which show Ron was talking about when it came to the little tidbits on The Andy Griffith Show and could visualize every scene. I really enjoyed hearing all about how this show was filmed. I will say I was surprised to find out that Ron had such a hard time throughout his school years because of his sweet little Opie character. Boy, kids can sure be mean.
I forgot about Ron playing Richie on Happy Days, which wasn’t one of my favorite shows back in the ‘70’s. I only watched because I was in love with Scott Baio. I never realized what good friends Ron and Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie, really were.
Richie was the star of the show, but was consequently being marginalized because the viewers were more into Fonzie. After several seasons, the producers were wanting to rename the show, “Fonzie’s Happy Days”. This kind of pushed Ron into directing, instead of acting, which is where he had always wanted to be since he was a little kid. This...he is very good at!
Ron found out a little later just what a good friend he had in Henry Winkler, who had told the producers, “No!” He was not for renaming the show after him because he knew Happy Days was Richie’s show. Needless to say, they are still good friends to this day. In fact, Henry is Godfather to all four of Ron Howard’s kids.
How ironic that my next book to read is Henry Winkler’s autobiography, “I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River” (2011). It looks and sounds very promising. We’ll see....more
Spandau: The Secret Diaries by Albert Speer (1975 in German; 1976 1st English ed.) 463 pages.
To get into this 2023 - ‘70’s Immersion Reading Challenge
Spandau: The Secret Diaries by Albert Speer (1975 in German; 1976 1st English ed.) 463 pages.
To get into this book, I first had to do some intensive research into these 17 men who were in Hitler’s closest circle and were tried and convicted. Seven of them went to Spandau Prison, and ten were hung. I collected notes about each in a bullet journal, and printed thumbprint photos of each in their uniforms, on the job, and sitting in their cells at Spandau. I also printed death photos of the ones that were hung, which are online in Wikipedia.
Maybe it was my preparedness that made this book so interesting to read. This is about the 20 years, the day-to-day life, of Albert Speer while in Spandau Prison. He secretly wrote his notes in tiny print on toilet tissue and wore them underneath the insoles of his shoes until he could get them smuggled out of prison and to his wife. He then was having a friend type them up over the years, and when he was released exactly 20 years to the date, there were 20,000 typed pages for him to sort through for this book. He writes of his mental state, his relationship with Hitler, his love of architect, his gardening of flowers and trees, his walking tours around the compound, and notes on the other six prisoners. They were restricted to a cell of their own down one small hallway that was blocked off from entry to further entry inside this huge, then empty, prison.
Probably, what I felt the most about these men after reading and getting to know some of their traits and personalities is the fact that no matter how much they each nerved each other on a daily basis, towards the end when their time was up and, one by one, each were leaving the prison, it was the emptiness of that personality in the prison that worked on their psyche. When the last two left, only Rudolf Hess was left alone, whom Speer mentioned quite a bit in his diary. But, there was no followup on Hess, except during the last three days before Speer and Schirach’s release.
Schirach approached Hess for a little walk and talk in the garden. Speer overheard Schirach telling Hess that his only hope in getting out is to consistently play insane. But Speer disagreed. He then approached Hess to see if he had any commissions for him. Hess waved him off. Then Speer expressed doubts about Schirach actually delivering Hess’s messages to his family. This is when Hess blew up on Speer, hollering, “How can you suspect our comrade Schirach of such a thing! It’s outrageous of you to say anything of the kind. No thanks! No thanks to your offer!”
Speer later, the same day, went back to Hess and told him it was wrong to attempt to buy his release by pretending insanity. He would be undermining his own image, whereas now he was regarded with a certain amount of respect even by his enemies, and it was possible he would only be released to a mental institute. Hess agreed and told Speer that he wasn’t comfortable with Schirach’s advice anyway. As it turned out in the following years, Schirach never did visit Hess nor did he contact Hess’s son. But, it doesn’t say if Speer did either.
Rudolf Hess, after living for 20 years with these six other men, lived another 10 years alone in that prison before he hung himself in the garden house on August 17, 1987. He was 93 years old. This leads me to my next read, which is on the way, Prisoner #7: Rudolf Hess: The Thirty Years in Jail of Hitler’s Deputy Fuhrer by Eugene K. Bird (1974). Bird had a tour of duty as the Director of Spandau from 1964-1972. I’m left wanting to know more about Rudolf Hess and how he fared during those last 10 years.
**********END OF REVIEW************
NOTES AND THINGS TO REMEMBER
First, since I knew nothing of Spandau nor the Nuremberg trials, I needed to, at least, understand what they were:
1. Spandau Prison, under Russian jurisdiction, was a proto-concentration camp during World War II in West Berlin that, after the war, held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nuremberg trials. The prison was situated in Spandau in western Berlin, constructed in 1876 and was initially a military detention camp, then became a civilian prison, holding upwards of 600 prisoners in 1919. It then became a precursor to the concentration camps. In 1933, the prisoners there were transferred to those concentration camps. In 1946, the prison was completely empty except for the 7 war criminals serving time. There was a monthly change of regimes keeping watch, first Russians, then Americans, then the British and lastly French to make sure the war criminals were treated justly. Spandau Prison was demolished in 1987 after the death of Rudolf Hess. Interestingly, according to Speer, when on watch duty, the Americans read detective stories, worked crossword puzzles and dozed; whereas the Russians studied chemistry, physics and mathematics, and read Dickens, Jack London or Tolstoy.
2. The Nuremberg trials were a series of 13 trials carried out in Nuremberg, Germany, in American jurisdiction but ruled with Soviet Union judges, between 1945 and 1949 to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. Nuremberg is 273 miles (or about a 4 hour drive) from Spandau.
The 10 War Criminals Convicted and Hung
During one of the 13 Nuremberg trials, these 10 of 17 war criminals were convicted on October 1, 1946 and sat in Nuremberg prison for two weeks until hung on October 16, 1946. All remains were cremated in the oven at Dachau concentration camp along with many other Nazi criminals and ashes scattered in Wenszach/Conwentsbach, a small stream in the river Isar in Munich:
1. Hans Michael Frank (1900 – 1946) (age 46) (Hitler’s personal lawyer and Governor-General of Poland; confessed crimes publicly and became a devout Catholic) Last words (came to hanging with a smile on his face): I am thankful for the kind treatment during my captivity and I ask God to accept me with mercy. 2. Wilhelm Frick (1877 – 1946) (age 69) (Minister of the Interior who framed the Nuremberg Race Laws that “legalized” Nazi actions against the Jews; responsible for concentration camps in Bohemia and Moravia, Germany; 6th in line for hanging at 2:05am, six minutes after Rosenberg.) Last words: Long live eternal Germany. 3. Herman Goring (1893 – 1946) (age 53) NOTE: Someone smuggled in cyanide into his prison cell just hours before his hanging. He committed suicide. (2nd in succession behind Hitler; spent 2 years in a mental institute 1925-27; became a life-long morphine addict; directed the purge and elimination of Jews from German economy; before trials, he preached to other prisoners that they had to stick together so Hitler will remain a symbol of Germany instead of a murderer; he truly believed he, himself, would go down as a saint) 4. Alfred Jodl (1890 – 1946) (age 56) (Chief of Armed Forces High Command – Hitler’s principal military advisor; signatures on Commando and Commissar Orders which ordered that certain classes of prisoners of war were to be executed upon capture; denied the 1941 mass shooting of Soviet POWs, claimed the only prisoners shot were “not those that could not, but those that did not want to walk”.) Last words: I salute you my eternal Germany. 5. Ernst Kaltenbrunner (1903 – 1946) (age 43) (Head of the Reich Main Security Office, which had principal responsibility for tracking down and exterminating the Jews. He controlled the Gestapo and concentration camps; had a brain hemorrhage during interrogation and had to be wheeled into court for his trials) 6. Wilhelm Keitel (1882 – 1946) (age 64) (Field-Marshall of German forces; Supported wholesale massacres) Last words: I now join my sons. Deutchland Uber Alles! 7. Alfred Rosenberg (1893 – 1946) (age 53) (Philosopher of Nazi state; presided over a regime of massacre and mass slavery; was ridiculed by everyone…including Hitler for his philosophies; 5th in line for hanging six minutes before Wilhelm Frick) Last words, when asked if he had anything to say: No 8. Fritz Sauckel (1895 – 1946) (age 50) (Nazi minister for labor who trained 4 years under Hermann Goring) Last words: I die an innocent man, my sentence is unjust. God protect German. May it live and one day become great again. God protect my family. 9. Arthur Seyss-Inquart (1892 – 1946) (age 54) (Nazi Governor of the Netherlands) Last words: I hope that this execution is the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War, and that the lesson taken from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between peoples. I believe in Germany. 10. Julius Streicher (1885 – 1946) (age 61) (Anti-semitic journalist whose newspaper was main vehicle for “popularizing” Nazi attitudes towards Jews; stole large amounts of confiscated Jewish property; due to Hess’ persistence, Streicher had been dismissed from all party posts (p. 119); he was avoided by all other criminals during trial; he stayed devoted to Hitler to the bitter end) Last words: Heil Hitler! This is the Purim festival of 1946.
The 7 war criminals convicted and sentenced to Spandau Prison in order of the number given them while in Spandau Prison:
1. Baldur von Schirach - 20 years, released same day as Albert Speer, after serving full term, on 30 Sep 1966 2. Erich Raeder - Life, released early 26 Sep 1955, due to ill health 3. Konstantin von Neurath - 15 years, released early Nov 1954, due to bad health 4. Karl Donitz – 10 years, released after serving full 10 years on 30 Sep 1956 5. Albert Speer – 20 years, released same day as Baldur von Schirach, after serving full term, on 30 Sep 1966 6. Walter Funk – Life, released early on 16 May 1957, due to bad health 7. Rudolf Hess – Life, died in prison on 17 Aug 1987. He was 93 years old when he hung himself. Last prisoner of Spandau.
Albert Speer worked 12 years under Hitler. He was first his Chief Architect (his first love) and then Armament Minister. He designed for the Nazi regime — the Nuremberg Zeppelin Field, the Reich Chancellery in Berlin (which was torn down by the Russians), and the German pavilion at the 1937 International Exposition in Paris. Albert was age 40 when convicted of abuse of forced labor.
While imprisoned, Speer studied up on language (French), architecture, book projects (his memoir, Hitler’s biography, history of windows), intense gardening (mostly flowers), and walking an around-the-world tour, which was a calculated timed walk around the gardens to imaginary places he studied and read about in books.
He would keep records to see how long it took to walk from place to place, across Europe, Asia and into the United States to Mexico. He walked about 50 to 60 kilometers a week 31-37 miles. In 10 years he had walked 25,471 kilometers , that’s 15,826 miles. By December 21, 1964, Speer passed Seattle, Washington, and entered the United States. By this time, several of the guards were intrigued and had begun walking with Speer. At times, four or five people could be seen walking on the track. Before his release on September 30, 1966, he had walked a total of 31,936 kilometers, that’s approximately 19,844 miles.
Although Speer didn’t disagree or reject with the 20 year sentence given him, one day he found himself disagreeing with the Nuremberg Tribunal’s interpretation and prosecutions in general on one particular subject: forced labor. He, along with the others, discussed the hypocritical way that he and others were charged with committing forced labor laws when those charging them were also forcing labor with German prisoners of war, also an international crime. (p. 50) There is one big difference Speer did not acknowledge…the fact that the Nazi’s used forced labor on not only prisoners of war, but on everyday citizens in every country they overtook, and even deported them to where they were needed. The Nazi’s also created laws to make this type of abuse “legal”. Speer accepted moral guilt, but had a hard time accepting legal guilt because, in his eyes, the Allies were doing exactly what the Germans were doing. According to Speer, Admiral Nimitz, the American Commander in the Pacific, even admitted to ignoring international agreements, thus being responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of sailors, soldiers and passengers. (p. 54) As the years progressed, and he kept on top of the news around the world, in 1965, Speer was having a difficult time with moral clarity, as he was reading about Russian tanks in East Berlin, Indochina in flames, street-fighting in Budapest, Suez, Algeria, and again Indochina, which is now called Vietnam, and then millions of slave laborers in many parts of the world…How much more difficult it has become to accept within oneself the guilty verdict pronounced by those judges. All of this as the Auschwitz trials were just beginning. (p. 421)
Both Dönitz and Raeder carried on in great length about the injustice of their convictions because their subordinates were back at work for the German government while they sat in prison. But, even Speer admits he believed Hitler worked and warred within the norms of European tradition. Where he believed Hitler went wrong was with his insane hatred of Jews and made that a matter of life and death. (p. 353) Speer questioned whether he, himself, was actually loyal to Hitler, and to Germany, or was he just doing his “duty”. He may have contributed to slave labor, but he claims to have treated them well. Is there such thing as a “good” Nazi?
From 1954 forward, it seems the only thing on their minds was an early release. By the 10th year, three of the men had already been let go: Neurath, Raeder and Funk had early releases due to old age and bad health, and then the fourth, Dönitz, was released after serving his full 10 year sentence. Dönitz left prison full of pompousness, considering himself still with power and influence to get the remaining three, who had 20 years and lifetime sentences, out on early releases.
The men knew how important they were because of their intimate relations with Hitler and began writing their memoirs while imprisoned. But, according to Speer, their take contradicts what he wrote in his diary. Raeder claimed in his memoir that he was only close to and associated with Dönitz and Neurath, top commanders, when Speer wrote early on that Raeder and Dönitz were bitter towards each other the whole time, as Dönitz had replaced Raeder as Nazi Navy Grand Admiral. When Raeder was severely ill and depressed, it was Schirach who was by his side and who petitioned Berlin for an early release. Raeder didn’t want to ruin his reputation by admitting he hung with the lower class ”convicts”. (p. 319)
Also, in Dönitz memoir, even after specifically asking Speer if he recommended him to Hitler or was it Hitler, himself, who chose him to be the new Grand Admiral, wrote just the opposite of what Speer told him. Speer said Hitler had asked him how well of a leader was Donitz, and Speer replied that Donitz was a very good and strong leader. So, Hitler replaced Raeder with Donitz, who now blamed Speer for his imprisonment. Speer had an opportunity to read Donitz memoir while still in prison and said it was pretty trustworthy as far as his take on Hitler and the military armaments were concerned. But, Dönitz believed Hitler lost the war because he didn’t build up his supply of U-boats, that he, himself, had recommended; whereas, Speer believed Hitler lost the war because he was constantly changing his mind about where to send the armaments, which he, himself, was in charge of and had to deal with. (p. 333-35)
Three days before release, Schirach approached Hess, the last prisoner, for a little walk and talk in the garden. Speer overheard Schirach telling Hess that his only hope in getting out is to consistently play insane. But Speer disagreed. He then approached Hess to see if he had any commissions for him. Hess waved him off. Then Speer expressed doubts about Schirach actually delivering his messages to his family. This is when Hess blew up on Speer, hollering, “How can you suspect our comrade Schirach of such a thing! It’s outrageous of you to say anything of the kind. No thanks! No thanks to your offer!”
Speer later went back to Hess and told him it was wrong to attempt to buy his release by pretending insanity. He would be undermining his own image, whereas now he was regarded with a certain amount of respect even by his enemies. Also, he could be released to a mental institute. Hess agreed and told Speer that he wasn’t comfortable with Schirach’s advice anyway. As it turned out in the following years, Schirach never did visit Hess nor did he contact Hess’s son.
BOOKS TO LOOK INTO
Inside the Third Reich (1969). Albert Speer’s memoir.
Prisoner #7: Rudolf Hess (1974) OR The Loneliest Man in the World: The Inside Story of the 30-Year Imprisonment of Rudolf Hess (1974) by Eugene K. Bird, Director of Spandau Prison from 1964-1972.
The Ribbentrop Memoirs by Joachim von Ribbentrop (1954) AND My Father Joachim von Ribbentrop: Hitler’s Foreign Minister, Experiences and Memories by Rudolph von Ribbentrop (2008)
Han’s Frank’s Diary by Stanislaw Piotrowski and Hans Frank (1955 in Polish; 1957 in English)
Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days by Karl Dönitz and David Woodward (1958)
My Life: Grand Admiral Erich Raeder by Erich Raeder (1960)
Ich Glaubte an Hitler [I Believed in Hitler] by Baldur von Schirach (1967) Not available in English.
Hitler as no one knows him: 100 Pictures from the Life of the Fuhrer by Baldur von Schirach and Heinrich Hoffmann (Photographer) (1938; and in English poss. 1998?)
The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper (1947). Hugh had asked Speer to read it, while in prison during the first year, and give his opinion on it as it was partially based on Speer’s accounts.
Albert Speer: The End of a Myth by historian Matthias Schmidt (1981). Details Speer’s carefully constructed myth of innocence.
Albert Speer by Magnus Brechtken (2017). Describes how Speer denied his role in the Holocaust
MOVIES
Downfall (2004) Film industry stands by Albert Speer’s innocence as “the good Nazi”. They portray Speer and other cabinet member’s of Hitler in favorable light
Documentary: Speer Goes to Hollywood (2021). Depicts Speer as the war criminal that he was with video interviews, footage from the Nuremberg trials, pictures of the concentration camps and scenes from the Nazis' armament factories that he was in charge of....more
I wasn’t quite ready to listen to this audiobook because, for one, this is my “Month of Nature”. But, it popped up available for thAUDIOBOOK (7 HOURS)
I wasn’t quite ready to listen to this audiobook because, for one, this is my “Month of Nature”. But, it popped up available for the 3rd time through Piney Woods (Libby app). I had been on the list for a couple of months, and I was afraid I would lose my place if I sent it back for another week.
I have a confession to make: Matthew McConaughey is not really my most favorite actor. After listening to this audiobook, he’s still not my favorite actor, but, boy, can he ever tell stories. Now, I don’t think I would have liked reading from the book at all. In fact, I had almost talked myself out of reading or listening at all due to some reviews I allowed myself to read before hand.
Matthew has kept a diary for over 30 years, much like my dad did. I believe that is why their thoughts are, and were, so deep. Matthew is originally from Uvalde, Texas, and his stories show he is full-blooded Texan. He is well grounded. He drops these little “Note to Self”, which annoyed me at first, until I took the little chip off my shoulder, and realized just how wise and rich those thoughts really were.
Audiobook is the only way to go here or you will miss out on his little laughs, which are usually at his own expense. He talks up a good, high and mighty story about himself before bringing himself back down to earth. Funny! It’s raw and it’s real. It’s straight from his heart and it’s his true life experiences. He held nothing back!...more
This is an autobiography on the author’s life search and study of bats worldwide. I actually would give it 3.5 stars, betteMonth of March 2022: Nature
This is an autobiography on the author’s life search and study of bats worldwide. I actually would give it 3.5 stars, better than average yet not a great read. Some parts were really exciting and adventurous and some parts were really bogged down with his descriptions of what exactly he had to do to get his photos of the bats. But, all in all, I learned a lot about bats…and his photos really are phenomenal.
I had no idea who Merlin Tuttle was. He’s pretty much one of the most notorious Chiropterologist in the U.S., and possibly the world. In 1986, he resigned as curator of mammals at the Milwaukee Public Museum in Wisconsin, moved to Austin, Texas, where he founded Bat Conservation International (BCI) to help Austinites understand and appreciate the 1.5 million Brazilian free-tailed bats (a.k.a. Mexican free-tailed bats) that were starting to move into all the small 16 inch crevasses beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge, just a few blocks down from the State Capitol. They were scared of bats, in general, because of rumors of rabies and attacks on people, and they wanted them exterminated!
But these bats, they would soon learn from Tuttle, were actually very gentle and too beneficial. Just one free-tailed bat can consume 20 to 40 moths a night. That may not seem like a lot, but when you factor in the fact that those 20 to 40 moths can each lay 500 to 1,000 eggs on Texas crops, times 20,000 moths, it changes your whole perspective. These insect-eating bats feed heavily on tons of a variety insects each night, such as corn earworms, tobacco budworms, and, the most costly to eradicate, fall army worm moths, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, etc…Thank God for his efforts! Today, it’s a tourist hot-spot, where hundreds of people will gather to watch their flight out at sunset, flying just above their heads. And never has one person ever been attacked or bitten.
These bats fly south for the winter and are only here from mid-march through September. They fly up to 10,000 feet above ground and can potentially form huge colonies, with 10-20 million or more bats. Up to 500 pups can fill up a single square foot.
Tuttle has invested his life to teaching others the importance of bats on our crops and economics all around the world, and has saved quite a few from becoming extinct. Some plants are strictly pollinated by bats, as their flowers only open at night, such as the agave cactus. We wouldn’t even have Tequila if it weren’t were bats. Fruit-bats are needed for seed dispersing certain plants and trees. And, of course, they are needed for insect and pest control. Bat guano can be used as fertilizer, but I’ve never seen it sold around here in southeast Texas. There are loads of bat caves all around Texas, especially up in the Hill Country (see link below).
I have not seen a bat around here in years…probably because our particular county, Orange County, prefers to shell out a few hundred thousand dollars each year to spray our skies, our ditches, our dogs, our farms, our people, and our gardens with poisons to take care of mosquito and bug problems. And it is usually done in the evenings, just when its finally cool enough for people to go out and tend their gardens. But, hey, it’s totally harmless…they say. But, I think I will still try and put out a few bat houses anyway, just to see if they are really around or not.
Tuttle’s adventures chasing down the more elusive bats are absolutely amazing and harrowing. He definitely has a great passion for bats. He has photographed all 46 bat species found in the U.S., and many in other countries. Some are found inside this book (See photos at the end of chapter 8 and at the end of chapter 12). If reading on a Kindle eBook, you can expand them to get a close up view. He has admitted to taking over 10,000 photos during bat expeditions just to capture that one GREAT shot for National Geographic…because that’s what it takes to get into National Geographic.
Chapter 4 on vampire bats was very interesting! The vampire bats are only down in Latin America for now, and about 130 miles south of the U.S. border. It is the only bat that has grown and become over abundant due to cattle raising and chicken farming where forests have disappeared. Not all, but some can carrie rabies that transfer to cattle, killing many cattle when there’s an outbreak. Still, according to Merlin, they are very gentle and harmless. The people had previously been burning ALL bats in any caves they found, trying to rid the vampire bat, but these turned out to be only fruit and insect-eating bats. The vampire bats hung out in very small numbers and deep inside the caves, separated, where no other bats were. So, they were never being killed. Merlin’s team, with Dr. Hugo Sancho, a local Veterinarian, helped educate the ranchers and farmers on the differences of the bats and how to best kill the vampire bat without harming any others. Interestingly, they use a poison mixture containing rat poison - WARFARIN, an anticoagulant!!… spread a little on top of the feeding bat, which feeds for 20 minutes on an animal. It then returns to the cave and the other bats lick it clean, killing that whole group of vampire bats.
LINKS TO ONLINE SOURCES
Here is a short, current and informative video regarding bats and disease presented by Merlin Tuttle, himself:
It’s hard to believe this is the same fearless guy chasing bats in the book. Watch on YouTube, “The Worldwide Importance of Bats”, presented by Bats Conservation International (12:26):
As much as I love Valerie Bertinelli, I didn’t love reading this book as much as some of the other celebrity prMonth of April 2022: Celebrity Profiles
As much as I love Valerie Bertinelli, I didn’t love reading this book as much as some of the other celebrity profiles. This is a 3.5 star for me...a little better than average, but not great. I found it a little dry reading and kind of repetitive thoughts over and over. I will say it did satisfy my curiosity of what happened with her after “One Day at a Time” (1975-1984) ended. I had only found out that she was married to Eddie Van Halen when I was about 40 years old. And boy was I ever shocked! I never knew. How could someone so beautiful fall in love and marry into the hard rock lifestyle like that? This book covers all that, and their life together, and how their marriage fell apart.
What I am most shocked about is how her thoughts and insecurities in her head run EXACTLY LIKE MY THOUGHTS IN MY HEAD...haha! Her weight determines how she feels in life, and so does mine. But, there is much more we have in common. I did write them all down (in my secret little journal) because it was so unbelievable how much alike we are, and she is only 4 years older than me. One difference is I never did drugs. But, obviously, where we really split differences? She is gorgeous, fat or skinny, and I can’t hold a candle to her.
Chapter 28 tells how she had gained up to 172 pounds and was working her way into size 14 jeans when Jenny Craig called and made her an offer as their new spokesperson. This chapter alone is very encouraging for anyone having problems shedding some pounds....more
I purchased this book on October 23, 2020 for $1.00 at our local library, and it’s been sitting on my shelf eveMonth of April 2022: Celebrity Profiles
I purchased this book on October 23, 2020 for $1.00 at our local library, and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. I was reluctant to start because I seriously thought, after watching every Duck Dynasty show on television, what else could I learn? A LOT!
Phil’s personality and the way he talks comes out in his writing...brutally raw and honest. I loved it! He is definitely a man’s man. I’m sure he had PETA ready to turn a lawsuit after reading this paragraph:
“I learned to cook when I was young, and most of my meals started with something I killed. I have a God-given right to pursue happiness, and happiness to me is killing things, skinning them, plucking them, and then having a good meal. What makes me happy is going out and blowing a ducks head off. As it says in Acts 10:13 (KJV), “And there came a voice to him, rise, Peter; kill, and eat.”
Phil had an incredible upbringing. He’s been through some wild, wild times, and was brutally honest about those as well. I love how he decided one day to give up a professional football career and follow his dreams. He was out on the field, in the middle of a game, when he looked up into a beautiful sky full of stars, and thought, “What am I doing here?” He just wanted to be in the woods and living off this beautiful land. He walked away from a lucrative, full-time professional football career opportunity and has never looked back.
This book was originally published in 2013. Phil’s insights into the demoralization of America were spot on and is even worse today in 2022. His book is divided into chapters beginning with a rule in life to being happy, happy, happy, then follows with his story of how it pertains to his life. I could see how God has used Phil in every step of the way to bring about his great end goal of bringing others to Christ.
This was such a great and interesting read, which reminds me, I do own “Miss Kay’s Duck Commander Kitchen” cookbook (2013). It’s time I pull it out and start trying out some of her recipes. I purchased when it first came out and have only tested, to date, her Nutty Good Oatmeal Cookies. They are FABULOUS and are the only cookies I make for my grandies. They LOVE them!
**spoiler alert** Drew Barrymore was born in Culver City, California, on 22 Feb 1975. She didn't get married and start having kids until she was about**spoiler alert** Drew Barrymore was born in Culver City, California, on 22 Feb 1975. She didn't get married and start having kids until she was about 35 years old. She is married to Will Kopelman and they have two girls, Olive and Frankie.
Drew's biography was not well thought out. It flip-flops from early years to later years and oddly, what she is currently doing in life, working on a makeup line (as of the publishing of this book in 2015), Wildflower, sold at Walmart, stuck in the middle of the book. My daughter also read this book, and we both feel like maybe she wasn't really all that honest in her book, keeping everything light, lovely, beautiful and perfect. In some chapters, she seems to ramble on and on in a philosophical way without really saying anything about her life, just expressing her feelings.
Her mother nor her father was there for her growing up. Her mother was a free-bird trying somewhat to make her mark in Hollywood, but mostly partying. Her father was out of the picture completely until later in life when he was dying. She took care of him until his death. Very commendable!
Drew doesn't really tell the nitty gritty of what she actually did to cause her mother to commit her to a psych home, but she did, at around age 12. She was in there for a year and a half. At age 14, she went to court to be removed from her mothers care and to become an adult under hardship, and to be able to do things as any 18 year old would be able to do. She was granted her rights and moved out on her own.
In the book, you don't get the feel that she went through any struggles at all living out on her own in Hollywood. Only that age 14 she still didn't know how to wash her own clothes and couldn't tell the difference between a washer and a dryer. She poured bleach directly onto her first load of clothes.
Now, her grandfather was the famous Hollywood actor, John Barrymore (1882-1942). So maybe she was a trustfund baby. She also could of had plenty of money coming in from the movie "E.T." filmed at age 6. Who knows? She didn't really let us in on that part of her life.
But, I still love Drew Barrymore, and I especially love Drew Barrymore in movies with Adam Sandler. Obviously, America also loves them together. About every ten years they get together and produce a blockbuster hit...my favorite? "50 First Dates", which was suppose to be a serious movie filmed in Seattle. But, once Adam Sandler and Drew got their hands on it (they each run their own small production companies), they literally turned it into an awesome playful movie filmed in Hawaii. I've watched the movie several times over the years. I even took note of the book she is always reading in the cafe in the movie and put it on my To Be Read list. On page 98 of her biography ( or memoir), she mentions why she chose the book "Still Life with Woodpecker" by Tom Robbins to read everyday in the movie. It is because that book does ask the question 'How do you make love stay?' (whether you have memory loss or not) then brings you on a wild ride just like the film.
It's interesting to note Drews circle of friends. She has strong lifelong friendship ties with Adam Sandler and Cameron Diaz. Also, Stephen Spielburg played a big part in her life. He took her under his wing when she was about 6 years old and was basically her godfather. She claimed he was the father she never had. He was funny and always had the kids laughing.
She developed a deep affinity to helping impoverished children in Africa after visiting, so much that when she returned to the states, still single, she did the research, made the plans and somehow provided the funds to build another schoolhouse for them, which they named after her. Very admirable! I truly believe she really has such a tender heart in real life.
Currently, in 2021, she's trying out hosting her first morning talk show called "Drew". I tried watching it a couple of times, but I can't stand it. She's over-the-top acting out, tryig to give the show energy, and it just comes off completely FAKE....more
**spoiler alert** I finally reached the State of Oklahoma in the reading challenge and have looked forward to this book all year long. Unfortunately, **spoiler alert** I finally reached the State of Oklahoma in the reading challenge and have looked forward to this book all year long. Unfortunately, it only gets a 3-star rating by me. Yes, you definitely hear her voice in these words, which I loved, but there was a LOT of stuff about the hundreds of plays she was cast in and lots of name dropping of people and earlier celebrities that I know nothing of, which made it just a little boring at times.
Eddi-Rue McClanahan of the Golden Girls was born on Feb 21, 1934 in Healdton, Oklahoma, and died Jun 3, 2010, at age 76, of a brain hemorrhage at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She was cremated and her ashes handed to her family. Her autobiography was published in 2007, just three years before her death.
She started ballet in 2nd or 3rd grade and had been drawn to the stage ever since. By the time she was a senior, she was helping to teach ballet when the teacher up and moved off. She was put in charge and paid for her work, and soon owned that school. Her family took a little summer vacation to New York City, and there, at that very moment, she knew where she was going. She enrolled in the University of Tulsa where she majored in drama, then moved to New York with a girl friend with barely enough money to live on for two weeks. She took a part-time job as a file clerk, meanwhile auditioned many off broadway plays. What she learned during this time was that her drama training at the University of Tulsa didn’t do jack-crap for her. She took up some more training in New York.
Most actors start out in New York in theater in Off-Broadway and work themselves up to On-Broadway shows that travel, then to television series and movies in Hollywood. This book tells of all her struggles, barely making ends meet. One year she auditioned for over 60 plays in a four year period and wasn’t cast in not a one. She claimed you had to be gorgeous for film star-dom or absolutely talented. She name-dropped some very talented people who were not very gorgeous...Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Woody Allen, Gene Hackman...but were damn good actors and actresses. Well, if she can throw them under the bus, I can throw her too. I really didn’t think she was all that pretty, BUT, I truly admired her for the way she carried herself...like she was the most beautiful woman. She carried herself that way in real life too. So, yes, in a sense, she was beautiful. Also, I never cared for her acting. I felt she was more suited to theater, BUT I did love and watch the Golden Girls as a whole back in the 80’s.
Rue had one son, Mark, who would often go and live with her mother when she was just too poor to take care of another mouth. Her and friends often shacked up with each other to make living in either New York or California affordable enough that they could still pursue their dreams.
And, yes Rue was married five times and had many lovers in-between that she talks about in the book. But, it wasn’t like her character on Golden Girls. She was actually a virgin throughout her college years and up until she moved to New York and met her first soon-to-be husband. She got knocked up and they got married. Rue was afraid of being alone, just spending time in her own head. She always had to have somebody. Her first husband mentally beat her down when she was fat and pregnant, but she loved him until the day he died. The Italian used her and beat her and squeezed her like a tomato and took all of her savings for her sons college and more from her. One was always just a friend, and they loved and helped each other until the day he died. One was just a mistake...but he was A+ in bed. And her last marriage to Will Morrow in about 1997 was everlasting. He helped her through chemo and dealing with her breast cancer. Rue was married to him the longest and still married the year her book was published in 2007. She seemed extremely happy. I’m sure she was still married to him until the day she died. ---------- A FEW TIDBITS ABOUT RUE MCCLANAHAN I DON'T WANT TO FORGET:
She read "Gone With the Wind" while in sixth grade. That's amazing! I read the book when I was a senior in high school, and I will tell you that was one hard book to get through. She read biographies of Pavlova and cherished Nijinsky, but her favorite book in her high school years, which she claims to have fingered to death, was "The Marx Brothers".
She went out a few times with Robert Guillaume, the black man who played in the TV series, "Benson". It started as a blind date, and she thought he was fine. She even stayed with him for a while during her financial struggles and gave him an A+ in bed. She definitely was not a racist.
She tried and hated Hollywood and left it for good, she thought, in July 1964, but how strange that she would leave behind all her grandmother's quilts, her diary, most of her clothes, her old car. I wonder if anyone found them, especially her grandmother's quilts and her diary. Of course, in the 1980’s she was chosen to play Blanche in the Golden Girls and moved back to California where she bought a huge house in Encino, Los Angeles, California, which she could barely afford, until payments started coming in from The Golden Girls...$1,000,000 a season.
In 1979, Rue began working on a King-sized Mexican quilt. She worked on that quilt-from-hell for 29 years, but never did say if she ever finished it...or what happened to it. I wished she would have taken a picture and put inside her book with all the other photos.
Around 1997, Rue found a lump under her right arm...breast cancer. Her doctor told her it was due to the synthetic hormones she had been on for the past 17 years. She went through chemo-treatment and lost her hair. She was beautiful without hair. There is a photo of her in the book. ---------- GOLDEN GIRLS ---------- Rue was very naive about things of life (such as who was gay on the set and who wasn't). Bea Arthur used to think she was faking, but Rue was actually a pretty sheltered child growing up.
Rue was cast on the tv show “Maude” with Bea Arthur. That is how they come to know each other. When Rue’s mother had her first heart attack on October 15 (my birthday AND, incidentally the day I started reading this book) in, I think, 1973...Rue was about 39 years old...then two more heart attacks shortly after, in which the 3rd heart attack killed her, Bea opened her house for Rue to stay with her for a few days so she wouldn’t have to be alone. They were good friends for about seven years, then it dwindled off a bit because after Rue’s divorce with the Italian, Bea continued to invite that swindler to her house parties. Rue quit going.
Bea was annoyed with Betty White during the filming of The Golden Girls because Betty liked to mingle and entertain the audience between shoots. Bea thought that was entirely inappropriate.
Estelle had major memory and panic attacks while shooting on Fridays. She would do good and remember her lines until showtime. She finally had to use cue cards in telling her…."Once, long ago, in Sicily..." stories. Rue felt so sorry for her and tried to help her as much as she could. Maybe it was a precurser to the Alzheimers she would get later on, or Rue noticed Estelle didn't have a memory problem after Bea left the set at the end of the run and they went into filming for the Golden Palace.
Rue was an animal lover. She had six dogs (small and large) and eight rescued cats. She often did benefits for PETA. Bea had two enormous German shepherd guard dogs. Betty had a little poodle but would adopt a retired seeing-eye dog every few years. Estelle didn’t have pets until Rue encouraged her to get a cat for company when she we t home each night. Estelle did and it drove her crazy because the cat was crazy. So Rue encouraged her to get another cat for company for the cat. And that worked. Estelle grew to love those two cats like they were the only cats in the whole wide world.
After a 7 year run and success of the Golden Girls, Bea wanted out. So the producers decided to continue with a show called the Golden Palace. It was suppose to simply start up on the same channel and at the same time as the Golden Girls, but the channel dropped them without notice. It did run for a few shows on another channel, but since it wasn’t advertised or anything, the Golden Palace was dropped. I never even heard of it. Guess I will have to YouTube it and see what its about.
In 2007, when the book was published, Rue was getting 2 cents for every DVD of the Golden Girls sold. I have every Golden Girl DVD there is..."Your welcome, Rue". She didn’t say how much she was getting for re-runs on television....more
I saw the documentary on Kit Carson, "Men Who Built America". It was so awesome I thought his biography would be fun to read. Boy, was I ever wrong...I saw the documentary on Kit Carson, "Men Who Built America". It was so awesome I thought his biography would be fun to read. Boy, was I ever wrong...what an absolute bore!
This is Kit's story, dictated to a writer, as he was illiterate, as best he could remember, of his struggles with the Indians during his fur trade expeditions in mid-1800 and of his contribution to the Mexican War. This edition, 192 pages, published in 1966, contains super lengthy and super numerous and super annoying footnotes, peppered throughout, with explanations and sources to reference for further reading.
Christopher "Kit" Carson, was a small sized man and orphaned. He was raised in Missouri and worked as an apprentice for a leather worker. Extremely unhappy with the work, he ran away at the age of 16 to chase dreams of wild tales told of the wild, wild West, which he had always heard about, and he never looked back.
Kit jumped from one group to another as he would hear of where the party was headed to do their beaver trapping, which could be anywhere in the west, from the Colorado Rocky Mountain rivers, Los Angeles, California rivers (Mexican territory at that time) or along the Arkansas rivers, or even around the Great Lakes. He traveled them all and really learned the lay of the land. He learned to scout, and he learned to fight the Indians.
Once, he chose a party of 40 men lead by Ewing Young, travelling from Taos, New Mexico, to California. In 1829, licenses were not granted to American men to hunt or trap on Mexican territory, so they had to travel first in a northern direction for about 50 miles through Indian territory, where they were constantly being harassed and had to fight off Indian attacks, then head down a southwestern route sneaking into Mexican territory and trap for beaver for months. They'd return to New Mexico, hide the 2000 pounds of pelts and apply for a license to trade with the Indians, make a quick and prosperous trade and each with several hundred dollars in their pockets, would party it up like sailors before looking for a new trapping expedition heading out. This was pretty much his life until the Mexican War started.
By then he had quite the reputation out on the Western frontier, and was then requested by President Polk to become an Agency of the government, interceding between the Indians and the Americans for peace and release and exchange of prisoners. He accepted the responsibility without the title or status.
In his own words, "...if the service I was performing was beneficial to the public, it did not matter to me whether I was enjoying the rank of lieutenant or only the credit of being an experienced mountaineer. I had gained both honor and credit by performing every duty entrusted to my charge, and on no account did I wish to forfeit the good opinion of a majority of my countrymen merely because the Senate of the United States had not deemed it proper to confirm my appointment to an office I had never sought, and one which, if confirmed, I would have to resign at the close of the war." [p. 125-6]
Wow! This is a far cry from what we see in men and women today! Recognition and big money seems to be our number one concern, or we don't want to do it!...more
I purchased this book for about $1.75 at our local Salvation Army. It's a pretty quick, high energy read just like you would expect from Carol BurnettI purchased this book for about $1.75 at our local Salvation Army. It's a pretty quick, high energy read just like you would expect from Carol Burnett. I can't say she had a wonderful life, but that she did live life wonderfully...full of spunk and personality. Published in 1985, she was 52 years old when she wrote her memoir. It spans the first 27 years of her life when she had finally landed a steady role on The Garry Moore Show.
I found it interesting to see how God divinely worked things out in her life inspite of her upbringing by her grandmother, who provided any ounce of stability at all, and her two alcoholic parents who ran off to Hollywood to find fame and fortune. The stories of her childhood were absolutely adorable and will have you laughing. You will admire her courage and struggles in finally making it as an actress in New York. There was never a dull moment. I really enjoyed this read and could hardly put the book down. I read it in two days. I could have read it in one, but I did have to eat and shower and say hello to my husband periodically....more