Here's to love!

Musicals – they’re my life! I don’t need to be wined and dined by a man – I just want him to kneel down and sing “If Ever I Would Leave You,” from Camelot!

So it is no surprise that yesterday, as I waited for the cable repair person to come and check the problems with my system, I was delighted to find that the musical Gigi was about to begin. I happily plunged into the delightful turn-of-the 20th century Parisian love story.

I cried and sang my way through the movie, right up until the last 20 minutes or so when the doorbell rang and the cable repairman had to temporarily turn off my cable box.

Thankfully, the diagnostics didn’t take long, and the cable guy and I were able to watch those last few moments of the movie that can turn any romantic into a blubbering idiot. (Note to self: next time wait until repairman leaves to watch ending of romantic movie.)

Suddenly, I wanted to know if Louis Jourdan, the male lead, was still with us. After all, Gigi came out in 1958! I ran to the computer and was overjoyed to learn that Mr. Jourdan is living in the south of France with his wife of 65 years. 65 years!!

Today would have been my 20th wedding anniversary. Perhaps that is why this love story hit me so hard.

On the other hand, I cry buckets and buckets of tears whenever I watch The Iron Giant, which may just be my favorite animated movie of all time. The giant sacrifices himself to save a small town…and the little boy in the town he has come to love.

In the last scene of the movie we see him magically “calling back” his various mechanical parts that have been blown to smithereens all over the earth. I watch those nuts and bolts bravely marching back “home” and I fall to pieces.

It is a different kind of love story…but a love story nevertheless.

So, here’s to love...in all it's wondrous forms!

Chris
http://www.lightheartedpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/christine.davis

O'Malley & the new toy

One of the great joys of sharing your life with critters is providing them with a never-ending supply of things to play with.

Whether you purchase them from stores, or make them yourself, there is a special thrill that comes when presenting your new gift to your animal companion.

However, you never know what will happen.

Meet O'Malley.

This special Bulldog is the beloved companion of my friend Ruth Phillips, who lives in Georgia.

O’Malley recently received a new toy. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I think you can tell from his expression how he feels about the new plaything.

Hang in there, O’Malley!

Love,
Your Auntie Chris

In Celebration of Marley

When Ed Miller sent me some pictures of his dog, Marley, I asked if I could share this one photo that he called Laughing Malamute. It gave me such a joyful feeling - just look at that beautiful face!

“She was laughing at a joke I told her about two Dalmatians who get lost on a dark road,” he said.

Ed had to say goodbye to his beloved girl last week, but as he talked about her it was clear how deep the bond between them was. He said Marley used to select toys from her box of stuffed animals, and then return them when she was done playing.

Ed signed his email “Ed Miller, aka Marley Malamute’s Dad.” He certainly was.

I know Marley will always watch over you, Ed, as she flies through the starry skies.

Chris

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who submitted a caption to go with this pointy-fingered ballet picture from my younger days. I wondered what I might have been pointing at, and now I have some terrific suggestions!

In the end, one of the captions really made me laugh and another just made me feel good, so I decided there would be a tie. The winners are:

“Go this way, the best is yet to be” (from Vicki McCarroll , Louisiana)

“Exhibiting at an early age her passion for dogs, ballerina Chris Davis does her imitation of a pointer” (from Linda Smith, Missouri)

Linda and Vicki will each receive an autographed book of their choice from Lighthearted Press and a Rainbow Bridge Wristband.

I’d love to do this again – I’ve got some dog and cat pictures that are just begging for captions!

Cheers,
Chris
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Oi - what a day I had!

So I’m driving East on I-84 in Portland and get off at the 33rd Avenue exit. At the top of the ramp there’s a little ground squirrel running around, with cars swerving to try and avoid hitting it. I stopped my car, grabbed my jacket and ran over to the squirrel, with the intention of nabbing it.

It was a great plan…but the squirrel had other ideas. It ran under my car and up into the engine. I’d like to tell you I was completely composed, but the truth is I totally lost it. Traffic is backing up onto the freeway, and I’m standing there shaking. A car stopped and a really nice man got out to figure out what was wrong with this crazy person.

After reading my owner’s manual we figured out how to open the hood. And yes, there inside the engine was the squirrel…who immediately ran down into the bowels of the car.

Oh great.

I’m just one step away from being completely hysterical. I start grabbing things from my car. It turns out the eco-friendly grocery bag and the storage thing from the back of the car are useless when trying to dislodge a rodent from an engine. It’s amazing I didn’t pull out my sunglasses and some CDs.

After 20 minutes I had to do something. People in the cars passing by were NOT happy with me. I very gently started the car and drove a few blocks. I kept waiting to hear the sound of an animal screaming, but I heard nothing. I pulled over and got out of the car and waited. I didn’t even know if it was still in there. Nothing happened.

I had to get home so I started driving through the side streets, all the while sobbing, shaking and praying. I was terrified. That’s when the squirrel started to chirp from somewhere inside the car.

To make…as they say…a long story short, I drove home, grabbed my cat carrier, and then drove to Firestone and asked the mechanic if he would look under my car for a squirrel. I wish I had a picture of that man’s face – he must have thought he was on Candid Camera.

He found nothing.

As I type this the car is parked outside. I’m giving the squirrel one last chance to vacate, just in case it’s still in there. The mechanic thinks the squirrel probably bailed when it got too hot in the engine.

Are you ready for the punchline of this story? When I stopped to “save the squirrel” I had just come from a presentation on Living Fearlessly. I had gone from feeling like I could take on a dragon to being reduced to a blubbering child within 5 minutes.

I suspect there’s a lesson in there somewhere…

Chris