Mary's blog

Today the beautiful and talented Betty White celebrates her 90th birthday.  Not only does she still shine, but she shines brighter than ever! 
 

I first became aware of the talent of Betty White while watching "Golden Girls". Even though I was still just a kid when the show began, I loved and appreciated the humor of these women who were much older than me. Betty White's character was my favorite - Rose Nylund. I always looked forward to her long, drawn out hilarious stories.  read more...

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King Day. 

I wish I had the perfect words to write about how wonderful this man was, but I can't find words that are great enough. He was so humble that he probably wouldn't want people to put their time into describing his greatness. He would probably rather people spread the word about his ideas of peace and non-violence, and the importance of equality.  read more...

Tomorrow, is the 85th birthday of someone who is very special to me - my Grandma, whose name is also Mary. I just discovered that tomorrow is also the birthday of the author of one of my very favorite childhood books and films. His name is Albert Lamorisse, and he was born five years before my Grandma, in 1922.  read more...

Iowa has been all over the news lately because of the Iowa Republican Caucus, although we don't actually get to see much of Iowa. Now is your chance to plan to see more than poll numbers and politics in Iowa. If you already find yourself daydreaming about tip toeing through the tulips this spring, have I got the place for you! Pella, Iowa! read more...

What were your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents doing sixty-five years ago on New Year's Eve 1946? If they are still alive, they probably won't remember what they were doing, since it's difficult to remember what any of us were doing on New Year's Eve on any particular year. However, this YouTube video gives us an idea of what people in New York looked like on New Year's Eve in 1946. They were certainly much more glamorous in their suits, dresses and hats. read more...

From HOTpoint to HOT in Cleveland, Mary Tyler Moore is as Hot as ever! Mary Tyler Moore began her acting career when she was a teenager as the dancing elf "Happy Hotpoint" who advertised the Hotpoint brand. That was in the 1950's. Just earlier this year she was on the show "Hot in Cleveland". For more than 50 years, Mary Tyler Moore has been entertaining us. In the 50's, she was best known as Happy Hotpoint. In the 60's, she was best known for The Dick Van Dyke Show. In the 70's, she was best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show. read more...

 If you love the movie "A Christmas Story", you know the magic of Jean Shepherd. He narrated the movie, he was one of the writers of the movie, and the movie was based on his book of stories of his life growing up in Hammond, Indiana called "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash". read more...

Wasn't Jackie Cooper adorable! And so talented too! He was a real natural! I grew up watching Jackie Cooper on Our Gang / The Little Rascals, but I happened to stumble upon this 1931 Christmas video of him on YouTube. If you love Jackie Cooper, Christmas scenes of the past, or if you love the 1930's, you'll enjoy this.  read more...

Three words: Too. Many. Periods. 

Within the last few years, those tiny little dots have spread all over the internet at an alarming rate. Spreading. like. chicken. pox. How did it start? Certainly it was clever the first time we all saw it. It was probably in the form of a review in which someone wrote something like, "Worst. movie. EVER." 

Oh my! A sense of drama created by periods alone. Clever!  read more...

Ryan White and I were part of the first generation to grow up with AIDS. Though I never met Ryan White, when I look at photos of him, it's like looking at photos of an old classmate because I remember him so well. I was a bit younger than him, and I didn't really understand AIDS yet, but I remember seeing him on the news, and I knew that it wasn't right that a boy was being kept out of school because he had a disease that he wouldn't spread to anyone else. Ryan White was an innocent boy, but he was being treated less than human. read more...