DORIS DAY

See the name, right now just say her name and you smile, and feel her energy.

Her talent ...

I am searching for a right word, a more important word than "astounds" me. Her singing, her acting, her perfect speaking voice, her dancing -- the way she created truth ... Whatever character she played seemed loving, lovable, real --astoundingly real.

No need to try and list my favorite Doris Day films, or songs, or moments that Doris Day gave me that live in my mind. You have probably seen her. I figure you KNOW she's astounding.

The other night, for the first time, I saw the film "Jumbo"-- the Rogers and Hammerstein musical that was released in 1962.

Doris played Kitty Wonder, co-owner with her Dad, (Jimmy Durante), of the Wonder Circus. It was on the verge of bankruptcy, due to Dad's gambling. 
A big rival, Noble Circus, wants "Jumbo," the Wonder Circus' amazing elephant. Noble's owner insists that his son Sam (played by Steven Boyd), get a stage crew job helping Kitty. Sam falls in love with Kitty. When Wonder Circus is shutdown, all of its assets are confiscated, including its star attraction, the incredible elephant, Jumbo.

Heartbroken Kitty, her father, his fiancée, and Sam, (Doris, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, & Stephen Boyd ), create a new circus with stunningly spectacular routines -- no wonder critics say "Jumbo" is "one of the great circus films."

I browsed around, and looked at current pictures, as well as ones of Doris in her younger days.


Here she is on her porch greeting guests -- the huge crowd of fans that arrived for her birthday last year, to sing Happy Birthday.



Oh my ...
When you look at her now, (she is 93 ...

Well... as you remember her in her film days, you cannot help judging her as an older woman.


This is her, from a film that was made at her 90th birthday party. Her guests stood up and cheered, and gave her a standing ovation. Doris remained seated. But her gaze -- her real contact with those who approached her with gifts and loving words and autograph books -- was strong, sincere, energetic.

Oh my ...

Dear Doris Day, please stay on the earth for another ten years or so, so that the younger generation, the very youngest, newest generation, can see you as you began and the triumph of you now.

FIFTY SHADES OF WHAT?

Did you read this best selling sexy book?

I didn't. I was laboring with my agent on publishing my six novels, as women on street corners, on TV, in groceries, in offices, were ecstatically quoting passages from the book and "Fifty Shades" was zooming, ballooning into bestseller-dom.

I didn't want to know, but I did want to know, so I skimmed reviews -- critics said it was ridiculous, poorly written, juvenile rambling. I didn't want to buy the book, so I visited Amazon ebooks online where you can skim a chapter before you buy. I skimmed twenty pages thinking igg and yuck.

The record breaking success of author E L James and her "Fifty Shades of Grey," and all the go-with-the-flow, be in tune with the times, earn money things I did while trying to be successful as a dancer, were on my mind as we were putting together a new website to sell my books.

I promoted my books with what was selling "Fifty Shades of Grey" like hot cakes, emphasizing the passionate-romance-bedroom aspects of my six books, even though my heroines are career woman, deeply committed and passionately pursuing ideas and projects.

Okay, it's been three years of ads and headlines about "Fifty Shades"-- author E L James' big money movie deal, E L transforming her book into a film.

Meanwhile, I've been very busy -- helping my husband with his one man show, writing and publishing my blogs, tweeting and Facebooking, publicizing my novels by developing a readership with my daily blog, Em's Talkery.

A few months ago, the film, "Fifty Shades" opened BIG, breaking opening-night records. Reviews, that I didn't but did want to see, were mostly negative, but folks flocked to see the film.

Right now the film is still at the top, but box office receipts are showing a 73 percent drop that tells the "Hollywood Reporter," "Variety" and other major trade publications and critics, that the film is succeeding like a "one night stand erotic movie."

Hey, I am delighted that this film's NOT a big hit, the kind of movie like "Gone With the Wind" that you'll want to see again and again for years. I'm chuckling, relieved. The rambling, crude, sexy stuff -- the trend that was infecting book-publishing is fading...yes! yay! Yessiree! It's going to disappear.

The me who I am today has plenty say about what's in vogue, about what's wrong with going with the flow and seeking best-seller-dom. Last week I started tackling a seventh novel, and yes, I'm also brewing an idea for novel number eight.

Why am I writing this sour grapesy story? Because I know how easy it is to lose faith in yourself and get stuck feeling sorry for yourself because you're clobbered by a trend.

Hey, here's a link to the official preview for Fifty Shades -- it's not iggy, yuck or erotic, but I saw enough to know I don't need to see the film until it's shown for free on some cable channel.

(VIDEO) MAD CAP ADVENTURES

Spur of the moment, capricious, reckless doings by John Cullum and Emily Frankel -- that's what the Cullums do when the weather is lovely.

Even when disaster looms and Em is scared, she KNOWS John will handle it,  and get them safely back home.

U LOVE DOING WHAT?

Is this a picture of me?

Not exactly, but it represents aspects of me.

What about you? Do you do tender useless things like the kid in the picture?

What do you love doing? Talking with pals? Gardening -- raking, planting? Giving gifts to needy folks? Eating? Seducing or being seduced? Watching sports, a movie, or a play?

Even if what you love doing isn't very important -- you love polishing silverware, love your stamp collection, you truly love shopping for shoes -- my goodness -- buying stuff is like falling in love -- totally absorbing. So is traveling, moseying through a museum or art gallery, and listening to music.

Okay, how to get what you love?

You go for it -- respect it, stay focused on it and recognize the love feelings. Recognizing that feeling, those feelings, is one surefire way of getting more, MORE of what you love.

Just go for it -- be it a half day, or an hour, or a few seconds -- every day of your life.

Hey, I love writing this -- saying, sort of spur of the moment, what I've learned as I sort through remembrances, visions, and intuitions -- it gets me smiling inwardly and outwardly, feeling like I'm dancing around, loving life.