Roxana Saberi is free!

At this point, who cares why!

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And you wonder WHY I'm the way I am!

In honor of Mother's Day, meet three of my amazing "Mothers."

Since they are no longer here for me to share the day,

I wanted to share them with you...

Top: My maternal grandmother,

Lulu Pearl Lord, (far right) clowning with friends.

(At least she wasn't smoking a corncob pipe like HER mother!)

Bottom left: My mother, Mary Elizabeth Richert,

"opening" a Christmas present!

Bottom right: My mother-in-law Louisa "Fern" Boley.

This was the most tame picture I could find!

Thank you, ladies. You changed my life, and I'll always love you...

Diana

Why Michael J. Fox?

What a great guy...Michael J. Fox. Funny. Smart. Easy on the eyes. Dedicated husband and father.

So why did this thing, Parkinson's disease, happen to HIM of all people?

I don't know. (Yep, a theme's emerging here at Basic Black Blog ... I don't know much.)

I do know this. This thing has taken much from him and his family, this thing that in his own words has turned Fox into a "human whirligig."

This thing does that to people...Often it also turns more than their bodies into whirligigs. It grabs every conceivable aspect of their lives and spins it out of control.

Sometimes people afflicted with life-changing illness become bitter and closed-off from the world. But sometimes people still find humor and seek ways to make a difference...

Clearly we see the direction this actor has chosen. Why Michael J. Fox?

--Diana

ABC special "Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist,” aires 9:00 p.m. Thursday

Why I'm Woozy!

Ever wonder what poets do in their spare time? Did you ever picture THIS?!?!?

No, me either...and I'm getting a little woozy just looking at the photo...

But a lot inspired...

Linda Rogers, Victoria (BC) Poet Laureate, is a force of creativity and a tireless fighter for truth and justice on behalf of children the world over. Please take a moment to read her personal interview on the WOOFersClub blog...Then check out her website.

You'll discover WHY this neighbor to our north is ... on Top of the World!

--Diana

That's Just My Egg Timer...Why?

In addition to this blog and the WOOFers Club, Wendel Wordsworth...Oh, the list goes on, I also co-host an "authors helping authors" blog, Bookland Heights: Moving to New Heights in the Land of Books.

Our guest author for the next several days is Sunny Frazier...and though I've yet to read her books, her blog comments convince me to snatch up all her titles!

For example this question was posed to her: "When do you find time to write with all the promo you are doing? (he he--I'm hoping for a secret.)" ...

Sunny's comment:

Marilyn,
I'm really into pacing myself and not setting unreachable goals. My secret? Kitchen timers. I have them all over the house. I work at the computer on a story, email, promotion, for 45 minutes. Ding! I get 15 minutes to eat, write bills, clean a room, read a book, watch TV, power nap or play with the cats. This goes on all day. It's my productive way of being OCD. The day flies by, I get a lot done, and I don't feel I've neglected other parts of my life. I go to bed every night tired but fulfilled.
Kids, don't try this at home.

I love this solution to especially getting sucked up into computer work, social networking...you know spending waaaaaaaaay too much time...oh, I don't know, blogging maybe?!?!

Hope you'll read more of her comments (well, and her books, too!). Why? Sunny's a fascinating person and a damn good writer...

Why Won't Hugh Jackman Answer My Calls?

"To get down to the quick of it, respect motivates me, not success," says Hugh Jackman in an interview with Kevin Sessums PARADE

Well, we all know he's earned a lot of respect from fans and peers...and any woman with even a hint of vision left!

He's also known to be a nice guy...So Sessums inquires what makes Jackman play dark characters like Wolverine?

"My favorite play in drama school was 'The Bacchae,'" Jackman says, surprising me. Why would he choose this most gruesome of Greek tragedies as his favorite? "It's about a king who literally gets eaten alive by all the women in the play in a kind of orgy -- it's related to the word 'bacchanal' -- and I loved that idea of animalistic chaos and following our own desires," Jackman says. "I think Wolverine represents that in its most allegorical sense. He's a man who battles between the animal and the human, between the chaos in him and the self-control he must have. We all deal with this to some extent. At which point should we let go and do what we want to do? And when should we submit to rules? Coming to terms with our true natures and who we really are has always been a fascination to humans. I know it fascinates me."

To read more interview...click here...and prepare to drool!

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine," opens May 1. Sorry, couldn't find photo credit.

Why would a mother drive off?

We all know the story. The mother in White Plains, NY, sick to death of hearing her 10- and 12-year-old daughters fight, stops the car. Orders them out.

Drives off.

As much as all three may wish it so, there's no "do over." No rewind button or delete key when something like this makes national news. Time to accept and move on...but this time together.

Here's what I hope for them: taht the mother finds safer ways to relieve stress; that the young sisters appreciate each other a whole lot more; and that their entire family experiences a deeper and more meaningful relationship.

We all get pushed to the max. And every situation is different...even if all the components appear to be the same, nothing is ever exactly alike.

So trying to figure out what the mother should or should not have done is a non-issue for me.

Looking inside myself and asking hard questions, that's my job right now...

But still, when you think about it, at the end of the day, aren't we all just a heartbeat away from having to ask ourselves ...Why did I do that?

--Diana