Hi, and welcome to Coffee Talk. In case you’re new here, this is where I share some of the great and not~so~great stuff that I find on the web. Topics range from news stories that leave me scratchin’ my head to DIYs that I think are absolutely clever. And, who knows, there may even be a recipe thrown in here or there just for fun.
So grab a cup of coffee {or tea or whatever floats your boat} and let’s talk…
1. First and foremost, Happy New Year! Prepare for about a week of this because, you know, it’s the obligatory thing to do to remind us all that it is now 2014. Which means we made it! Yay! Others haven’t been quite so blessed…
2. Already in 2014, we’ve lost two actors who left lasting impressions on my childhood: James Avery, “Uncle Phil” from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Juanita Moore, “Annie Johnson” from Imitation of Life. James Avery always appeared to be a gentle giant. I loved his patient yet firm ways when it came to dealing with Will.
My favorite episode was when Will’s father came back and then abandoned him and Will stood there crying: “Why doesn’t he want me?” There was so much tension, love, and hurt in that scene. James Avery reached out and hugged Will and I just knew there were millions of kids out there wondering why their parents didn’t want them. That episode spoke to the hearts of so many people who’ve been abandoned by the ones who should’ve care the most for them and James Avery just filled the gap. I mean that big ol’ man just reached through the TV and embraced everyone and said “I’m here”. Apparently, I have some abandonment issues I need to deal with…
And, Juanita Moore, oh man… She broke my heart in that movie. To me, she just epitomized grace under pressure. She handled everything with such dignity. She didn’t try to change the world through the bully pulpit, instead she demonstrated small kindnesses to people. And when her daughter fell on her casket… Sorry, I get choked up every time… The song from Annie’s funeral was played at my father’s funeral. There’s a personal connection.
3. The hubs and I had our first disagreement of 2014. It was over Beyonce. I said she was out of line to use the recordings from the Challenger explosion for her new song and he said there are bigger issues to be concerned with when it comes to free speech. I won’t make his argument for him because I can’t. I disagree with him. I just think there are some things that are sacrosanct and that is one of them. To me that is tantamount to taking the last call from someone who died on 9/11 and sampling it. You just don’t do it. Especially for a song that isn’t even related to the issue at hand. I haven’t listened to the song but I heard it’s about a break up. Yeah, no, that’s just not right.
