Have been watching Academy Award wins/acceptance speeches from the 1970's and 1980's on YouTube (came across one recommended to me, and it becomes a downward spiral after that as most of you know), and am amazed by how much of my memories are tied into movies in one way or another. I have entire blocks of my childhood I cannot remember, but remember rooting like hell for Faye Dunaway to win for Network because that film knocked me on my ass as a kid, or when Nicholson got his for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Louise Fletcher did part of her acceptance speech in sign language when she won for the same film (my sister Carole, who passed back in September, took me to see that movie, it was very R-rated and I was 13 at the time - a much more innocent age, in 1975 - and the film both enthralled and devastated me). So, SO many of my favorite memories are tied into films, tied into my heart, I guess they and books were always a fat lonely kid's best friends and companions, growing up - the most poignant of all maybe being this acceptance speech by Whoopi Goldberg, for Ghost. I sat in front of the TV living every moment of her talking about growing up wanting to be up on that stage, filled with the desire to act and win an Oscar one day, and while a wonderful memory it's also brought home the fact that you just - don't - always - reach your dreams. O-blah-dee, O-blah-dah, life goes on ... but for anyone here who thinks I blather on too much about movies, please know that much of it is due to one simple fact: they are tied to my memories, and my heart, like family. In many ways stronger than family, because movies never leave you, and never betray you. Whenever you need to see one that fills your empty spirit again, it'll always be there.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Amazing, What $10 Can Do ...
From 2009-2013, for 3.5 years, I did fundraising for a variety of amazing organizations including Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign, National Organization for Women (NOW), NAACP, ASPCA, Amnesty International, Galapagos Conservancy (love you, Lonesome George, RIP!), Democratic National Committeee, Gay and Lesbian Task Force, GLSEN, PBS, Mother Jones, President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, and many more. It was incredibly grueling work, at times, but the rewards very much worth it - the vibe at our re-election party to celebrate all our hard work, while watching the election results rolls in, was a night I'll never forget; not to mention, in general, all the amazing people I talked to, for all these above causes and more, who were as passionate about supporting them as I was.
The number 10 became my lucky number in those days; the countless times I talked to a potential donor who was on the fence, or at first rejected giving because they were too embarrassed to say they couldn't give a lot - felt what they could afford wouldn't make a difference, anyway. I would remind them that if they could even do the cost of a discounted pizza - only $10, and maybe eat in that one night instead of ordering that pizza, giving that ten-spot to a campaign they believed in, instead - that if everyone I talked to in just a week gave just $10 to that same cause, it would amount to anywhere from $8-$10 THOUSAND dollars! In one week! Like HELL $10 won't make a difference! I couldn't begin to calculate how many people kind of "got it" after that, even if they did preface their donation with, "Well, okay, I really AM sorry it can't be more ... " shyness or embarrassment, but I was being 100% sincere. Ten dollars, multiplied, adds up very, VERY quickly, and I will go to my grave being very proud of the work I did for all these causes.
I lay in bed well past midnight last night, awake and restless as I always am over worries of health, money and being evicted, when it occurred to me that it was after midnight; technically December the 10th. Ten, a number that had been so lucky for me in the past, and had worked so well in helping to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for causes I supported.
So today, December 10th, I ask that anyone who read this please take my campaign to heart and see - even in this holiday season - if you could spare the cost of a discounted pizza to help me cross the final item from my Bucket List. It's funny, I'd make double my goal if everyone on my Facebook friends list alone donated just $10 each, but for anyone who can do so it'd be confirmation to me that both Christmas and myself are still to be believed in. To those who've already helped out - THANK YOU,and have already got your names down for the Acknowledgements page in the book! - but if you could even share the link below with passion, adding a quick note as to why you're sharing, then maybe this goal can come true at $10 a pop.
Meanwhile, I hope you are all having an amazing time prepping for the holidays. I know it's a tough time of year to have someone else coming at you, asking for a gift no less, but please believe me when I say $10 can make the most incredible difference, when multiplied; I spent 3.5 years making others realize that and the results were phenomenal, so please donate if you are able ... and think I am worth $10 after reading the campaign, of course!
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