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Favorites
At the very top of my "Favorites" list is to watch my three granddaughters playing sports. Two play soccer
and the middle one has just started playing fastpitch softball this year. Since I played a lot of sports when I was young,
it gives me great joy in seeing them learn all the wonderful benefits of participating in sports.
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Here's are some of my favorite movies/DVD's, etc.:
Dare to Dream: a 2005 HBO documentary about
the US Women's National Soccer Team, from the very beginning to 2004.
The Sting: 1973, starring Robert Redford, Paul Newman & Robert Shaw. In 1930s Chicago, a young con man seeking
revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker.
Field of Dreams: 1989, starring Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta & James Earl Jones. All his life,
Ray Kinsella was searching for his dreams. Then one day, his dreams came looking for him.
The Legend of Bagger Vance: 2000, starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Bruce McGill & Joel
Gretsch. A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddy.
The Patriot: 2000, starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Rene Auberjonois & Adam Baldwin. Before they were
soldiers, they were family. Before they were legends, they were heros. Before there was a nation, there was a fight for freedom.
Some of my favorite musical artists:
Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, The Drifters,
The Embers, Gretchen Wilson, Reba McEntire, Rascal Flats, Sugarland, Martina McBride, Faith Hill,
Some of my favorite books, both children's and adult:
Winners Never Quit - Mia Hamm, 2004
- The world's top goal scorer and three-time Olympian offers a soccer tale, putatively autobiographical, about a little girl
whose tendency to stomp off the field when frustrated, prompts her teammates to teach her a lesson. The text perfectly reflects
a competitive child's rage when things don't go as desired ("Mia didn't want better luck next time. She wanted better luck
now"), as do Carol Thompson's expressive portraits of furious little Mia, all furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists.
A wonderful book for children and adults.
The Girls of Summer - Jere Longman, 2000 - This group portrait of the 1999 World Cup-winning U.S. women's soccer
team chronicles its push to victory on the field, the individuals who formed the team, and the many challenges they faced--including
gender-role prejudice and the lackluster support for women's soccer over three decades. And how they filled the Rose Bowl
with over 90,000 screaming fans crammed into a football stadium for a women's soccer match, the largest crowd ever to watch
a women's sporting event in the United States, and presumably, the world!
Beach Music - Pat Conroy, 1996 - A man from S.C. tries to make peace with himself in the wake of his wife's
suicide. This book is a total reminder of the things I did and the places I went as a youngster growing up in the hotbed
of Beach Music in the 1960's.
Jonathan Living Seagull - Richard Bach, 1970 - Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of seeking a
higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe, or neighborhood finds your ambitions threatening. Another truly wonderful
story for youngsters and adults.
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