As another summer comes to a close, I stop what I’m doing for too brief a moment to focus on many of my favorite memories of summers gone by.  There was the summer of the Montgomery Businessman’s Club pool, of RP McMurphy’s, of cruising both on the ocean and on the river in ’82 (with a stateroom full of General Hospital magazine cutouts because there was no network television on-board), of living at the beach, of “Just Drivin’ Through,” of college classes in Chicago, several 4th of July’s in Maui; and…

MTV started in August of 1981.  I don’t remember the first time I watched it.  And, I don’t recall exactly when we finally got cable at our house; but, it was sometime in the fall of 1983.  I know this because the first weekend we had cable, I was able to tape three movies that fit onto one Betamax tape: “Valley Girl,” “Losin’ It” (a gang of boys – Tom Cruise, John Stockwell & Jackie Earle Haley – head to Tijuana to well, you know) and “The Slumber Party Massacre.”  Clearly, when we got cable, MTV was not the first…

“I don’t think I want Chipotle for lunch,” no one ever. My intern last year gave me a mug with that inscription as a going away gift.  In my world, no truer words were ever spoken.  Unlike the majority of people, from what I have gathered, most of the things people love to eat are limited by how often.  Not the case when it comes to me.  If I love something, I love it.  Never get tired of it.  Never change how I feel about it.  It goes for brands, hair products, people, food, movies – okay, my judgment was…

August is my favorite month of the year. It’s my guess that a lot of people don’t necessarily have a favorite month. Season, maybe. Holiday, surely. But, if they do choose to honor one of the twelve pages of the calendar for some reason, they probably do not choose a span of insignificant days. Maybe they choose their birth month or a period that includes some special event. However, for me, it is different. It boils down to the fact that August, more than any other month, fits the emotional bill for having that slightly sad, extremely joyful…

This week, I have been traveling through the Canadian Rockies via airplane, train, ferry, bus, floatplane, raft and shuttle.  Cramming all those methods of travel into one short week brings to mind a multitude of thoughts about the magic of traveling, both in real life and in Hollywood lore. Between the train ride and our last stop at the Banff Springs Hotel which can only be described as a luxurious English castle complete with outstanding history, rich decor and breathtaking views; it made me long for what must have been the heyday of true luxury travel, even if it never…