Before Cat Stevens...

       Before there was Cat Stevens and John Sebastian and Richie Havens and John Lennon, there was Glen Campbell.

Glen Campbell--photo by m_g_ gray

       It still flummoxes me, but I had a crazy crush on Glen. I loved his music, I loved his voice, and I found him physically quite attractive (as hunky as a 10-year old could hunker together, that is).

       When the movie True Grit came out, I ran, screeching, to the movie theater to see it. (Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but I did have to strap on my drool bucket.) I drank in every moment of every scene he was in.

       During the last quarter of the movie, I was devastated. (spoiler alert) The Glen Campbell character died! The nerve of them! In my young mind, it was as if Campbell was now dead.

       Now Glen has Alzheimer's. He still plays concerts, but is supported by three of his children. They keep him from faltering too far afield. When he finishes a song, then goes into the intro of that same song, they gently remind him. He has a teleprompter, to help ensure he doesn't forget the lyrics. Unfortunately, I know that soon, he will not be able to continue. I know, because my dad had Alzheimer's. It's a horrible disease, but it takes the worst toll on the family of the afflicted one.

        As writers, we have to continue no matter how tough it gets. When we get a rejection, we have to brush ourselves off and send off another submission. When we stumble, we have to get up and keep moving ahead.

         Who do you admire who--like Glen Campbell--is the epitome of perseverance?  Tell their story. Now.

True Grit Meets the Coen Brothers

         I was raised with a mother who loved anything with John Wayne.  I think she even loved the movie he did where he was Genghis Khan.  (How whack was that?)  On occasional Saturdays or Sundays there were John Wayne movie marathons.  When that happened, she would take over the television and we'd either have to watch it with her or retreat into our room with a book.  Boooring!

         However, there were a couple of his movies I loved.  The Quiet Man was one.  The fact that it supposedly took place in Ireland, a fiesty red-head costarred in it...Perhaps I enjoyed it in spite of John Wayne.

         True Grit is the other one.  I saw it as soon as it came to the theaters, and even though my mother was next to me, enthralled with John Wayne, I was there to see one of the costars.

photo by One Eyed Z

          Glen  Campbell.

           I know, go figure.  I had graduated from Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy to Glen Campbell.  Or maybe I have the timeline wrong.  Whatever.

          For a while, I had a huge crush on him, and when he died in the movie, I was crushed.  (When he married Tanya Tucker in real life, I was pissed.)  There is an incredible scene where Wayne is against several gunmen and he takes the reins in his mouth, shouts a great phrase and gallops towards them, with a gun in each hand.  Kim Darby is wonderful in it, and Robert Duvall plays a great villain.

photo by Paul Garland


         Recently I've gotten excited about the Coen Brothers' most recent movie--True Grit--which will be released this holiday season.  They have made some of my favorite movies, and I'm intrigued. 

       Apparently Joel and Ethan have an "if-it-ain't-broke, don't-fix-it" philosophy, which is encouraging.  They have changed some of the scenes so it is more consistently from Mattie's perspective but reportedly have not strayed but instead stayed true.

photo by One Eyed Z

           I will be going to the theater in the next two weeks, but I am also interested...

           Who did you have a crush on when you were a kid?  Perhaps it's a crush you'd like to shove under the rug?