Life, Britney, and whatnot

Things are starting to calm down thankfully. I have come to grips with my impending surgery. Worked out all the financial details. Set the date. And I'm am mentally preparing for it. Also I think we will be able to have Baxter's ACL surgery shortly after mine. That way someone is always home with him and he won't have to be crated, which we do not want. The poor baby will be going though enough without that added stress. Plus we can recover together.

Now It's just the waiting. June 11 isn't that far off I know, but it's still long ebough for me to have to have doubts and anxiety. Then again, what's new about that.

On the brighter side, I am seeing Britney Spears tomorrow. Yay!!! I want her to say "Thank You Cow-lum-bus, was my pussy showing yy'all?!" That would be spectacular! OMG, speaking of pussy, the Pussycat Dolls open for her. That is one GAY concert. All I have to say is "Hit me baby one more time, y'all!"

Goodbye to another Girl: Bea Arthur.

'Golden Girls' star Bea Arthur dies at the age 86

Updated: Sat Apr. 25 2009 13:46:13

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows "Maude" and "The Golden Girls" and who won a Tony Award for the musical "Mame," died Saturday. She was 86.

Arthur died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side, family spokesman Dan Watt said. She had cancer, Watt said, declining to give further details.

"She was a brilliant and witty woman," said Watt, who was Arthur's personal assistant for six years. "Bea will always have a special place in my heart."

Arthur first appeared in the landmark comedy series "All in the Family" as Edith Bunker's loudly outspoken, liberal cousin, Maude Finley. She proved a perfect foil for blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), and their blistering exchanges were so entertaining that producer Norman Lear fashioned Arthur's own series.

In a 2008 interview with The Associated Press, Arthur said she was lucky to be discovered by TV after a long stage career, recalling with bemusement CBS executives asking about the new "girl."

"I was already 50 years old. I had done so much off-Broadway, on Broadway, but they said, `Who is that girl? Let's give her her own series,"' Arthur said.

"Maude" scored with television viewers immediately on its CBS debut in September 1972, and Arthur won an Emmy Award for the role in 1977.

The comedy flowed from Maude's efforts to cast off the traditional restraints that women faced, but the series often had a serious base. Her TV husband Walter (Bill Macy) became an alcoholic, and she underwent an abortion, which drew a torrent of viewer protests. Maude became a standard bearer for the growing feminist movement in America.

The ratings of "Maude" in the early years approached those of its parent, "All in the Family," but by 1977 the audience started to dwindle. A major format change was planned, but in early 1978 Arthur announced she was quitting the show.

"It's been absolutely glorious; I've loved every minute of it," she said. "But it's been six years, and I think it's time to leave."

"Golden Girls" (1985-1992) was another groundbreaking comedy, finding surprising success in a television market increasingly skewed toward a younger, product-buying audience.

The series concerned three retirees -- Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan -- and the mother of Arthur's character, Estelle Getty, who lived together in a Miami apartment. In contrast to the violent "Miami Vice," the comedy was nicknamed "Miami Nice."

As Dorothy Zbornak, Arthur seemed as caustic and domineering as Maude. She was unconcerned about the similarity of the two roles. "Look -- I'm 5-feet-9, I have a deep voice and I have a way with a line," she told an interviewer. "What can I do about it? I can't stay home waiting for something different. I think it's a total waste of energy worrying about typecasting."

The interplay among the four women and their relations with men fuelled the comedy, and the show amassed a big audience and 10 Emmys, including two as best comedy series and individual awards for each of the stars.

In 1992, Arthur announced she was leaving "Golden Girls." The three other stars returned in "The Golden Palace," but it lasted only one season.

Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in New York City in 1922. When she was 11, her family moved to Cambridge, Md., where her father opened a clothing store. At 12 she had grown to full height, and she dreamed of being a petite blond movie star like June Allyson. There was one advantage of being tall and deep-voiced: She was chosen for the male roles in school plays.

Bernice -- she hated the name and adopted her mother's nickname of Bea -- overcame shyness about her size by winning over her classmates with wisecracks. She was elected the wittiest girl in her class. After two years at a junior college in Virginia, she earned a degree as a medical lab technician, but she "loathed" doing lab work at a hospital.

Acting held more appeal, and she enrolled in a drama course at the New School of Social Research in New York City. To support herself, she sang in a night spot that required her to push drinks on customers.

During this time she had a brief marriage that provided her stage name of Beatrice Arthur. In 1950, she married again, to Broadway actor and future Tony-winning director Gene Saks. They divorces in 1978.

After a few years in off-Broadway and stock company plays and television dramas, Arthur's career gathered momentum with her role as Lucy Brown in the 1955 production of "The Threepenny Opera."

In 2008, when Arthur was inducted in the TV Academy Hall of Fame, she pointed to the role as the highlight of her long career. "A lot of that had to do with the fact that I felt, `Ah, yes, I belong here,"' Arthur said.

More plays and musicals followed, and she also sang in nightclubs and played small roles in TV comedy shows.

Then, in 1964, Harold Prince cast her as Yente the Matchmaker in the original company of "Fiddler on the Roof."

Arthur's biggest Broadway triumph came in 1966 as Vera Charles, Angela Lansbury's acerbic friend in the musical "Mame," directed by Saks. Richard Watts of the New York Post called her performance "a portrait in acid of a savagely witty, cynical and serpent-tongued woman."

She won the Tony as best supporting actress and repeated the role in the unsuccessful film version that also was directed by Saks, starring Lucille Ball as Mame. Arthur would play a variation of Vera Charles in "Maude" and "The Golden Girls."

In 1983, Arthur attempted another series, "Amanda's," an Americanized version of John Cleese's hilarious "Fawlty Towers." She was cast as owner of a small seaside hotel with a staff of eccentrics. It lasted a mere nine episodes.

Between series, Arthur remained active in films and theatre. Among the movies: "That Kind of Woman" (1959), "Lovers and Other Strangers" (1970), Mel Brooks' "The History of the World: Part I" (1981), "For Better or Worse" (1995).

The plays included Woody Allen's "The Floating Light Bulb" and "The Bermuda Avenue Triangle," written by and co-starring Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna. During 2001 and 2002 she toured the U.S. in a one-woman show of songs and stories, "... And Then There's Bea."

In 1999, Arthur told an interviewer of the three influences in her career: "Sid Caesar taught me the outrageous; (method acting guru) Lee Strasberg taught me what I call reality; and ("Threepenny Opera" star) Lotte Lenya, whom I adored, taught me economy."

In recent years, Arthur made guest appearances on shows including "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Malcolm in the Middle." She was chairwoman of the Art Attack Foundation, a non-profit performing arts scholarship organization.

Bummer!!

I feeled bummed today. I now know when my surgery will be. It's Thursday June 11. I seriously hope this one works. I am not feelinf very positive about it though if I am honest. The first surgery there was an 80% success rate. The second one was even higher at 90%. This one technically shouldn't even be happening. Dr. B bascially told me that this one is it. There isn't much else that can be done. I agree with that. Short of an total ankle replacement, what else is there. I also know that I will have major arthritis in the coming months and years. Sometimes that can be just as painful as what I'm experiencing now.

I don't want to focus on the negative, but it's hard not to. 3 months in a cast which means basically being bored outta my mind. I guess I'll be able to catch up on my reading, watch movies all day, and sleep a ton. I can also start watching "Days of our Lives" again. I'm sure not much has changed since I watched it faithfully 2 years ago. Not to mention, I'll get to watch every game of my Cleveland Indians. Mmmmm my Ryan Garko(licious). I'll also constantly be on facebook and blogging more. I also get these really great drugs. So I guess there are some positives. One major bummer is no alchohol. It doesn't mix well with Vicodin. Oh well. At least I know when it's happening so I can prepare myself.

6 months ago.....

It was 6 months today that we lost Weber. I still miss him everyday. Baxter, luckily, is showing alot of the same quirks that Weber had. So he makes it alot easier for both of us to both remember and move on. I know he is watching us all the time. Which helps as well. I know I'll eventually stop grieving him, I just don't know when that will be. So hang in there with me.

Now as for Baxter. I was asked why he needs surgery. His ACL needs replaced. He hurt it about a year ago. It went away for a while. But now it's back. He's limping, holds his leg up. He doesn't seem to be in pain which is good, but he does need the surgery (just like his daddy). We are saving the $2500 needed. Since I'm going to off most of the summer, we have decided to get it done sooner rather than later. We can recover at the same time. My poor baby.

Now on to me. I have decided to go ahead with the surgery. the tentative date is June 4. I really don't want to, but I honestly have to. I am still in alot of pain and the hardware in my ankle is starting to come loose, which means it is being rejected by my body. Paying for it is another story. I am currently trying to get short-term medcaid. I have heard it's hard to get, but it never hurts trying. I am also working with the Doctors office for payment arangements. The one bright spot is that I don't have to have it at Grant Hospital. I am having it done at the new surgical center located at the doctor's new medical building. So it's cheaper thankfully.

So in case you don't know, We are postponing our commitment ceremony til next year, I am not feeling up to it now. Plus we can't afford the cost right now. We'll try and have a summer party later when I'm feeling more up to it. Oh and Lothian, I'm so sorry but NKOTB is out for me as well (damn). I wanted to see my new BFF Joey. Oh well. It's sucks being old and crippled!!!

3rd time better be a charm

I found out today that I need to have another ankle surgery. I guess I look at this news two ways. The good news, I'll finally be out of pain...if it works. I have been in so much pain over the past 4 years that I am willing to try this again. The bad news, another 6 months out of life spent recovering. I hate thinking about all that I'll have to give for the first 3 months after surgery. Sitting down to take a shower, walking on crutches, not being able to drive. There are good parts as well. I get caught up on all my movies and tv. I spend time with Baxter. Friends will visiting me more often. I guess we will have to cancel our ceremony. But we can have it later.

I wish I could say that I'm optimistic that this one will work. I am already in that 5% of patients whose first 2 surgeries didn't work. Dr. B told me today that I have 80% chance that this will work. OOOOOOoooooo. I am just so frustrated. I almost want to forget the whole thing and live with it. Baxter also need surgery, so I need to take his needs in consideration as well. I'll update you later. Tim and I need to talk about it now.