Julius Caesar

They loved him. Then they hated him. Then they loved him.

We recently wrapped up our reading of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and topped it off with viewing the 1953 classic version of this play. We all agreed that James Mason made an excellent Brutus and Marlon Brando was awesome to watch as Mark Antony when he manipulated the Roman citizens to first accept that Caesar's murderers acted in the best interest of Rome and then (within minutes) turned them into a vindictive mob onto the same men.

It was also amazing to see the actors speak Shakespeare's Elizabethan English so smoothly after we had stammered and stuttered through our reading. As much as we stuttered, we did enjoy it, though.

In the end, we concluded the play had been mis-titled and should have been called "Brutus" for it was more about the valor and honor (if you can call a murderer honorable) of Marcus Brutus than about Caesar.

So....I'm curious who knows that the following lines are straight out of the play Julius Caesar? Bonus points to the smarty pants who know who said them. (without looking it up)

"Friends, Countrymen, lend me your ears!"
"It's Greek to me."
and while they may not be famous, aren't these some great lines?:

"Th' abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power."
"...lowliness is young ambition's ladder, whereto the climber-upward turns his face; But when he attains the up most round he then unto the ladder turns his back, looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees by which he did ascend."

Misc. Pictures

It's that time of year again.....

A Love Story

Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.

Edna promptly jumped in to save Ralph. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered Edna to be mentally stable.

When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.

The bad news though, is Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead.'

Edna replied, 'He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?'

Be sure to celebrate Mental Health Day on October 10, 2009!

Happy Birthday To Me!

And a happy one it was.

I'm older and wiser. And many friends and family were charming enough tell me wonderful things that made me feel better about reaching this milestone birthday. I turned 50 today and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The anticipation was definitely worse than the reality.

Don't be shocked that I'm admitting my age on the world wide web. Afterall, Greg already announced to practically everyone in our address book exactly how old this old gal is --and encouraged them to send me birthday greetings. Thank you, everyone who sent kind and gentle (and even some profound) words my way.

Following is an e-mail I sent to a friend who asked me how it was -- as she is anticipating her 50th birthday later in the year and is wondering what she and her husband can do to prepare for it:

It's glorious, Friend. Really....when the time comes, just embrace it. I have and it's not as hard as I thought. Oh...and suggest that your husband send an e-mail out announcing to the world that you're now older than dirt. Really. It's all uphill from there.

All kidding aside, it's been a great day. And I'm happy to report that the anticipation was worse than the reality. For months now, I've been whispering, "I'm turning 50 this year." Just to see how it sounded. Today I've proclaimed it proudly at least 5 or 6 times. And no one fainted (or even looked the least bit surprised). Honestly, I wouldn't mind a little touch of surprise from a few of my admirers. Oh yeah...Greg already told them. I have no more secrets. I've embraced humility too.

Okay...truly - now all kidding aside.....We're going to a fun concert in a couple hours -- Riders in the Sky . They are the singing voices on Toy Story 2 (if you can remember back that far -- if you have REASON to remember back that far.) They are a quartet of singing cowboys, comedians and who knows what else they will bring to tickle our funny bones. I figure welcoming in the next 50 years with laughter is the only way to do this thing gracefully.

Thank you for the birthday greetings.

~ Becki

P.S. Make sure your husband has our e-mail address flagged to get your entering-the-2nd-half-of-the-century birthday announcement. But just in case I miss it, Happy 50th, Dear! Isn't it great to be in such good company?