Richard Bay giving "The Speech"

From "The Practice" starring, in this scene, Jason Kravits and Lara Flynn Boyle as Richard Bay and Helen Gamble. "The Practice" had several episodes with some great speeches and this is one of them.

Oliver's Story

Almost 2 1/2 years ago, I shared the story of my dog Harvey. I found him in Houston on Long Point street. He was sitting in the middle of the street; later we realized he had been hit by a car. To make a long story short, he's been doing great, and he's the best dog you could ever have.

Well, in April, I was on my way to get some lunch one day. I took a back street that I don't usually take (Judiway street, a few blocks from Ella, nothing to write home about).

I saw this little dog trudging across the street. He could hardly make it across. He was completely covered with mange. He looked SO horrible that I just had to stop.

Here are some pictures of this dog from the day I found him. He was actually living in a large SEWER pipe.

Because he was obviously suffering from starvation and mange, I had to get him out of there. This always seems to happen to me. It always happens a short time after one of my pets has died. I usually have 2 dogs (and a cat). I always vow that I'm not getting any more pets. After all, after my daughters are out of high school, I'd like to spend a month in Paris, etc., and not have to worry about mutts!

But it never fails that when one dog dies, a few months later, I happen upon some dreadful dog situation. In the last 2 cases, I kept hinting at the pet hospital staff to please feel free to fall in love with the dog and take it home after it was all well.

The complete story about Oliver is here: https://withlovemimitanner.com/oliver.html

Thornton "Thorny" Penfield, my English professor at UNO

I've spent a lot of my life in New Orleans. One person I remember most from New Orleans comes to mind very often. He was my English professor at UNO, Thornton Penfield, known to everyone as Thorny. He was truly an unforgettable person. It seems like just yesterday that I was with him.

When I came to UNO at the age of 20, it was a very difficult time for me. Several months earlier, I had left a religious community of 100 people where I'd spent two years. It was in central California, and we spent months living in mountain camps in Oregon and Washington as well. When I left, I was "disfellowshipped" - which was the California Jesus People way of saying "shunned."

In one of my papers in Thorny's English class, I wrote about the place - expressing the enormous love I had for the place, which had been my whole life and which I'd originally planned to be part of forever.

Thorny wrote a comment on the paper that still means the world to me. It said that he was grading these compositions and finally came across one that meant something.

The last time I saw him, I came to his home to get the term paper he was grading for me. I wrote it in longhand.

There Mr. Penfield gave me a book... which I still have to this day, related to the subject of my term paper about the religious and social changes of 1920s.

He also gave me some great advice which I should have taken, which was to take summer work in New York state, which he thought would be a good experience for me.

He was very caring, truly full of life, and had that mischievous smile and attitude. I have thought of him SO often to this very day.

There are some people in life that we are lucky to have known. Thorny Penfield was definitely such a person to me, and to many others. He was the first person who ever specifically encouraged me as a writer. That was an important milestone for me and I will always be tremendously grateful he cared enough to do that.

Twittering?

I have no intention of Twittering! You gotta be kidding me.

But if you must know what's going on right now...

My cat is very sick. He (Tiger) has a fever. He's on antibiotics. But he's not doing that well. I'll keep you posted.

Right now he is watching "The Usual Suspects." He loves that movie.

Long Live Patrick Swayze - Prayers sent for his rapid recovery!

March 26, 2008

We are all sending prayers for Patrick Swayze, the actor who has delighted audiences in virtually every role he has ever done. I've always admired Patrick for many reasons. One of them is his marriage to Lisa Niemi. He met her at age 19, when she was only about 15, and waited for her to grow up. They've been married for over 30 years, reportedly one of the most solid marriages in show business.

Patrick Swayze is all about excellence. His performances are always compelling. He grew up in the same area where I now live, in the northwest part of Houston, Texas. His mother had a dance studio here. Patrick was also an ice skater in his early days here in Houston.

My favorite movie of Patrick Swayze's may come as a surprise, considering that he is the star of "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing," both of which are beloved movies. But my all-time favorite movie of his (and I have not seen all of his movies) has always been "Point Break." I absolutely love the character he plays in this film, and the interaction with another super-favorite actor, Keanu Reeves. (This movie contains language, sex, violence, it's not for children, and it needs to be seen as pure entertainment - which it most certainly is!)

My favorite part of "Point Break" is when the men are on their way to rob another bank, and Keanu's character says, "Man, this is your wake-up call! I am an FBI agent!" - and Patrick's character responds, "I know, man, isn't it wild?"

Patrick Swayze certainly deserves the highest praise as an actor, and in reading about him from so many people lately, he's said to be free of "star" ego. A relative of his said that he's the kind of guy who would be on the red carpet one night, and the next day, he'd be over at your house with his truck to help you move.

Long live Patrick Swayze! We all want you to get well. We love you, Patrick!!! You're the best!!!

Send thoughts and prayers of strength, love, and health to our "Bodhi" and much loved American actor - and to your family as well. We need Patrick to be here to win the Academy Award and the many more great roles that are surely his to come.

Scenes from "Point Break":