Go Pats!

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

I am not a big football fan, but I am a big Tom Brady fan. This guy is an amazing talent, a strong leader both on and off the field, an athlete who is a real team player, and a dedicated husband and father.

I've never been to a Patriots game, but I had the privilege of seeing Tom Brady up close one night when my husband and I were walking back from dinner in Harvard Square. We were walking by the football stadium when we saw this amazing pass. It ended up to be the Special Olympics football night with Tom Brady and a host of other players. And...there was Brady, making another winning pass to help out his team.


We hung around till the end of the game, and were walking away when my husband spotted Brady's Audi 8 parked and ready to go. There was Tom walking toward the car and stopping to sign all autographs requested by any kid near by before being whisked away.


Another time the Brady Mobile was noticed was after an early morning Boston accident. The damage to both cars was minor, and, fortunately no one was hurt, but the press was all over the fact that Brady was passing through the city at a pre-dawn hour.Suspicion grew as Brady professed to be on his way to a practice down at Foxboro. Would a super star like Tom really be up so early to go to work, or was he on his way home from a late night? An annoyed Coach Belichick assured the cynical press that, yes indeed, Tom Brady was up that early to attend a mandatory practice.


Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen met on a beach in Rio de Janiero. He, of course, was "tossing" around the football and she "of course" was quite taken.


By all accounts Tom and his wife Giselle are a happy couple.They live in Boston with their son,Benjamin and their daughter, Vivian Lake.

 http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/tom-brady-gisele-bunchen-love-story

John and Annie Glenn

John and Annie Glenn

John and Annie Glenn don’t really have a very exciting “how they met” story. John and Annie have known each other their entire lives. Growing up in Ohio, their parents were close friend, and often plunked their baby boy and girl together to share a playpen. The childhood friendship blossomed, and all through high school. everyone knew that any event would have John and Annie coming together. They shared a love of music, a love of each other, a deep bond, and an unbreakable trust.

As John’s fame catapulted his young bride into the public spotlight, Annie’s secret struggle, her disabling stutter,became even more of a burden . Never a problem with her best friend, John, Annie was rendered literally speechless when in any public setting.

After years of frustration and struggle, Annie finally found an intensive speech therapy program which worked. John Glenn wrote of his wife’s experience,

"I saw Annie's perseverance and strength through the years and it just made me admire her and love her even more...I don't know if I would have had the courage."

They’ve loved and supported each other through trying times and dangerous journeys. 

 As a Marine, John flew nearly 150 combat missions and later flew the famous Friendship 7 mission on February 20, 1962. Before dangerous deployments, or the terrifying 4 hours:55 minutes:23 seconds of space travel, the Glenns practiced the same good-by ritual. Using the lyrics of an old song, John would say,

 “I’m just going down to the store to get a pack of gum.”

Annie replying,

“Don’t be long.”

When John Glenn went up in the Space Shuttle Discovery, on October 29, 1998, he handed Annie a small pack of gum to hold until his safe return.

This week on April 6th, 92 year old Annie and 90 year old John will celebrate 68 years of marriage. Here’s to a wonderful life of love and adventure….God speed, John and Annie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn

Love-All

The U.S. Tennis Open is on, and present will be tennis champion, John McEnroe. Known for his devastating serves and volleys which led to his 17 Grand Slam titles, McEnroe is also known for his on court tantrums and abusive language which led to his being known as something of an...well,you know ... anyway, McEnroe has left the bad boy image behind and has emerged a favorite commentator and participant of today's world of tennis.   His most important match, with Patty Smyth ended in a Love-All score.

 In 1993 Patty Smyth,former lead singer of The Scandals, was focusing on a single career both as a musician and a mom. She remembers meeting John McEnroe at a Christmas party in Los Angeles.  "His three kids hung onto him like monkeys," she says of Mac,  "His sweetness was surprising." McEnroe recalls that a mutual pal intended to set him up with Smyth that night but forgot to tell her. "I tried in my own pathetic way to ask Patty out," he says, "but she was going away the next day." Their first real date was nearly a year later, and she says, "I knew that night I was safe with him."

Many years and six kids later the couple have a very successful match...at least off the court.

He still needs work on one part of his game. "John is banned from playing tennis with us," says Smyth. "He tortures me. We all get too mad at him."

McEnroe says fatherhood keeps him mellow. "The good part of having six kids," he says, "is there's always one who wants to hug you and say, 'Daddy, I love you.'" In lieu of date nights, he and Smyth watch movies and play Scrabble with the kids. And while he's not big on flowers, she says, "He's affectionate and totally devoted." 

McEnroe-Smyth  final score  Love-All

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20271190,00.html

Stephen Colbert and Evelyn McGee

Watching Stephen Colbert and the nightly Colbert Report is an evening routine I look forward to as one that both informs me on the daily "truthiness" and makes me both contemplate political and world events and laugh out loud at Colbert's "conservative" view point.




 His onscreen persona as Stephen Colbere...the savvy, intelligent, very conservative news anchor allows him to brilliantly explore and parody both sides of the political aisle.


 One of my favorite aspects of the Colbert report is its over all gentle approach to this type of sarcasm. Stephen Colbert never sprinkles expletives or edginess throughout his stories simply for shock value.
 Stephen Colbert grew up in a family of 11 children in Charleston, South Carolina.he began his acting career while studying at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, and became a Theater Major after he transferred to Northwestern University.

In his early career, he was hired to perform with Second City's touring company, and there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello.

 The three comedians at first didn't get along. Dinello thought that Colbert was pretentious, and Colbert thought Dinello to be an "illiterate thug". During the tour everything changed, and they all became very close friends.

The three collaborated on a show called, Strangers with Candy. While filming the show, Stephen Colbert met his future wife, Evelyn McGee, who played several roles in the filming of both the series and the resulting film.

 The Colbert-McGee family is a happy one with three children: Madeline, Peter, and John. When asked if his children watch The Colbert Report, Stephen replied that he prefers that his children not watch the show. he recognizes that kids do not really understand his style of sarcasm and irony, and that he would never want them to perceive their dad as being insincere.

All of this information about my favorite news guy only supports my feeling that all of this time I was being entertained, informed, and amused by a very intelligent, caring, and decent man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert

A Real Bond Girl

When Alex Chapman saw Anna Kuschenko across a crowded dance floor in 2001, he immediately thought she was" the most beautiful girl he had ever seen".


The couple married just five months later and, now we know, that Alex Chapman was Anna's ticket to a dual Russian-British citizenship.


During 2003-2004 Chapman became concerned over his wife's new group of "secretive, well-connected Russian friends."He was usually excluded from her outings and the marriage fell apart, ending in divorce in 2006. An FBI sting led to the arrest of Anna Kuschenka in 2010, and she became part of the biggest spy swap between the United States and Russia since 1986.



So... what happened to Alex Chapman? After cooperating fully with the investigative authorities by telling them all he knew of his ex-wife's suspicious activities, he engaged a well known media publicist and is on his way to fame and fortune.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman

Carole Lombard and Clark Gable

On this April Fool's Day, famous internationally for well timed practical jokes, let's celebrate the love of Lombard and Clark, one of Hollywood's most beloved couples both on and off the silver screen, and one who kept their romance alive with humor and a  passion for extravagant pranks.
 

It was 1936 and two legends from the silver screen, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable, met, fell in love, married, and became one of the most famous couples during the Golden Age of Hollywood. 

Carole Lombard was a gorgeous, sexy, blond whose brilliance as a comic actress made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. Off screen she was much loved for her unpretentious personality and well known for her down to earth sense of humor and acerbic quips. Clark Gable was everybody's favorite leading man. handsome, charming, and always the romantic lead, he had a fan following unmatched by most.

The two originally met in 1932 during the filming of  No Man of Her Own, but met again in 1936 at a ball organized by Lombard. Gable proposed to Lombard in 1939 in a telephone booth at the very famous Brown Derby restaurant. Humor, intelligence, and a passion for jokes kept the original spark alive all through their marriage.

After a fight one time, Gable awoke to a flock of doves in his hotel suite. A request for a kitten resulted in the arrival of a baby cougar brought back from a Gable safari.

In 1941 returning home from a trip to boost morale for U.S. troops heading off to WWII, Carole Lombard was killed when her flight crashed shortly after take off in Las Vegas; she was only 33. Clark Gable was inconsolable and joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. he was later in attendance at the christening of the SS Carole Lombard.

When he died in 1960, Clark Gable was buried alongside Carole Lombard in Glendale, California.

www. wikipedia_carolelombard.com

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

 

When romantic meetings occur, usually one person has to take the initiative to ensure that the relationship progresses beyond the initial spark. Queen Victoria had no reservation in expressing her desire to marry Prince Albert of Saxe- Coburg in 1839. Victoria knew that he was "the one" after the Prince visited Windsor with his brother on October 10th. They could not make an appearance at dinner, due to the fact that their luggage had been lost in a stormy Channel crossing, but Albert appeared after dinner in more informal attire. Victoria found him extremely attractive and charming, and found her own heart "quite going".
Albert was summoned to a private audience during which the queen proposed marriage. Albert joyfully accepted and the couple embraced "over and over again". Their engagement was filled with kindnesses and kisses and their marriage filled with love, support, and mutual respect and admiration.

Weintraub,Stanley;Victoria. EP Dutton,NY 1987