Weekly DiVa | Ded 3 2023

Hello!

 

What's shakin, bacon? (You don't mind me calling you “bacon,” do you? “Hot Stuff” didn't feel appropriate.) Have you had a good week? I hope so. Mine was a tangle of getting unexpected stuff done and procrastinating on other (seasonal) stuff, which means it was pretty much like any other. 

 

Oh, I almost forgot: Happy Rocky Day! What? You didn't know it was Rocky day? The city of Philadelphia has proclaimed it to be so, in honor of the 47th anniversary of the movie's premiere. (I don't know why “47” was significant, but I've always loved that number, and if you are also an Alias fan then you know it is the mark of Rambaldi. I feel like I'm going off the rails here. More on Rocky below.)

 

Today I've got a new book for you: CANDY AND COWARDICE. What's not to love about a cover with a giant pink Birkin bag? This is from Sue Hollowell. 

The last family member to leave the memorial service for her uncle, Tilly reluctantly plans her return trip to Boston, and the shambles of a life that await her.

 

When saying her goodbye to the quaint beach town, and her remaining uncle, they witness a crime in progress.

 

As they begin their quest to right a wrong, will they succeed in maintaining order before Tilly heads home?

At my family's recent Thanksgiving dinner, the subject of Rocky came up and I observed that there were two kinds of people in the world: people who think Rocky is a boxing movie, and people who think Rocky is a movie about overcoming adversity. Rocky has been one of my favorite movies for a very long time, so it should come as no surprise that I fall into the second category. (It's also the reason Nick Taylor was wearing a Rocky T-shirt on the day he and Samantha Kidd met.)

 

To me, it's a movie about doing something nobody thinks you can do. You're so down on yourself, on your status in life, when you've been beat down so much that you no longer believe life can work out for you, and a ridiculous opportunity comes your way. To the world, you're nothing but a future footnote in someone else's story, but it's enough to make you think, for one moment, what if? 

 

What if I can do this? 

What if I can change my life? 

What if I can show the world that I'm not a bum? 

What if I take myself seriously? 

 

It's beautiful depiction of what can come from one what if. When we feel down, when we get self-critical, when we feel like the universe left us stranded on an exit ramp, we need what ifs to remind us that everything has the potential to improve. Sometimes we just have to take one step in one direction to start stagnant energy shifting along with us.  

 

But yes, there is boxing. 

 

Are you a fellow Rocky fan? Hit reply and let me know!

 

xo,

Diane