“Say it in the street, that's a knock-out! But say it in a Tweet, that's a cop-out!.” (Taylor Swift, Joe Little 2019)

With these words, you will notice a departure from the Get Happy theme that has flowed through this year’s blogs.

The reason for the change in attitude and direction?  When looking in on Holiday Inn we find the characters of Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) and Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) are not the friendly/likable sidekicks typically found in the movie musical, (Don Lockwood /Cosmo Brown – Singin in the Rain, Tommie Albright/ Jeff Douglas – Brigadoon, or Don Hewes/Johnny Harrow – Easter Parade), but rather rivals for everything from women to fame.

This rivalry leads to fighting, scheming, name-calling, criticism, and of course the common theme of the movie musical, misunderstanding.

Welcome to the November 2019 Edition  ~ Kindness, Gone, or Just Forgotten?

As both men vie for the attention and affection of Lila Dixon (“I’ll Capture Her Heart”) and Linda Mason, (Jim offers Linda a job in his holiday shows and eventually a permanent engagement. “Maybe when we start doing better you can stay out here all the time.” Linda: “I guess I’m engaged!”), they leave kindness at the door.

Upon hearing of Linda’s engagement, Ted does not act in a kindly manner, (bowing out gracefully), but instead confesses “I love you too”  and schemes to separate Linda and Jim. (“Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime. But when a man is surprised he is going to be married, that’s when I go to work with a clear conscience.”)

Thus begins the tug of war:

• Ted uses the promise of a part in “pictures” to get Linda away from Jim.

•  Jim uses Lila as a replacement for Linda as he schemes to keep her away from the Inn (with a detour through the lake), when Hollywood comes calling.

• Linda tries to keep Lila away from the Inn via the same detour.

•  Lila runs back to Ted after she discovers, the millionaire she dumped him for, “didn‘t own millions, he owed them”, thus proving that in a war for love, the women are just as adept at schemes and trickery as the men.

As the story progresses, our couples discover trickery and schemes lead to loneliness and tears. However, love and kindness, (Jim singing White Christmas to Linda), brings joy and happiness.

The behavior of these couples, their lack of kindness and respect for each other, seems to mirror some recent on-line behavior.

As I read unsigned facebook posts that criticize and disparage mothers for how they interact with their special needs children,  when I see celebrities criticizing their peers for the friends they keep, when I read articles about the on-line abuse of minority women, or when friends are called upon to stop “boring” others with their posts, I leave you with this:

As we build new connections through social media and our world becomes just a little bit smaller, please remember although many sites are public the pages on which we write belong to us. Our writing is personal, meaningful and meant to inform,  educate,  and entertain. If you disagree, or do not appreciate our content, please use the lessons of compassion and understanding instilled in you by your family  - scroll past.

However, if you enjoy what we write please join the fun  --   share a kind comment,  like us, visit the websites and Spread the Word! 

Thank you for Looking In!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~~Lori