Mae in February

Today marks my twenty-fifth blog and I know what you're thinking...is that all? However they are received there are twenty five of them now and that is something in itself.

I failed to make it to the keys yesterday as I was in a celebratory mood. The recipe for this mood is rare but wonderful and it is when two holidays bud together to make two days of celebration. This particular conglomerate could even be perceived as three holidays for some. Beginning with Valentine's Day for our romantic sides, followed by President's Day for the patriot in us all and wrapped up with Fat Tuesday, be ware! Now each of these unique holidays are honored in February but not always simultaneously. So kudos to Cupid our President's and the Eve of Lent. Too bad I wasn't off today too!

Aside from venturing out for lunch at Flacos across the street and a jaunt down Congress to Amy's Ice Cream, I stayed close to home most of the weekend. Enjoying the sunshine with the door and windows open as well as some much needed rest and relaxation. Oh and don't forget laundry...ugh.

During which I made a discovery, Mae West.

Again, I can almost read your mind...you didn't know who Mae West was?

Well of course I did!

I knew that she was a star from long ago, a sex symbol in the early days, an actress from the stage and the silver screen, yes I knew all these things. But I really didn't know Mae West.

There you are reading this and thinking...that lunatic spent Valentine's Day at home, had the day off on President's Day, and all he discovered was an icon that most people in the world already knew about? I know it is a bit bizarre but that is exactly how I found her.

Mae West is someone I had heard my grandparents speak of as a pretty blond movie star from the old days; a Betty Boop of sorts. I knew that Mae West. However, after spending half the afternoon watching Sextette, West's last film in 1978, I was enthralled. The film roster boasted the likes of: Dom Deluise, Regis Philbin, Ringo Star, Tony Curtis, and George Hamilton. Ms. West, who at the time was already in her eighties, shuffled about as a sex goddess among a much younger cast of daunting characters and muscle men. I really couldn't believe what I was seeing, as the cast interacted, West indulged them with her famous one-liners just as she always had. You would get the feeling that she was in a different movie.

Beginning her career on the stage and dancing into film during the early 1930s, Mae West never lacked in sex appeal. Born in 1893 she starred in movies for nearly fifty years. She embraced her character, camera on or camera off. After doing some light net research on this icon I found that it is a collected idea that the lines between Mae West and her sexy characters grew hazy as the actress aged. I won't bother to tell you her life story, in fact that's not my lot in life no matter how interesting it is. Regardless, her success and her life pose some good questions.

Can you reach a level of fame, fortune or lack there of, that allows you the canvas on which to paint your own world? How many stars have we seen go down this same road?

To top it all off I was watching A & E's Hoarder's last night and came to the conclusion that many of the people portrayed in these segments have fallen into similar situation, except not at all luxurious or glamorous.

That said, let me wrap this all up and make sense of it. With our own self perceptions: confidence, self-worth, and self-awareness or lack there of; we perceive ourselves everyday to be the person we think we are to others. For Mae West, that was a beautiful blond, with all the right things to say, in a Hollywood apartment with mirrors on the ceiling at eighty seven years old. For many that might get a little old, but not for her!

Is that wrong?

I belong to the school of thought that believes that so long as you are happy you should get up every morning and be proud of the person you are. You should embrace your personality, your beauty, and your spirit, whatever that entails. Now I can't tell you if Mae West was happy with herself, if she indeed felt beautiful. But she left us with no information other wise. She only left us with a list of movies in which she mostly portrayed strong, beautiful and sexy characters. Whether it was an image or not, she created it, kept it going and lived with it.

Now I am not implying that you should go out and create your own fairytale to abide in, I am not saying that at all. What I would like to insist is that you love yourself. Love yourself everyday! If you can do that, you can live a life filled with Valentines, a life fit for a President, and who knows you might even find yourself shuffling down Bourbon Street looking like Mae West! Just be yourself it will be great!

"I wrote the story myself, it's all about a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it!" ~Mae West