Christmas Movies - Best and Worst

I know that most of these have something profound to say but, right now, I'm in one of those "holiday" moods. You know........just want to drift and think of simple things.....like my best and worst Christmas movies.
Let me get the worst out of the way first. Starting my top 5 would have to be "Santa Claus - The Movie" starring Dudley Moore. It was billed as a Christmas blockbuster back in the early 80's wih its effects, etc. Well.......what a bomb. Dudley Moore as the elf who saves Christmas. Imagine that!
At number 4, Deck the Halls with Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick......need I say more with that combination in the same movie. At #3, Jingle All the Way.....at least now, Arnold has something else to do. #2....Bad Santa - Billy Bob Thornton as Santa.....Yikes!!....I figure any Santa movie that you can't show to kids has to be on this list! And my number one worst Christmas movie is pretty recent...the infamous "Fred Claus" with Vince Vaughan, who, I think, somewhat redeems himself in Four Christmas's, by the way.
Now, on to my favorites.....I have alot that could have made this but I'll just give my top 5...at #5, Scrooged....Bill Murray's monologue about Christmas Eve is worth the whole movie......at #4....The Christmas Story...even though we will see this, ad nauseum, on TBS, it still captures so well what goes though a young boy's mind at Christmas time. And tell me you still don't howl at the "leg" lamp. #3 is probably in everyone's top 5 - "It's a Wonderful Life"....for obvious reasons.......#2, and this was close..."National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"......so many good scenes and lines in this movie....my favorite is when Clark's feet go through the ceiling while he was in the attic. Watching him trying to get warm from the air of the house was hilarious! And....(drum roll)...my #1 Christmas movie of all time is a pretty recent one but it's one that always brings out the "kid" in me every Christmas - Polar Express....which contains one of the all time great Christmas songs in Josh Groban's "Believe".
Yes, there are those that almost made it.....Tim Allen's "The Santa Clause"...or his one with Jamie Lee Curtis "Christmas with the Kranks"..the ORIGINAL "Miracle on 34th Street"...."Home Alone" (the first one"....David Stern steals the movie, in my opinion as Joe Pesci's criminal accomplice. There are more but I'd like your list. Let me know and, hey,....have a Merry Christams!!! Believe! (Did you hear the bell?)

Less Christmas Cards Than Ever

Call me old-fashioned....old school...whatever...but I miss that glut of Christmas Cards that would have arrived by now during past Christmas seasons. Because, now, we have instant ways of being in contact (see Facebook and Twitter), the idea of sending a greeting card is slowly, but surely, disappearing (an actual study has the statistics to prove this!). And, no, I don't count those "E-Cards", either. That, to me, is a second-rate way of letting someone know you were thinking of them. What that tells me is that you WERE thinking of them.....for about 10 seconds...fast enough to send a card via e-mail and then you can move on to the next thing in your life. An actual, MAILED, greeting card means that person took some time and effort to find and send something to you to express his/her feelings to you - even if they may be superficial. It's the fact that they made the effort. That means something......at least it does to me. Let's not let go of all of the old holiday traditions. This is the season to give thanks and appreciate all that you have and all who may be close to you. Let's take the time......send a card! And....yes...Merry Christmas!

There Is a Time and Place for Everything

Most of you don't know but, last week, while I was the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville for our annual broadcsat from there, a specific incident occurred involving Billy Ray Cyrus and one of the other radio stations at the broadcast. As most of us may have heard, Billy Ray and his wife announced that they were divorcing several weeks ago and, then, it surfaced that his wife had been unfaithful to him and had been involved with an ex-rock star. The broadcasts at the CMA awards are very much artists being, literally, herded through a maze of radio station broadcast areas to spend a maximum of 5 minutes with each participating station mostly talking about the awards, their music and, maybe, a few other fun things. The reason Bily Ray Cyrus was being paraded through the area was that he had released an updated version of his 90's hit "Some Gave All" in time for Veterans' Day later that week. Well, this one, particular radio station decided to, right out of the chute, ask Billy about the divorce. Of course, his reaction was less than positive.
Since that time, people in our industry have been debating whether or not the question should have been asked and, more importantly, whether or not we should treat artists with "kid gloves". I mean LOTS of debate.
Here's my bottom line: Do listeners want to hear an artist try to "squirm" out of a situation or would they rather learn something they didn't know about that particular artist? I suggest the latter. There are enough tabloid shows to deal with that. (I will tell you I get embarrassed for my profession every time I see someone go too far even on one of these shows). We are, for the most part, radio DJ's and not even close to the stature of Mike Wallace or anyone else on "60 Minutes" so let's act accordingly. Let's give the listener something new about this person. Let's make them feel close to the artist rather than uncomfortable.

Walking Through The Union Mission

Had a chance to take a tour of the new Union Mission headquarters here in Hampton Roads. I must say those folks are doing some nice work but there is still more to accomplish. Tomorrow (11/11), all day, 97.3 The Eagle will be asking you to donate $38 on your credit card in order to feed 20 people this holiday season who are hungry and hurting in this community.
Before the tour, I had a picture of alot of single men who are homeless and need the help but it was touring the family section of the Mission that really hit me. Seeing little beds made very nicely with stuffed animals on the beds drove home the fact that we're talking about lots more women and children this year. One of the directors at the Mission told me that amount of families being helped by Union Mission has grown the most of any group. I read in the newspaper several weeks ago that the biggest need this holiday season is not clothing.....it's FOOD! I can't help but think of the little children with their moms there at the Mission just trying to get through each night. Please help us when we ask you to call in or go online and donate. We have lots to be thankful for this holiday season so why not pass some of that thanks on to someone who needs to be encouraged.

IT ALL CHANGES WHEN YOU PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE

Our business is one of the more (if not, most) volatile out there. The question "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" lives loud and clear with us on a daily basis. With that come some fairly unique pressures, especially on a daily basis now since our business has, technologically, changed so much in the past 10 years. It's very easy to carry the pressures and stress into other areas of your life. Leave it to an 11-year old to shed some very specific light on that. When you hear that this question had been asked, "Is Daddy going to be sad again tonight?", you definitely sit up and take notice. You realize what REALLY takes precedence in your life and it's not those everyday pressures. What those really represent are God's way of helping each of us grow. What you have to realize is that you will not be ultimately judged on how long or hard you worked; or how much profit you helped generate or how high your ratings have gone. You WILL be judged on how you treated your fellow human beings; on how much positive influence you have had on someone/anyone; on how much you loved and lived as a breathing example of the Christian ethic. When you put THAT all in perspective, those "sad" days will be disappearing faster than can you say "done"!

The Cheers Do Help

I had my brother, sister-in-law and niece visit this past Labor Day weekend - the main occasion being my niece wanting her dad and I to run with her in the annual Rock & Roll Half-Marathon here in Virginia Beach. I ran a couple of marathons (2 Dallas and 1 Boston) about 20 years ago and did a half-marathon at Nauticus in Norfolk back in '04 so it's been a while but I accepted. What the heck!
I will tell you that 20 years DOES make a difference in the pain you feel, for sure. It's 13.1 miles so I had to make sure I was ready for some pain because I experienced it, for sure, during several training runs..... nothing strong enough to stop running but enough to play with your head and try to CONVINCE you to stop. So I made sure I had my I-Pod shuffle ready to go with lots of good "running" music. I bought a special set of earbud headphones that would stay in no matter what. I wanted to "get lost in the music" while I ran. The music did wind up helping somewhat. I finished in the top 40& - a slow time, but I finished. I have to tell you that it wasn't as much the music as it was all those folks cheering along the route. Not one face was recognizable BUT the encouragement was genuine and you had to feel it. Every time I would run past a larger crowd or group, any pain subsided and I was able to glide for that particular distance. The finish line area was totally awesome as far as those cheers were concerned. As "Feeling Stronger Everyday" by Chicago played in my head, ironically, the crowd was thick and loud at that finish area and they were the main reason I finished the last 100 yards in a dead sprint. So....if you ever hear anyone say that the crowd did not affect them, don't believe it. A crowd of positive, encouraging folks DOES make a difference. If you were part of that crowd Sunday at the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half-Marathon, here's a special thanks from one participant for helping me finish strong! You all deserve a medal!

And They Call Themselves Parents

My wife related a story to me yesterday that I have to pass on to you and, maybe, just maybe, two of the folks reading this are the parents in question.
My wife and one of her friends to the beach several days ago (bayside) to enjoy a little bit of sun and, of course, company. As she describes it, the day at the beach was coming to an end so she and her friend went out into the water one last time. The ventured out to about 4 feet or so in depth. As they spoke, my wife faced the shore and her friend, the bay. Suddenly, my wife's friend had a look close to panic on her face and pointed to her left. My wife turned and saw a little girl, who couldn't have been more than 3 years old, literally, fighting for her life in that 4 feet of water after falling off of the "boogie board" she was on. She was NOT wearjing a life vest and there was no one within 20 yards of her. My wife hurried over to this little girl and, literally, scooped her up. The little one had taken in some water so there was alot of coughinh and, then, crying. My wife looked around and saw two children, probably early teens, floating on their boards on their backs not even noticing. As she walked to the shore, my wife saw a group of people whom she assumed has something to do with this little girl. Keep in mind that this little girl is still crying and scared out of her mind after fighting to stay afloat out as far as she was.
As my wife approached the group, she asked who the mother might be. Another woman walked up to her and pointed to another woman in the group who still hadn't noticed her crying little girl in my wife's arms. The woman, who approached, took the little girl and walked back to the group. No "thank you" or anything for my wife. Then, the whole group began berating the two young teens in the water for not watching the little girl close enough (look at the example these two kids had!).....and, then, they all went back to their group "discussion" never acknowledging my wife or her friend for, pretty much, saving the little girl from drowning.
Whe she told me this story, I couldn't help but remember a line from the movie "Parenthood" from, all of all people, Keanu Reeves, which I'll paraphrase - "You have to get a license to drive, heck you even need a license to fish but they'll let anyone be a parent".
One can only wonder how this will affect the little girl. I do hope parents eventually realized the error of their ways.