Joel Berti
Joel is 40 years old today!! ! OMG, it’s hard to say it out loud! How is it possible that my first born child, my son, is 40 years old? This IS the only time I’m going to admit in writing that I actually have a 40 yr old son.
It doesn’t seem that long ago…I was supposed to attend one of my best friends’ wedding. I had a doctor’s appointment that morning and then I was going to be off to the wedding. Well you know where this is going; the doctor examined me and said “you’re not going to any wedding, you’re going straight to the hospital. Where is your husband?” I said, “He’s at work”. So the doctor said, “Well how are you going to get to the hospital”? “I’ll drive myself”!
So I called my husband’s office and left a message (these were the day before cell phones) and drove off to the hospital. By the time I got there, I was a little panicked. I was having contractions and didn’t know what to do with the car so I pulled into the Emergency Room parking lot and parked the car. As I was getting out of the car, a cop came running over, shouting, “Lady you can’t park there”! I looked at him, started to cry and said, “I’m having a baby”! Oh boy, that did it – he said, “Don’t move” and went and got me a wheel chair. Meantime, uh, where was that husband?
A couple of hours later, the nurse brought me a bundled blonde haired boy and I said, “Oh no, I had a girl”. She assured me that this was my baby and I insisted that I had a girl. After one more go around of this conversation, she snatched the baby from my arms and said words to the effect that perhaps tomorrow I would feel differently about this beautiful little baby boy.
She was right of course. Joel has my heart. I love him for so many reasons; he is a good person, kind-hearted, he never says anything bad about anyone, he is a gentle soul. He is easy-going (sometime way too laid back for me), creative, a thinker, an artist, and smart enough to look inward often and assess what he sees. He seeks the truth in all things, is often naive about people he meets, he adored his baby sister and often let her tag along with him and his friends. I’m so happy that she flew out to California yesterday with Finley and Francesca to be with him on this landmark birthday.
I thought this post might be like an open letter, telling Joel how proud I am of him, how much I love him and hope that he is happy in the life he has chosen for himself. He is very different from Chiara in so many ways and their lives are as diametrically opposite as the coasts they each inhabit.
I wonder if he’s ever going to marry and settle down. The path doesn’t seem to lead in that direction, time will tell. I’d like to see him as a father, he seems so at ease with his nephew and nieces.
Astrology, therapy, numerology, Frank Sinatra, new wave, Pseudolous, older women, younger women, surfing, GCA waiter, room-mates, acting, writing in his journal, lactose-intolerant, allergic to my cats, Charlie Brown, Wilie Wonka, Mr. Smee, Hartford Stage, “why don’t you model?”, a vintage motorcycle, house music, Father Sarducci, Acme Theater, preppy Izods, Louise’s, La Jolla Country Club, bartending, catering, PB+J’s, oh those blue eyes, tuna fish, sometimes poor, playwright, roofer, Bee Pollen, beard-no beard, penguins, vintage tee shirts, Wrangler corduroy jeans, Halloween…
Now if only he would return calls and call his mother more often……
I love you Joel Berti – Happy Birthday!!
Joel in San Diego 2008
Joel and Finley
Joel at The Sneak Joint in San Diego
Pumpkin Carving
Ready to Roll
My Wedding 2005
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Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
Pbenjay's Blog 
TOP TEN SCARY MOVIES – It IS Halloween After All
Posted in From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Thursday's Top Ten, tagged Alien, Blair Witch Project, Exorcist, Halloween, Jack Nicholson, Nightmare on Elm St., Psycho, Rosemary's Baby, scary movies, Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Wait Until Dark on October 30, 2014| 2 Comments »
This year, more so than previous years, it seems like every movie channel is trying to out-scare the other. I walked into the bedroom the other night and my husband was watching God knows what and as I glanced at the screen I said, “Dear God, what are you watching?” I really don’t like horror movies and even some thrillers; It would have to be very obviously tongue-in-cheek or so outrageous you know it could never happen and therefore no reason to be scared. My problem is whatever the really bad scene is in any movie, that’s the one that creeps into my consciousness just before I try to go to sleep. And getting back to the TV screen it was a shot of several people being hanged! Geez!
Well there are certainly a lot more than anybody’s top 10 films created to scare the heck out of you, so please feel free to comment and add a few of your own!!!!
Reagan My Sweet
1. THE EXORCIST – This one had me so frightened (it didn’t help being Catholic) that for 2 nights I slept with every light on, I threw the Ouija Board in a dumpster in town AND called a priest friend of mine and asked him to come and bless the house (knowing he couldn’t really perform an exorcism).
2. Silence of the Lambs – Another really tough one for me. Anthony Hopkins was SO sinister he was real.
3. ROSEMARY’S BABY – I had read the book and thought that was hand-shakingly scary for me and the movie practically followed the book word for word!
4. THE SHINING – Jack Nicholson on a good day can be scary and in The Shining he was downright horrifying. The soundtrack added a tremendous amount of adrenalin-rushing fear to the film. Who can forget Jack at the locked door of the bathroom saying, ” Wendy, I’m home”.
5. Alien – OMG when the thing was coming out of the stomach…oh well I think I left the room after that part!
6. BLAIR WITCH PROJECT – A movie that reminds us that sometimes the things that scare us the most are the ones we can’t see. I was exhausted after watching this!
7. WAIT UNTIL DARK – This thriller is scary and doesn’t fall into the horror movie category at all. The tenseness is palpable. The silence terrifying and you absolutely feel her fear!
8. THE OMEN – Wow! Even the dog knew there was something wrong with this kid. The toppling shaft of steel nearly killed me too.
9. PSYCHO – Oh sure, it’s been replayed so many times in so many ways that we can laugh at it BUT when it first debuted – You have to admit you were scared. Shower anyone?
10. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET – A low-budget film that messes with your mind big time! What is real and what is imaginary?
And there are so many more crossing the boundaries of thriller to horror to sci-fi – They all scare the bejesus out of me!
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