Nostalgia – The Great Kaysby

An Open Letter to Kate Winslet

This is outside my normal blog writing realm; however, I thoroughly enjoy writing fan mail. Along the same lines, I’m also too lazy to go buy an International stamp. Thus, I’m sharing this here even though I know that Ms Winslet will probably never in a million years see it.

Dear Kate Winslet,

A few nights ago, I went on a date with my husband to see the 25th Anniversary run of Titanic at the movie theater. When the movie was released 25 years ago, I saw it at the cinema five times. A part of that was because I had a huge crush on Leo DiCaprio. Fourteen year old me thought it was amazing that he was a hottie who also gave a damn about the environment even before it was trendy to do so. Just as big of a part of my going to see the movie so much was because before you brought Rose to life, I had never been able to see part of myself in an actress.

Growing up, I always saw myself as out of place physically. I had auburn hair that was far from a popular shade in the 90s, and I was heavy set compared to most of my peers (today, I realize that 155 at 5’7 truly wasn’t that heavy). To go with this, I’d always had a more round face and slightly chubby cheeks than most classmates. Prior to Titanic, I never could relate to anyone I saw in magazines, film, etc. However, from the time I saw your natural beauty and grace onscreen with similar features to mine, my outlook changed. Through seeing you, I discovered that I was also beautiful in my own way. Seeing you in the film also helped me realize that unique can be a lot more beautiful than the cookie cutter Barbie-like pretty that was so popular when I was growing up. Thanks for making a red head feel like part of the cool kids club!

In recent years, I’ve read that you feel like your performance in Titanic was embarrassing. Though it may not be your favorite, I am forever grateful that you chose to be in the film. Your choice began the journey for making me realize how powerful and beautiful a red head can be!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Library Love

When I think about my childhood, I often find myself thinking about memories of the local public library. Some of my earliest memories are of attending Summer Reading and other programs such as pajama story hour with Mrs. Pickle. I also remember getting super excited as a kid when I could have my own library card and check out books in my name! Two of my favorites that I checked out over and over were Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Father’s Day by Steven Kroll. They were such big favorites of mine that Mr Kisby surprised me with them as gifts one year!

My love of libraries wasn’t contained to my local branch. Both of my grandmothers had libraries in their small towns, and I loved to go to those libraries too. In fact, my grandmother in Kansas lived across the street from the town librarian. I always thought that was so cool! Plus, since she knew the family, she’d let me check books out of their library while we were there visiting in the summer. This made me feel so special!

As I got older, libraries became a place to use the Internet and study. I never thought much about checking out books for probably fifteen years. Then one Saturday morning many years ago, Mr Kisby and I went to the local library for a morning date of checking out books. I thought it was so sweet! From this date, I became reacquainted with our local library. For the past several years, the library has become a staple in our lives. One of the things that I was most pleased to learn was that the library is no longer just about checking out books and using the Internet. Our library offers a plethora of classes, activities, and even movie and music checkouts for free! Bonus, the classes and activities are for literally all ages! I’ve also been amazed at how much they do for families including Book or Treat and Milk and Cookies with Santa. The first of which has been a hit with LilKsby, and the second of which has made him scream. They also always have games that you can play as a family and a puzzle that you can work on while relaxing!

So why am I talking about the library? Because February is National Library Lovers Month in the US! Libraries are a forgotten gem, and they need to be utilized so they won’t become a thing of the past! For more ideas on how to support your library, checkout this article: https://ilovelibraries.org/get-involved/. In the meantime, go visit your public library!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

The Wizard of…

Currently, I’m working on costumes for a production of The Wizard of Oz. The director recently asked adult friends what the show means to them so that she could share that with the cast. Since seeing the question, I keep thinking about what the movie version means to me. On one hand, I’m kind of like The Wizard of Meh, but on the other hand, I see the cultural impact and highly respect the innovate technology used when making the film.

So let’s break it down by starting with the meh. I remember watching the movie as a kid, and I know I watched it a few times because I distinctly remember that we recorded it off the TV. In fact, I remember fast forwarding through the commercials and then having to rewind when going to far! Other than that, my only major memory of watching Oz as a child is that I liked to make believe Glinda was flying around every time I played with bubbles. In contrast to my The Wizard of Oz lack of memories, I have AMAZING memories of Return to Oz!!! When I was around 7, it was one of my favorite movies! We rented it and Willow from Video Vault more than any other customer! I loved the whole thing. Dorothy gone crazy? Made sense to me! Chicken pet? Way cooler than a dog! Plus, Tick Tock was a fantastic companion, and a wicked queen who could change heads was just enough creepy and cool to my little self! I freaking loved that movie!!!!

From an art perspective, I do have mad respect for all of the technical work that made The Wizard of Oz. First of all, the use of technicolor was absolutely brilliant! It was such a thematic impact to go from sepia tones to technicolor! Secondly, Judy Garland was a gem. “Over the Rainbow” was magnificent and her rendition is still top notch (though my favorite version is Matthew Morrison singing it while playing the ukulele)! Victor Fleming should not have slapped her, and I hate that the grueling schedule of this film is allegedly what fueled the fire that would become her drug addiction! Finally, the costumes – though they literally poisoned a couple of people – and sets were brilliant for their time! The ruby slippers (fun fact, in the book they are silver) are iconic! So I definitely have to give the film props from a tech perspective, and I must admit that when I went to The Wizard of Oz museum as a teenager, all the tech stuff on display was cool!

There are two other things that make me feel meh about The Wizard of Oz. To get one of them, you have to understand that my grandparents lived in Kansas, and we went to see them every summer. Anytime we mentioned going to Kansas, someone would inevitably ask, “Oh, are you going to see Dorothy and Toto?” I guess they thought it was cute, but I remember being a kid around 5 years old and getting an attitude with a cashier who in my head was asking a ridiculous question. I distinctly remember telling the cashier that “No, my Grandma Dorothy lives here!” There’s a good chance I also said something about not liking dogs. The second thing that makes me feel meh about the movie is that between 8 and 10, I read the book. I was amazed at all the great differences that were left out of the movie! I loved the wolves and backstory of the Tinman the most! Also, as someone who loved Kansas as a kid, I liked that in the book Dorothy didn’t hate Kansas and farm life. I also loved the other witches! I know you can’t put every detail from a movie into a book, but I would’ve left the wolves!

I’m glad people love The Wizard of Oz. Plus, I completely understand the fandom given the number of things I fangirl about that people don’t get. Even though the movie’s not my favorite I would like to one day see the amusement park in North Carolina. What can I say? I have an interest in abandoned – or in this case mostly abandoned – amusement parks. I will also add that as a kid, I saw a stage version and loved it, but I’ve always enjoyed live theatre. I remember seeing a musical on stage way before I remember watching TV and movies. I can also say that I’m super excited to be working on the costumes, and I can’t wait to see what the cast and crew do to bring Oz alive in a little over a week!

What does Oz mean to you?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Ariel is Amazing ❤️

When I was a little girl, I loved Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I remember attempting to play mermaid in the swimming pool and bathtub! It was fun to pretend to have fins and a mermaid tail! I also remember how special it was to get my Ariel doll! I had to put a rain check in for her at K-mart (two things younger people won’t understand lol), and I was super excited when I got to pick her up. She had a purple plastic seashell topic and satiny green mermaid tail that was removable! I played with her all the time. Ariel was special to me because we had two big things in common: loving the water and red hair. The later of which was VERY uncommon for the main character to have.

As an adult I still love Ariel, and I’ve realized that she was all about breaking boundaries from the get go. Back in 1989, the idea of a heroine with red hair was pretty much unheard of in movies. It seemed that red heads were either snobby (Daphne on Scooby Doo), nerdy (a lot of Molly Ringwald characters), or evil step sister clones. Ariel gave us red heads the chance to see that we too can be princesses! I love seeing that boundary broken!

I’m even more proud today to see Ariel breaking boundaries again in 2023 with the live action version of The Little Mermaid. This time she’s rocking the red hair, and she is a POC (person of color)! I love this because it means that Ariel is now breaking boundaries for even more people! For me this is a perfect way to continue to the legacy of Ariel as someone who opens the ability to dream to those without as much positive representation! To all of the haters posting things like #notmyariel, get over your keyboard cowboy self and re-think about why the character of Ariel is so important. Think about how she is now going to help so many more people by being more relatable! Side note, I bet these haters weren’t hating in the 90s when Brandy and Whitney (may she RIP) took on the roles of Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother! Of course they didn’t have their keyboards and social media to hide behind then either!

To all my readers, I hope that you agree that Ariel is amazing! If you’re not familiar with her awesomeness, then checkout the 1989 version of The Little Mermaid and the new one when it comes out. You’ll be glad you did!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Ariel is Amazing ❤️

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Happy Birthday, Mr. Feeny!

A few days ago, I did something that took me outside of my comfort zone. For the first time in over two years (aka pre-Covid), I attended a LARGE event. I still wore a mask, and I admittedly was still anxious, but there are some once in a life time opportunities that are worth getting out of your comfort zone to do. For me, that opportunity was the chance to meet William Daniels or as many in my generation know him: Mr. Feeny.

I had seen the advertisements for Mr. Daniels’ appearance at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention several months ago. Admittedly, I was excited about his appearance from the start. However, numbers were surging with the discovery of Omicron, and there were a lot of factors that seemed very uncertain. Since that time, most everywhere has relaxed Covid guidelines with even the CDC making new recommendations about masks, social distancing, gatherings, etc. Because of this (yes, I’m one of those people who trusts real professionals and not graduates of Google University) I was already becoming more comfortable with starting to do more “normal” activities. Then last Saturday, I saw someone posting about the convention, and I remembered Mr. Daniels’ appearance. Immediately, I knew that I wanted to go, and I went.

As a kid growing up, I watched Boy Meets World and viewed Mr. Feeny through eyes similar to those of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga. I thought he was kind of uptight, but that he had good lessons to teach. As a bonus, he was always there to help them even when they did things that he didn’t think were good choices. No matter what happened, you always knew Mr. Feeny cared about his students. I always liked that kind of teacher. Fast forward, now I am a teacher, and there have been two fictional teachers that I have always sought to be like: Professor John Keating (Dead Poets Society) and Mr. George Feeny.

Both of these characters were EXCEPTIONAL educators. They knew their subject matter more than many of their contemporaries (yes, I know all of the knowledge was in the script). More importantly, they cared about their students. Keating and Feeny taught their students life lessons. They found ways to teach lessons that their students needed to know beyond the classroom in a variety of aspects of life. They were friendly while also establishing clear boundaries. These are the teachers (along with real life teachers like LouAnne Johnson and Jaime Escalante) that many of us have inspired to be like ever since we decided to go into education.

Knowing all of that, I wanted to meet William Daniels. On one level, I wanted to meet him just because I think it is cool to meet celebrities. Yes, I’ve been known to totally FAN GIRL! Along with that, I also wanted to tell him thank you. As we completed our photo op, that’s exactly what I did. I told him, “Thank you for the character of Mr. Feeny. I’m a teacher, and a lot of us look up to him.” Just getting to do that, and seeing him smile at my words, made the whole outing worth it even in these (hopefully) final stages of the pandemic.

I wanted to write all this on Sunday, but I waited until today for a reason. Today is William Daniels’ 95th birthday. So I would love you for to join me in wishing him a happy birthday! From all of those whom you’ve impacted, “Happy Birthday, Mr. Feeny!”

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

What I Learned From School House Rock Live

Once again it is the beginning of March, and I am wrapping up another show as the costumer for my school’s Drama Club. This time the show was School House Rock Live! I remember some of the School House Rock songs from when I was a kid, but there were ones that I heard for the first time during tech week. In both cases the songs have reminded me that school is never out for the teacher!

Premise of the Show – Tom is really nervous about becoming a teacher; he is afraid of not being a successful teacher. I think all first time teachers can relate to this. Even after 11 years, on the first day of a new school year, I always think “Do I still know how to do this?” I even felt the same way when I recently started doing online tutoring. I spent a lot of time teaching online with NTI and having seven Online Learning Academy classes, but I was still nervous about being able to be a good tutor online. Thankfully, so far so good!

“The Preamble” – Apparently a lot of people had to learn and memorize The Preamble in elementary school. I never had to do this, and I will admit that all I know of The Preamble is “We the people”. Given the importance of The Preamble and The Constitution, I really should pay more attention to it. I suppose that it’s just something I take for granted as being important while not feeling the need to know the details. It’s kind of like knowing that you get money on pay day and never looking at your pay stub because your money is direct deposited.

“Ready or Not, Here I Come” – I had no idea about the counting by fives on your fingers coordinating with the multiplier. I just memorized my times tables as a kid without tricks. It makes me happy to know that I now know a way to teach fives multiplication to those who need a manipulative to help learn math.

“Interplanet Janet” – Besides being a fun song, this one made me think of “Planet Schmanet Janet” from another musical. This got me to thinking that there are not a lot of women’s names that rhyme with planet. I also love that the song is old enough to claim Pluto is a planet! I still think little old Pluto deserves to be a planet!!! Are you team Planet Pluto?

Along with my takeaways, it was great seeing my favorite numbers from childhood – “Conjunction Junction” and “I’m Just a Bill” – brought to life! Did you ever watch School House Rock? What did you learn from it?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

What I Learned From School House Rock Live

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

RIP America’s Dad

The curtain closed today for a man who was an integral part of life for many in my generation (kids born in the 80s). As many of us were putting our own children to bed tonight, we found out that Bob Saget – “America’s Dad” – had passed away unexpectedly. There aren’t a lot of celebrity deaths that hit me like a ton of bricks (I think the last one was Robin Williams in 2013, and he is still My Captain), but this one has me thrown for a loop. I’ve struggled this evening with being productive versus sitting and watching shows with Bob in them. Interestingly enough, I have been binge watching How I Met Your Mother again since right before Christmas, and one of my favorite parts has been his hypnotic story telling voice! I’m sure there are a lot of people thinking “How can you be upset about the death of someone you never met?” Simple, I – along with many others – grew up with Bob.

As a child, I was an AVID fan of Full House. I watched the show, read the books, had the posters, collected the trading cards, and owned a Michelle doll. “You got it dude!” I was an 8 year old super fan! During the same time period, we also spent a lot of Sunday nights watching America’s Funniest Home Videos. I remember sitting around with my family, watching, and laughing. At one point, I wanted us to win AFV, but I remember thinking that 10 stamps was an awful lot for a video that I wouldn’t get back. Bob was an integral part of my childhood, and I felt like if I ever got to meet him then it would have been like meeting a long lost uncle. He would’ve made me laugh, but he also wouldn’t have been afraid to punish me if I brought my swimming pool into the kitchen!

As an adult, Bob returned to my life as the Narrator on How I Met Your Mother. Previously I mentioned his hypnotic story telling voice. I appreciated it the first time through because of the comedic genius that he brought to the role without even appearing on screen. This second time through – especially since I’m a parent – I love the genius of the storytelling and at times story omitting while narrating Ted’s life. I know that a lot of the credit goes to the writers, but Bob brought the words to life in such a way that I wanted him to narrate my own “How I Met Your…” story.

Outside of the sitcom world, Bob could be a raunchy comedian. One of my favorite raunchy roles was when he played Abraham Lincoln on Historical Roasts. There was something great to me about seeing the clean cut guy from my childhood make mega adult themed jokes. I felt like watching it was a rite of passage. Like he knew those of us who loved clean cut Danny Tanner as children needed to see him in a different light now that we were mature enough to handle it. Guess what? He was right!

While I continue to process the loss of America’s Dad, I pray that Bob’s legacy will not be forgotten. I hope that he’s cracking jokes in the here after and entertaining the deity of his belief as I type. RIP Bob Saget and thanks for all the laughs!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

The Day History CHANGED

Patriotic free stock photos download (39 Free stock photos) for commercial use. format: HD high resolution jpg images

Last night when people across the country went to bed, a woman had never been Vice President of the United States. Today, just before noon, that changed forever when Vice President Kamala Harris changed history by taking the Vice Presidential Oath of Office. Whether you voted for Biden and Harris or not, you cannot deny the significant historical change of today!

As an elementary aged girl in the late 80s and 90s, I remember hearing the question “Would you rather be the first woman in the NBA or the first woman president?” Understand that this also predates the WBNA being formed. I remember saying first woman in the NBA with hesitation partially because I wanted to give “the cool” answer, but also because the idea that a woman could be president seemed impossible at the time. Truth be told, even though my own state had a female governor from the time I was seven months old until I was four, the idea of women having a major impact on politics seemed impossible at the time. Watching history be changed today, I wish I could go back and tell nine or ten year old me, “Just you wait. Women will have power politically in America!” Guess what? Today, we have that power!

Many years after being that little girl, as I look at the world through “mom eyes”, I am beyond thrilled that LilKsby – who is partially Pacific Islander – will grow up in a world where he sees that all people regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender CAN achieve political offices that once seemed impossible. I am tickled pink that the first Vice President he will remember is a female of color! I am also elated that his peers will grow up in a country where doors have been opened for everyone! Doesn’t that make you feel the empowerment behind the historical changes today?

History aside, I made two other thought changing observations today. Did you know that the Hebrew meaning of the word “Salem” is peace? How ironic that a place where the name of the town meant peace would be synonymous with witch trials! Also, did you notice the number of officials wearing purple at the inauguration today? Think about it…if you take red (Republican) and blue (Democrat) and mix them together, you get purple. What a great symbolic gesture of unity! What if as this change grows the country went from red or blue to all together purple? Peace could be in the works! Peace in our land would be another great change to history!!

Here’s to change!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Big Little Women

This week I’ve been at the theatre for tech week and performances of Little Women the Musical. My school Drama Club is performing it, and I’ve been helping with costuming. It’s a classic, heartwarming tale that makes you feel the love of family and believe in the ability to make your dreams come true. It has been a joy to be a part of this production not only because of the immense talent of our cast and crew, but also because of the memories it brings back of my high school production of Little Women years ago.

The year was 1999, which I like to think of as the year of the Millennium album, and I had desperately wanted to play Beth because I had red hair like Claire Danes. I wasn’t cast as Beth, but I did play Belle at the ball and help with props. The role was fun to play and the costume was the best as I have a love of 1860s dresses. However, the best part was my best friends – Scarlet and Lily*- were also involved with the show.

Scarlet and I first met when we were 12 because her grandfather worked with my dad. We reconnected in school especially through choir and drama club. As freshman we had both been in the stage version of Awakenings. We enjoyed it so much that when Little Women rolled around the next year, we wanted to participate. We found ourselves involved in the cast, set design/construction, and prop design/construction. We were so involved that we even spent to school during some of our Spring Break and worked on the show! All of our hardwork earned us the Director’s Award for the club that year.

Lily and I first met in middle school and have remained friends since bonding over things like Kentucky basketball namely Scott Padgett, amusement parks, and the Backstreet Boys! Our sophomore year, Lily decided to join us on the tech crew and help with props. I loved having my two best friends work on a show with me! There’s a picture of us standing on the stage – me in my teal dress, Scarlet in her brown dress, and Lily in a shirt and shorts – after one of the performances that I can see perfectly in my mind. I’m not sure where the picture is, but it brings a smile to my face to think about.

We were little women ourselves working on Little Women, and now we’re big women (age wise not size). Each of us are accomplished academically, career, and/or talent wise. We’ve been blessed with new people that have come into our lives and mourned loss together (seriously because between June 2010 and March 2011 we lost five grandparents between the three of us). Today, even though we are separated by distance, we’ve been there for each other for marriages, miscarriage, childbirth, and more (thanks technology)! In some ways we’ve been there for the typical wedding vows: “In sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer.”

Without my little women – Scarlet and Lily -I wouldn’t be who I am today. I’m forever thankful for them. They’ll always be the sisters I never had!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

*Names changed to protect identities.

So Long Jerry’s

“Don’t it always seem to go/That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone/They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.”

— “Big Yellow Taxi”, Counting Crows

Today, the closure of a local icon was announced. Jerry’s J-Boy was a decades themed diner that at one time could be found scattered throughout our region of the country. For those who’ve never heard of Jerry’s, imagine a discount version of Denny’s. It was a greasy spoon with burgers and fries that went straight to your thighs, but more than that it was a social gathering place for family and friends.

I recall going to Jerry’s as a kid with my family starting sometime around 1994. I know this because I first watched Gone With the Wind in 5th grade, and I was obsessed with sitting next to the Gone With the Wind memorabilia and fish pond. By the time I was a senior in high school, I liked it enough that it was chosen as the place to celebrate my graduation with my family. As a young adult, Jerry’s would become the place that me and my mom would plot out Black Friday shopping plans. It also became a good place to go for a hearty breakfast after church. Additionally, it made for a good early morning breakfast with family after going to the polls on Election Day. I’m pretty sure it was the place of much debate the morning of Election Day 2016 when the hot topic was Hilary versus Trump. I’m very thankful for the family memories made at Jerry’s!

Jerry’s was also setting of a lot of my memories with friends as a good part of my 20s was spent there. It started as a place to hangout at all hours and talk while getting free refills. No matter how long we were there, they never seemed to mind the endless requests for more $2 soda. Then, Jerry’s turned into the post party place. For some reason the pancakes always tasted better at 2 am! This naturally led to Jerry’s becoming a post Phoenix Hill (also nostalgia filled and closed) place. There was nothing like dancing until last call, piling into a car, and watching the sun come up through the Jerry’s windows. There were even times when we all went for dinner at a normal dinner time – gasp! These times involved two memorable moments. One, it is the only time I’ve ever been told I look lumpy like blue cheese which to be fair I’m lumpy! Two, it is the only time I’ve ever seen someone sweat while eating buffalo chicken tenders! I’m so glad to have all these memories with friends!

It is sad to Jerry’s close. I’ll think of them when I eat buffalo chicken tenders with half cooked fries and cottage cheese! Jerry’s J-Boy was far from paradise, but I hope that they don’t pave it down and put in a parking lot.

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby