HERO FRIDAY

This week I’ve added something new, Did You Know. It will include a tidbit about the hero that you may or may not know. I hope you enjoy it.

                                                              JAMES (Jimmy) STEWART

Around Christmas time people tune in to watch A Christmas Story, but not me. I flip through the channels to find It’s a Wonderful Life. For those of you who’ve never seen it, you should. The story reminds us that no matter how insignificant we think our existence is, our lives matter.

The meaning behind the story however, is it not what draws me to watch it every Christmas; it’s the star, Jimmy Stewart. To me, he is Classic Hollywood. Some people prefer Paul Newman, or Marlon Brandon, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Jimmy.  Whether it was his sweet smile, boyish good looks or unique voice, something about him appealed to me the moment I saw him.

One look in his eyes, and you knew he was an all around good guy, the kind you could take home to meet the parents. What girl wouldn’t fall in love with that dreamy voice saying he would lasso the moon for her? Sigh! I fell, and hard!

What hero from classic Hollywood did you fall hard for?

Did you know? 

He was the first movie star to enter the service for World War II, joining a year before Pearl Harbor was bombed.

By the early 1950’s he wore a toupee for his roles.

He remained faithful to his wife, while other Hollywood husbands had affairs.

HERO FRIDAY

Some heroes remain in our hearts even when their time in the spotlight has faded. For me that hero is:

                                                                    Michael J. Fox

He burst onto the scene in the TV series Family Ties and became the star, and had the honor of being the first male poster on my room wall.

He starred in such movies as Teen Wolf, Back to the Future II/III, Stuart Little, and my favorite, The Secret of my Success.  Although a hero, at 5’4”, he was more adorable than the typical heroes of his time, but I loved him anyway. He captured my heart, and my funny bone with his boy next door comedic charm and adorable smile.

He came back to TV in Spin City, but his career was never the same after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, but as with all the challenges in his life, tackled it head on. What more could a girl ask for in her hero? He gave us the hope that our real hero could be just next door.

Who’s your boy next door hero?

HERO FRIDAY

                                                                     HUGH GRANT

Hugh, Hugh, Hugh…oh how we love you. He burst onto the scene in the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral and swept me off my feet. Despite his good looks and sparkling smile, that is not why I adore him. It's for his boyish, insecure charm. One look into those innocent wide eyes and an earful of his bumbling pickup lines and I would have done exactly what Andy MacDowell did and jump his bones.

Over the years the characters he played made their way into my heart. From being the Prime Minister of England caught dancing in Love Actually to a love struck book store owner in Notting Hill, to the arrogant, obnoxious, bad boy in Bridget Jones Diary or the washed up eighties pop star with the swinging hips in Music and Lyrics, he became the epitome of the romantic comedy hero.

He is the man who would knock on one hundred doors to find me and tell me in his own special, blubbering way that he loves me. What more could a girl ask for? All these endearing traits make him my hero.  

HERO FRIDAY

There are so many great heroes out there that I struggled with who should be first. I decided to start with the ones from my youth that inspired the heroes of my early stories, moved me to swoon, rush to the theater, and yes, even kiss the television and a poster or two.

Although not all of the heroes posted on this blog will be real people, they are characters that I’ve loved, hated, cried with and for, and that made me laugh. I hope you come to love them as much as I do.

                                                                  HARRISON FORD

The moment I saw him on the big screen as Indiana Jones, my heart raced in my chest, my palms sweat more than usual and goose bumps pulled painfully at every hair on my body. It was love at first sight! Whether he was dressed as the professor with those goofy glasses or in his trademark hat with the shirt that teased me with a view of the exposed hairs on his chest I wanted more than anything to run my hands through; I was hooked.   

I wasn’t old enough to see him in Star Wars when it came out in the theaters, but when it came out on TV he was my first kiss, literally. When he kissed Princess Leia, he was kissing me; through the TV when I closed my eyes and envisioned it. I was a mass of raging hormones, and who wouldn’t be? He was a hero, dreamy and imperfect.

He was overly confident to the point of arrogant, smart, rugged and could turn your knees and any female stubbornness to mush with the mischievous glint of his eye and his crocked smile. What girl or woman didn’t imaging being an archeologist so she could go on a dig with him, or the naïve female who got dragged into his dangerous adventures so that she could be thoroughly kissed? I certainly did.

All of these qualities make him a candidate for my hero friday.