I Miss you all

My blog sometimes is just for me to vent. To let out things I may want to say but don't know how too. Recently their have been two deaths in my family. Their actually Mollyes family members but I think living with her for six years counts her as my family. I havent posted anything in a while because everything I think of is sad and kind of depressing. Ive been avoiding my own blog. Well now Im not going to fight it. Im going to post what's on my mind and now I feel like writing about people I miss. Im not going to write an obituary for everyone. I dont want to pretend I know all these people because I dont. But here it goes.


Walter Matthau 10/1/1920-7/1/2000

I first saw Walter Matthau when I was 13 in Dennis the Menace. I remember watching thinking "Who is this old guy" only to later convince myself he must have been famous back in the day. Jump a year later and on one cold winter night my dad wanted to take me to see Grumpy Old Men. I remember thinking to myself I guess a movie with two old guys who used to be famous could be funny. At least I know the guy from Dennis the Menace now. There are two things I remember about it. One was laughing alot and two was wanting to cry one one line of cliche was delivered very heartspoken and compassion. The scene was right after Jack Lemmon's character has a heart attack. The nurse asks Matthau , I may write this wrong, "Are you friend or family sir", Matthau pauses and says "what" The Nurse responds "Friend or family?" he briefly pauses with thought and says "Friend". Again I know the scene sounds cheesy but it wasnt over done at all. It was acted perfectly. After that movie I felt I needed to see all of the movies with Lemmon and Matthau in it and after viewing them all, Theres not one I cant recomend...except for "-Out to Sea".That movie sucked.




Jerry Goldsmith 2/10/1929 - 7/21/2004

Who is Jerry Goldsmith? He was a man who has spent the last 40 years composing and concucted some of the most memorable scores for motion pictures and television. There is no chance you have gone through life not hearing is themes somewhere. Most of his work had been borrowed from the films he did and used in just about every inspirational theatrical trailer we've seen. Alot of his work is also underated due in part to lack of box office success for some of his movies. One of the best scores I've heard is his themes to Rudy. Sometimes I'll pop on my headphones and just relax to the sound of a mediochre movie. I suggest you go to itunes andhear a clip or go to whereever it is to go and get your music and download it. I suggest downloading the song titles "Final Game" from Rudy. I think thats my favorite. Jerry Goldsmith is also responsible for the music for Star Trek since 1979. Even if you dont like Star Trek , you do recognize the theme and honestly he's made some beautiful music for those films that will go on unnoticed mainly because they were star trek themes. I will end this by nameing some of the films you've heard him in. "Planet of the Apes"(the original), "Poltergeist", "The Omen"(which he one his only oscar for),"Alien", "Star Trek the motion picture, First Contact,Innsurection, and Nemesis", "The Secret of Nimh", "Gremlins", "Legend","Mulan", "Rudy", "The Shadow","LA Confidential", "Air Force One", and "The Sum of all Fears" just to name a few. He died of cancer.

GEE WHO COULD BE NEXT I WONDER.




Jack Lemmon 2/28/1925- 6/27/2001

Ok if you know me at all than you know Im a huge Jack Lemmon fan. I have a Jack Lemmon story very simliar to my Matthau story. In "Grumpier Old Men" Jack Lemmon walks down a hill toward his father sitting on a couch by the lake. Jacks telling him all the bad news thats happening in his life, he sits down next to his dad only to discover his dads dead. Lemmon gets a really choked up voice and looks at his dad who looks like he's sleeping and says "just like I'll remember you pop". Heres the thing, you know an actor is good when he can take a movie thats ok and really make you feel for him. Both Matthau and Lemmon did it in the same series. It wasn't just that that got me loving him. It was watching Glengarry GlennRoss is what got me. After seeing him in that I found another favorite actor to add to my list. For me He's now up their with Patrick Stewart, Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken and Sir Ian Mckellen. Those guys can't get any older. Their not alowed.
As alot of people know Lemmon and Matthau were not only a team on screen but also really close friends off screen as well. The weird thing about their deaths is that they were almost exactly a year apart both from cancer. I'm so sick of cancer. I plan to find it's lair and beat the shit out of it.
Jack Lemmon won two oscars, one in 1955 for supporting actor in Mister Roberts and another for actor in 1975 for Save the Tiger. I personally would have liked to have also seen him win for "Days of Wine and Roses", "The China Syndrome" and at least nominated for Glengarry. So in other words if you haven't seen those movies than go rent them. They were very good.

If you were to read any articles or interviews about Jack Lemmon you would learn that he was considered one of the nicest people on Hollywood. Very welcoming and warm. He was also famous for shouting or muttering to himself (depending on the mood of the movie) "It's Magic Time" before every shot. "The Legend of Bagger Vance" was his last movie. The movie wasnt very good. In fact it was way too long. The movie ,though without realizing, it gave Jack a good send off. It's started with Jack getting ready to swing a golf ball. The first lines of the movie were "A little bit of magic time" and he strikes the ball. Without giving too much away, the movie gave him a perfect goodbye. Rent it and watch the beginning and end, you'll see what I mean.


Martin "Bob" Schlesinger 8/9/1914- 1/15/2006

This person is Mollye's grandfather. He dies this past sunday on her birthday from cancer. Oh cancer you selfish son of a bitch. How dare you strike good people. I honestly thought this would be easy to write but it isn't. Not because it's sad, which it is, but because their was so much to him. I remember Mollye and myself going over to visit and just being overwhelmed with his history and how much he accomplished in life. After reading his obituary I realize I still never really got to know who he was. One story that sticks to me is how he spent alot of his leisure time on his Ham radio and just how he would relay messages from soldiers over seas to there family's in western Pennsylvania. I remember hearing that years ago and thinking just how nice and ...human that was. He was so nice warmhearted and just an all out good man. There arent that many people out there that can say the same about themselves or others. To know him would be an honor on it's own. Mollye and myself luckily got to say goodbye to hima few weeks ago luckily when he was still himself. In fact he may have been bed ridden and sleepy alot but he was all himself and its just shokcing to think that within a week and 3 days he left us. Im so happy he has a great family and Im so happy I got to meet him. I look forward to stories that will be told during gathering. I shall miss him alot.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06017/639136.stm

Ralph P. Hurley 5/30/1930- 10/7/1997
This man was my grandfather who I miss more and more everyday. He was the rock the held my family together. My family is still great and forever will be but alot of things changed the day he died. He was a Korean war veteran and he hated the war he fought but he felt a commander and chief would never put anyone in that situation unless it was necasary. He saw alot of horrible things and I believe him as well as other war vets felt and still feel that if were at war than it must be for a just reason. When people like me say theirs no reason for a war or its all about profit some war vets find that insulting. I dont think they like to think that people they watched die died for profit or calculation errors. By the way did I mention it was cancer that took my grandfather.
My gradnfather always did things for everyone else. I dont think I can remember a selfsih time I experienced in my life with him. I remember forgetting my sheet music for school and my grandfather drove from two towns away to bring it to me late one monday night. I also remember him chauffering my choir around town when there were events we needed to go to. He bought a big conversion van with a tv back in the early 90's which back than was a big deal. I know alot of people loved when he was driving us around.

Im actually a distant relative of Marty Shortenheimer who is now the coach of the San Diego Chargers but back when my grandfather was alive he was coach of the Kansas city Chiefs. We got free tickets to a game and were invited back to meet the team. I don't think I can remember a time in my life when my grandfather looked happier. He was a huge football fan and this I can tell was a great day for him.

I forgot to mention that my grandfather was one of 9 kids. his dad died at a very young age and all the older sons were taken out of school to work. My grandfather actually never learned to read well. sometimes we'd be watching TV and my grandmother would read out loud whenver there was writing. As a kid I never knew why but as time went on, I cought on.

Back in 1993 I took him and my grandmother to see Jurassic Park. It actually blew them away mainly because it was groundbreaking effects back then. I remember them likeing more than I thought they would have. When my grandfather was on his death bed, when the cancer was in his brain, the day before his death he was going in and out of these trances. He would be breathing heavily just looking around and passing out . I remember it was just me, him and a nurse in the room. He passed out and than woke back up again and said Jurassic Park. I smiled and just kind of thought what. He than turned to the nurse and said we saw Jurassic park together. He than started going back into his trances. He made to about noon the next day. The morning before he died everyone kept talking to him, he just kept looking around, we really didnt know if he could understand us or if he was even here anymore. Him and I were left alone again and I was just talking I really cant rememebr what. Than I dont know why I said it but I said this sucks, and he came out for a minute and said Yes than went back. I guess he last word was yes.

I miss these people very much, even the ones I didnt know. Jerry goldsmiths music was hardly repetitive like most composers are and his music was always beautiful. Lemmon and Matthau I miss seeing on the screen. They either could make you terribly depressed or make you laugh out loud. Bob Schlesinger and Ralph Hurley I will forever miss you. I hope their is an other side so I can see you again.

As for you cancer, whenever you can fully be stopped you wont be missed.