Sonoma County, CA. ~ “Je t’aimerai pour toujours,” (I will love you forever) Jeannot (pron. “zhah- noh,” like ‘Johnny’ in English) said, as


he hugged me


tight, whispered that phrase several times, kissed me on each cheek, then soſt ly on my astonished lips- -with tears stream- ing down his


face.


–Phew! True Valen- tine’s Day love. But, he was ten years old and I was seven. Aston- ished, I saw,


just a few feet away,


our beautiful mothers hugging, saying good-bye. T at was at our beloved Mother Goose playground in Central Park NYC in 1936. Jeannot’s father was a French dip- lomat, recalled to France because of the imminent threats of war and fi erce, increasing Renault factory strikes in Paris. Our dozen playmates—since


every good weather day found us banded together at that play- ground—and I grumbled aloud about Jeannot’s departure. “T ere goes our Pirate Captain hero,” said one chubby little pal who also ad- mired handsome Jeannot’s real athletic abilities. With mothers and nannies parked on surround- ing


benches, knitting, sewing,


‘Just Chillin’ A little History...& More! Upbeat February 2017… L’amour Toujours L’amour T e late Pulitzer Prize winner


by Ellie Schmidt ~ eschmidt@upbeattimes.com


chatting, all while observing our shenanigans, we felt a complete, sweet freedom. Mainly we re-enacted favorite scenes from exciting fi lms we had seen at neighborhood movie houses. Especially Er- rol Flynn as “Captain Blood.”


Jeannot would


leap upon benches, dash across open spac- es, hide behind rocks, jump out unexpectedly, and our little band of


kids of all sizes, ages, and descrip- tion wildly ran amok following his wonderful lead. How we loved it. Because of the Great Depression


everyone yearned for escape and movies were the cheapest, fastest, and least damaging form of enter- tainment. Easy to love. ~ A Valen- tine to the past. No doubt about it, in every seg-


ment of life around the globe, since fi lms of every genre were fi rst made, the experience of viewing movies both refl ects and re-shapes our lives. T e huge numbers of fi lms released to the public soon demanded some critical appraisal. Reviewing became an art form in itself. However, if the late, brash Pauline Kael, who was born on a chicken farm in Petaluma, would produce a collection of her bris- tly New Yorker Magazine reviews


these days, she would probably change the title of the 1968 book that made her famous from “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang!” too “Boom! Boom! Blood! Blood!” and even that could not refl ect the amount of carnage and explosions that the fi lm industry grinds out these days. Kael wrote reviews for the New Yorker from 1968 to 1991. She hit the


mark with


the sharp observation that “Movies are the most total and encompassing art form we have.” Makes one wonder why Renata Adler, a political essayist for the New Yorker and a novel- ist, who also wrote fi lm critiques, wrote a crushing review about one Kael’s books. No valentines be- tween those two.


Roger Ebert was America’s fi nest fi lm critic. He was also a journal- ist, fi lm historian, screenwriter and author, but mostly, he really loved both fi lms and life it- self. A popular partici- pant at the annual World Aff airs Conference held at the Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Ebert enthusiasti- cally encouraged young people to engage in ev- ery aspect of fi lms and fi lm making. Although Ebert concentrated on mainly the


“big,” serious fi lms of distinction, he oſt en liked to contradict other critics in pouring out great praise for fi lms that touched his heart. If you are planning a marvelously relaxing, romantic at-home Val-


UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • February 2017 • 5 JOKES & Humor # 2


A sweet little boy surprised his grandmother one morning and brought her a cup of coffee. He made it himself and was so proud. He anxiously waited to hear the verdict on the quality of the coffee. The grandmother had never in her life had such a bad cup of coffee, and as she forced down the last sip she noticed three of those little green army guys in the bottom of the cup. She asked, “Honey, why would three little green army guys be in the bottom of my cup?”


Her grandson replied, “You know grandma, it’s like on TV, ‘The best part of waking ... continued on page 12 up is soldiers in your cup.’”


MADE TO


LOVE! 2 for 1


Order 1 entree & 2 beverages and receive 2nd entree FREE of equal or lesser value. Not valid with any other offer. Exp 2/28/17


Mon-Friday 11:30-3pm & 4:30-9pm Sat-Sun 12pm-9pm


$10 OFF


Any bill $30 or more with receive $10 OFF entiire bill. Not valid with any other offer. Not valid on Lunch specials.


Expires 2/28/17


6961 Sebastopol Ave • Sebastopol • 707-829-8889 2478 W. Third 3rd St. • Santa Rosa • 707-575-9296


725 4th St. ~ Santa Rosa, CA


Pub and Gift Shop hours 11AM to Midnight daily


“Happiness can only be found if you free yourself of all other distractions.” ~ Saul Bellow 707-545-2337


www.russianriverbrewing.com UPBEAT TIMES, INC. • February 2017 • 5


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