When I was six years old, I decided I no longer wanted to be a girl. I thought boys had more fun. They could go hunting, fishing, and attend baseball games with their fathers, did not have to be lady-like, did not have to wear dresses, and most certainly did not have to play with dolls. To me dolls were evil. When I was four, I had received a doll from a little neighborhood boy who had come to my birthday party. After I opened the present, and saw what it was, I threw it across the room, loudly proclaiming, "No, doll!"  Of course, my mother was mortified.

Then one day, after coming home from school, I went into the bathroom, took out a pair of scissors, and proceeded to cut my shoulder-length hair. . . very, very short. After that, I went into the living room, where my parents were sitting watching television and boldly told them I was no longer a girl.

My dad chuckled at my antics, while my mom immediately made a phone call to the local hair salon.

Seeing the humor in the situation, but stifling a laugh, my dad asked,”What's your new name going to be?"

I stared at him perplexed.   

"You can't be Anne. I know of no boys named Anne."  

Logically that made perfect sense to me and I stood there pondering what my new name would be.

Most likely because of the what I had done to my hair, he suggested Butch, which I proudly accepted. I even proclaimed my new status to my first grade teacher and wrote 'Butch' on all my papers, and when it was time to go to lunch or recess I stood in the boy’s line. After all, it was as simple as that, wasn't it?

It didn't take me very long to realize that just by changing my outward appearance, and my name, did not change who I was on the inside, and I soon became Anne again. . . but forever remained a Tomboy.

“Never lend your car to anyone you have given birth” ~ Erma Bombeck

Having a teenage driver, I worry about my baby. . . No, not the sixteen-year-old, I mean my baby, my 2006 Ford F-150 pickup, with the Triton V8, custom air bag suspension, running boards, and spray-on bed-liner.

Back in high school, I remember reading a humorous story by Erma Bombeck on teaching a teenage daughter how to drive. Her hand clutching the door handle for a fast escape if needed. Of course, I thought at the time I would never be like that mother. . .

"WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got a full season of CHUCK baby!!!!!!!! Yeeeee
Hawwwww!!!!!" I could not have said it any better, Annette, you expressed my feelings exactly. :-)

Yes, NBC has order another 11 episodes of Chuck, giving us fans a 24 episode season. Far more than what I expected or even dreamed.

One more note on Chuck, last Monday's episode, "Chuck Versus the Couch Lock" was the best episode of the season. The episode brought back the old formula, comedy mixed with drama and a little romance, Morgan having a chance to play the hero, great one-liners, the crazy zaniness of the Buy More, and I loved the nod to the A-Team, in addition, one of the best Casey lines ever, "You break her heart, I break your everything."

Looking forward to next weeks episode and the return of Mama B. Is it Monday, yet?

I walked through the front door of the brand new movie theater in Salem, Oregon, and scoped out the place. The smell of fresh popped popcorn filled the lobby, while the sound of movies playing in the background spilled from open auditorium doors. The two-story theater was clean and new; fresh yellow paint on the cinder-block walls, high commercial carpet on the spotless floors, tall glass windows reached to the ceiling, a concession stand on the left side of the lobby, with a full service deli on the right. The upper level was the manager's office, a coffee bar, restrooms, and projection booths. In all my years of working at movie theaters, I had never seen a more beautiful building. I asked the usher standing at the front door if I could talk to the manager. She pointed me in the direction of the manager’s office and up the stairs I climbed.

A recent challenge posted on my Facebook page was to list fifteen movies I had seen that would always stick with me. The rules were to not take too long to think about it, and to list the first fifteen I could recall in no more than fifteen minutes. I don't know if it's the most influential films I had ever seen, and obliviously I was influenced by 80's films, nevertheless here is my list (with a couple of changes after giving it much more thought):

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark. A masterful creation by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, combining great storytelling, wonderful effects, humor, and of course the ever-handsome Harrison Ford. "It's not the years, it's the mileage."

2. E.T. Another Steven Spielberg film, this timeless friendship movie captured my heart, and still to this day, I cry at the ending.

3. Star Wars. The first film I saw more then once, and it forever changed the way I looked at movies.

4. The Breakfast Club. Really the only John Hughes/'Brat Pack' type movie I feel I can relate with, although I enjoyed the others. This film defined my generation as I was a high school student when this film was released.

5. Sleepless in Seattle. I'm not really into 'chick flicks,' but this one is an exception to the rule. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are wonderful in this film, and I loved all the references to An Affair to Remember, and of course living in Seattle gave me a personal connection to this film. "Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental."

6. Dances with Wolves. My all-time favorite film. I love the story, the imagery, touches of humor, and being culturally and historically told. I prefer the extended four-hour version of this film.

7. The Sound of Music. My second all-time favorite film. My first experience with musicals that I have come to know and love. I remember watching this with my parents and sisters on NBC, year after year, and love it as much now as I did back then. When in Salzburg a few years ago, I loved "The Sound of Music" tour, and visiting many of the sites associated with both the film and the real von Trapp family.

8. Dirty Dancing. I was working at a movie theater in Portland, Oregon, when this film was released, and remember sitting in the auditorium on my breaks watching Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze dance. I loved the music and the dancing, and of course, Patrick Swayze! 

9. Fiddler on the Roof. One of the first films I remember seeing with my parents and sisters at a movie theater. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the acting, and the music.

10. The Wizard of Oz. Can't forget this timeless classic and another annual tradition film, I watched every year with my parents and sisters, after all; "There's no place like home." My favorite character, of course, is the Scarecrow.

11. Field of Dreams. I just love this beautifully told baseball story, and then the ending when he sees his father, and discovers it was all for him, still brings tears to my eyes. My all time favorite sports movie. "No, Ray, it was you."

12. Back to the Future. What's better then building a time machine out of a Delorean? The loved the comedy, the actors, the music, the comic timing of Christopher Lloyd, and then the whole premise of traveling back in time and missing up your future. My personal favorite line is when Doc Brown asks who the president is in the future and Marty says, "Ronald Reagan." Truth is stranger than fiction.

13. Bambi. The first Disney movie I ever saw, and the first movie I saw in the theaters. I remember being upset when Bambi's mom was shot by those hunters and being frightened for Bambi in the forest fire.

14. The Pink Panther (Peter Sellers). My parents took us to theater one afternoon for a Pink Panther marathon. I loved the slap-stick and comic timing of Peter Sellers, who played the bungling French police detective Jacques Clouseau. 

15. Live and Let Die. The first James Bond movie I ever watched, and becoming intrigued by spies and espionage. Although I enjoy Roger Moore, Sean Connery is still the BEST Bond.

I’m not ashamed to acknowledge I’m lousy at math. Read statistics to me, and my eyes will glaze over and my head spins, thus I confess I don’t understand television rating and the whole numbers game. What I do know is I am sick and tired of NBC and what I feel is them purposing trying to sabotage my favorite television show Chuck.

I read earlier this week, Josh Schwartz, one of the executive producers of Chuck, tweeted that NBC isn't running promos for Chuck anymore. It seems NBC has accepted that the Chuck audience is the Chuck audience and isn't expecting anything more.

Such a shame.

I love Chuck! I love Chuck, because I can watch it with my boys, and there is little on television nowadays I can watch with my children. I love the ability the writers have to mix humor with drama, and the formula works well for this show. I ship Chuck and Sarah! I love the ensemble cast, Chuck's relationship with not only Sarah, but also his sister, Ellie, and his best friend, Morgan, and even his co-workers at the Buy More. I think the show has a great ensemble cast. The characters are all unique, creative, and well drawn. I love all the cultural, movie, and comic references sprinkled through-out the episodes. I LOVE John Casey, he tickles my funny bone. I like a show that does not take itself too seriously; i.e. during the premiere episode from season four, Chuck said to Morgan, "This is not the opening of a TV show. This is real life." I love the whole fish out of water spy training Chuck has gone through and where he is today; he has grow as a person and a spy. I love the guest stars and am excited about who is on tap for this upcoming season.

I love this show so much I have actively participated in several save our show campaigns, including sending boxes of Nerds to NBC and eating Subway sandwiches on Monday nights, which I have NEVER done for another television series. I’m a loyal Chuck fan and according to the Neilsen Co. numbers, Chuck has an Audience Loyalty Index rating of 95.7, which means of all the people who have tuned in to see Chuck, nearly 96 percent of them have returned for every episode. Yet, why do I feel being used by NBC? I’m tired of the show always being on the bubble and them threatening not to renew, or even worse, not finishing the season.

Back in May, if I am understanding the numbers correctly, Chuck ranked in the top twenty TV shows in the SocialSenseTV ratings report of social media interactions, measuring posts and reads on forums, blogs, and other social media over a three-month period, including numbers from On Demand, iTunes downloads and streaming episodes via NBC.com or Hulu. Taking those numbers into account Chuck does very well, but all the television brass seems to care about are the Neilsen ratings, which to me is an antiquated way of counting.

To keep us rabid Chuck fans happy, NBC agreed to a fourth season, but a shorten 13-episode season, with the possibility of six, maybe nine more episodes, although with the numbers so far this season and with only an average of 3.4 rating, it does not look good. Yes, I am wringing my hands already over the fate of Chuck.

Honesty, I could live with season four being the last season, because creatively, I don’t know how much further the writers can take the characters, without changing the characters we know and love. Fine, if they are seriously thinking of canceling after this season, but please let us have a full season to tie up loose ends. I really hope Chuck does not finish the way Scarecrow and Mrs. King ended. I NEED CLOSURE!!

On October 3, 1983, I was a high school sophomore recovering from Mandibular Advancement surgery, and trying to keep my mind off pain and boredom, I turned on the television. Little did I know this evening would be a night of chance encounters? I only happened to turn the channel knob to CBS and witnessed Federal Agent Lee Stetson, codename Scarecrow, plead with a total stranger to help him, in what he later termed an “emergency.”

Amanda King, a divorced housewife, who just happened to be at on the platform, dropping her boyfriend off at train station, because he thought it would rain, agreed to take the package. She was supposed to hand it to the man in the red hat. I laughed out loud, when she climbed onto the train, wearing only a nightgown and an overcoat, simply to discover there were twenty-five men in red hats on that train. This lead her to inadvertently became embroiled in a secret mission and in the end successfully saving Lee.

Scarecrow and Mrs. King was not quite like anything else I had ever watched, and it charmed and captivated me. I was drawn-in by the chemistry, the characters, and the comedy.  Later seasons the chemistry blossomed into romance, and we had characters that cared about each other, and we cared about them. This is what made the show a success then and still to this day.

When I first watched “The First Time” little did I know it would be the start of a 27-year obsession with Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I would have never guessed I would have been consequently invested in the show so many years later, but I love this series as much now as I did back then.  It was and still is my most favorite television show. . . ever.