“We must use what we have to invent
what we desire.”
~~ Adrienne Rich
Hi all,
I hope you've been able to enjoy some Season 5 TBAA! I
know I have!
God bless,
Jenni
So... this was supposed to have a story in
it but yours truly spent so long working on "Miles to Go
Before I Sleep" screen captures that I ran out of time and
had to stick with short stuff. John's portrayal of
Andrew is so fantastic in that episode. Andrew was a
wonderful nurse. But it got me wondering... how good
would some of John's
other characters be as nurses? So here I count ten of
them down from the worst to the best. Andrew excluded,
of course, since anyone who has seen that episode already
knows he ranks extremely highly. :-)
10. Eric Manion from Heart
of the Beholder- Do I really need to explain
this? He's pervy and he's... well, he's just pervy, okay? I really
don't think I'd want this dude around me when I was
sick. Frankly, I don't think I'd want this dude around
me for any reason. Plus, he'd probably try to steal
from his patients to fund his habit.
9. Bob Holmby from The
Billionaire Boys Club- Because who wants a nurse who
spends his days hanging out with murderers??? About
the only thing good ol' Bob would be good for was notarizing
the insurance paperwork you'll probably need when his
bumbling self inflicts damage upon you. Well, that and
he looks awfully good in a suit but I fail to see what that
has to do with obtaining solid medical care.
8. Skip from Making
the Grade- A high school boy as my nurse? No,
thanks! That sounds like a really horrible Lifetime
movie in the offing. Or maybe just a really bizarre
reboot of Doogie Howser, M.D.
7. Jason Carter from The
Young and the Restless- This punk seems lacking in the
basic knowledge of where babies come from. Don't let
him into your room!
6. Andy Broom from "A Little Night Work"- He'd probably
neglect you so he could spend time hounding the doctors for
research info for his next plagiarized novel. Still...
he does seem sweet. And that accent...
5. Dude from the Z.Z. Top "Sleeping Bag" music video-
I have no reason to believe he has any medical skills at
all. But he's darn cute and if he can keep his cool
while being pursued by chainsaw-wielding madmen... he'll
probably do well keeping you calm in the hospital.
4. Virgil
Keller from Best of the Best- He's obviously very
strong so could haul you around if he had to... and you
might choose to make it so he did have to. But he's
also got that nice Zen quality that would, hopefully, keep
you calm while hospitalized. Also, he's perfectly
comfortable in loose fitting, monochromatic clothing.
3. Ray from "A Nest of Vipers"- Well, he's a
veterinarian. So if he just keeps thinking of you as a
mid-size primate, you'll probably be just fine! But if
he should happen to prescribe vitamin-rich hay or some
downtime in your cage... it's probably time to look for a
new nurse.
2. Doc Hock from Tour
of Duty- He definitely has medical skills. And
he knows his way around a needle if you need to get
inoculated. ;-) But maybe you could also get him
talking. And then help him. And be his
friend. Cause he really, really needs a
friend... Just don't get him upset or else your
hospital bed may end up dragged out into the entryway of the
hospital.
1. Colin from Sioux
City- He's a doctor so he definitely has medical
knowledge! Plus, he looks like Jesus. So maybe
he could entertain your poor, recuperating self with a
rousing rendition of "Lord of the Dance." Or you could
just stare at him. Frankly, you could just stare at
any of them. Sigh...
Hi again.
So on the 24th, I turned 30. When I started with JABB,
I was 15 which means I've been at this for half my
life. In that time, I've learned, experienced, and
felt a lot. So I thought, in honor of the occasion,
I'd share 30 things I have learned because of JABB, the
people who are part of it, the things I've done because of
it, and the person who started it all...
1. It's a laptop. Not a labtop.
2. I will never be able to reconcile the timelines of
all TBAA episodes. I am not alone in that and that is okay.
3. When you're setting up a web page for your fan
site, have a back-up plan for a web host. And then
another back-up plan. And then a back-up plan after
that. I seem to have the uncanny ability of causing
web host sites to die...
4. It's not pop. It's
soda. But it's also pop. And coke.
5. I'm not the only one who will probably never hear
"Hallelujah" again without tearing up.
6. It's okay to hate Andrew's shoes. Might make
for a good top ten, in fact...
7. It's perfectly normal to feel the need to capture
even miniscule differences in John's expression on the Photo
Gallery... And people will look at them all. :-)
8. In the film Modern
Girls, there is only one normal character who I might
like to spend time with were he real. He doesn't even
have a name but he looks like John and that's good enough
for me!
9. Life will never be the same but that doesn't mean
it has to be bad. Just different.
10. Larry the Lycra Man will brighten any day!
11. Don't wear Lycra. Especially not pink
Lycra. And especially not if you are a boy...
12. If you go around town wearing a "Save the
turkeys!" t-shirt... you will be asked questions.
13. John Lennon was right. Life *is* what
happens to you when you're busy making other plans.
14. John Dye was right. There *are* always
possibilities for goodness.
15. Canada has great taxi service.
16. Never give up on the TBAA DVDs!
17. If there is a Quaker on your grits container, it's
not *really* grits.
18. Live your life in such a way that someone in
Heaven will make that great blushing smile expression.
19. If you're crying over the finale of Tour or Touched, just put the
first DVD in again and start all over.
20. Todd was right. Calendars with cute boys on
them are nice to have. Especially if they feature just
the same boy over and over and you get to see him (and the
date which I guess is also important) every time you look at
your computer desktop. (Find
that easter egg, yet? ;-)
21. Brownies are always better when you first dump a
bunch of chocolate candy into the mix.
22. All that stuff John said as Andrew about God being
with us in the difficult times? It's true. And
He does love us.
23. It's totally and completely possible to pretty
much write about the same guy every two weeks for half your
life... although maybe only when that guy is John.
24. Grief only hurts because we love. But what
an awful life it would be if we didn't love.
25. You don't always know what you can do until you
have to do it.
26. Really that haircut right before Season 5 wasn't
so bad. In fact, John looked pretty darn adorable
then. And always. Well, except when he was
playing jerks. ;-)
27. When things are rocky, a cup of tea or coffee and
a pastry may not make everything better but they help.
So does chocolate.
28. If I have kids and one of them ever asks me about
my first real crush... I won't be the least bit
embarrassed. Of course, there's a chance it'll all be
so obvious that they won't even have to ask who the fellow
was!
29. Hearing "God loves you" will never, ever get
old. Especially not when His Studly Awesomeness is
saying it.
30. John found his corner of the sky. Some day,
I hope to see it. But there's a lot to do in the
meantime.
This
newsletter is dedicated to John's work in Mother,
Mother. I had thought for some time that I
would watch this film... in which John's character
celebrates his 30th birthday... on my own 30th
birthday. In the end, I just couldn't as I knew I
would cry too much. But that doesn't mean I didn't
think about its lessons: love unconditionally, celebrate
fully, and appreciate every sunset. That's what
I'll be trying to do this year and I hope you all will,
too. I thank John for those lessons and all the
others he imparted in his nearly 48 years among us.
(The first photograph on
this page is from Touched by an
Angel and owned by: CBS Productions, Caroline Productions,
and Moon Water Productions; the second is from Sioux City
and owned by: Cabin Fever Entertainment and Facet Films Inc.; third
is from Tour of Duty and
owned by: New World Television; the fourth from "Campus Man" and
owned by: RKO Pictures; and the last from Mother, Mother and
owned by the film's producers. They are not being used to seek
profit.)