Herd of Words

I absolutely adored The Red Leather Diary!! Lily Koppel takes you with her right into the dumpster where she finds the steamer trunks with the flapper dresses, coats, telegrams and photos that surround a small red leather diary from the 1930s.

You then follow along on the journey of the young Florence as if you are her favorite pair of glasses that she would never be without as her deepest thoughts and desires are revealed day in and day out for 5 years.

Lily’s style transcends the written word in a picturesque way that aid as you visualize Florence’s journey through the streets of an exciting NYC. And I LOVED the addition of photos throughout the book, which continually validate Lily’s words.

What a dream to have been Lily — finding all these items AND finding a teenage Florence as a 90 year-old woman. This is the stuff of the best films come true to life. I hope they make a film together. It would be exquisite; I have no doubt.

Pick this up to journey back to a seemingly simpler way of life. And pick up your own diary and start recording your own thoughts and desires!!

BRAVO Lily and Florence!!!! Being the curious snoop that I am, I would LOVE to see the full manuscript of the diary exactly as Florence wrote it. Now That would be a fun and different way to read a book!!

Oh now THIS is a cool question. I have already had an old friend do this very thing…. Calvin Phelps, a friend of mine from our freshmen year in high school 1982, wrote a very cool blog about me at his blog: Sea-Fell

“Kelly J. Kitchens is one of the most gregarious people I have ever met. I have never seen her angry at another human being. I know she has to have her down days (like when she had the leak and it ruined all of her office, or the tumor, or the other MAJOR things), but she seems to always see the light through the tunnel. She is blessed to have met her soulmate Mark and to have a career of her choosing. When we were in high school, she was on yearbook where she, believe it or not, made up quotes and attributed them to me. Mostly things about David Sylvan & Japan or The Thompson Twins or other bands she loved. Point is, even then she was finding a way to promote her favorites in print. As a publicist, she has passion for the people and projects she takes on.”

I stopped making up quotes when I went to college to be a journalist. I like to think of myself as a former journalist who brings respectability, honesty and integrity to a sometimes questionable field like Public Relations.

This song by Cornelius called “Typerite Lesson” is so fabulous. It sounds like a 1950s typewriter lesson record mixed with a modern lounge background track, but it is even more poignant than that. You have to hear it.

Also, notice the scratches in the record –> cool, huh?? You know, I miss that sound actually. And I remember David, Patrick and Chip working so hard to take the scratches out of their recordings of vinyl records back in the ’80s. Ah, nostalgic sounds you don’t hear any more — You know what other sounds I miss? The whoosh of turning the dial on a rotary phone. Funny, huh? What sounds do you miss?

Typerite Lesson - Cornelius

This is the perfect card for me to pull up on the Memorial Day weekend. There was a man on my Dad’s side of the family who sounds fabulously fascinating.

My Dad’s family has lived in Georgia and Alabama since the late 1600s. We always joked that he was the smart one who made it to Texas! His cousin, Judy, finished the Kitchens’ genealogy in the mid-1980s. But she has since passed away, and no one can seem to find their copy, I may have to amend this entry when I find out more truth.

But here is what I know I remember for our last Kitchens’ family reunion in 1989:

In 1672, my ancestor, John Elder was a stow-away  on a ship headed for the New World. When he got here he was put in indentured servitude for 7 years to pay back his passage from England. When he accrued so much debt from his indentured service, he was thrown down to Georgia (as it was the debtors colony at the time). He then became what was the equivalent of Georgia’s first governor (though he was probably not called that at the time).

All of that takes quite a bit of spunk! Because he HAD to of known what he was in for being a stow-away. But what a remarkable life, huh??

Another person I would have liked to have met on my Mom’s side was Dwight D Eisenhower. Somehow he is related on my mom’s Mom’s side. Pretty cool, huh?!

I have done some cool things over my years of being a publicist — spent the day talking about art with Martin Mull, soaked up stories of old Hollywood with Carol Channing, ate donuts and went bowling with Ron Jeremy , but I don’t think any compare with the night that the Cinematic Titanic (the former Mystery Science Theater 3000) guys made me into a riff at their live show. Cinematic Titanic is comprised of Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, and J. Elvis Weinstein.

I had the privilege of doing publicity for their show on April 26 for the USA Film Festival. They are Very humble and modest about their success and popularity. They are all the absolute most friendly, gracious, and nicest people I have met in the film industry in a long time. I had quite the time keeping up with all of the publicity. Luckily, someone did it for me. (Thanks Hugh at Deep Ape!)

Back to my story about my unforgettable moment:

During their live riffing on Roger Corman’s “The Wasp Woman,” Joel said something like: “This isn’t a lab; it’s a Kelly Kitchen.” That was for ME!!!! They talked the night before about adding my name to the riffing. Frank said they should do it like Al Hirschfeld’s Ninas. “Can you count how many times we say Kelly Kitchens?” I had NO idea they were actually going to do it though!! Did anyone else catch it? What a way to be immortalized!!!

We (referring to my husband and other fans) are scheming ways to get them to come back and do more shows. They definitely need to tour with this show!

My favorite line of the night: “Oh look he’s Mr. Know-it-all even when no one is around.”

So, if you are game, let’s work together to get them back to Dallas and to take this show on the road!!

Maybe it is because I am still somewhat of a newlywed (1 yr. 5 mths. 2 days as of today — OK 3 days since it is after midnight), but I really don’t miss much. I have quite a bit of freedom in my marriage, which is fabulous. I realized recently that I don’t just spend hours upon hours on the phone with friends like I used to. Mark told me today that he thinks I do just because I was on the phone with a friend for 30 minutes, but he really has NO idea!

Suzanne and I used to spend hours and hours on the phone especially when we were both single. We would even call each other in the middle of the night if we needed help or just to talk through a difficulty with a client, a boyfriend or just because. And I love those times on the phone. They were (and are still) very meaningful to one extent or another.

I am really trying to spend time with friends, but I enjoy being with Mark so much even if we aren’t doing anything special that I have to remind myself from time to time to just touch base with others. I love it that Mark loves all of my friends and that all of my friends love Mark too! So we enjoy having them over for dinner like we did last week with Sondra and Danielle.

But I might not get so much time with them one-on-one as I used to, but I have such an amazing family of friends that I know they are there for me just as I am there for them no matter how much time passes.

“At what age do most people become old and what is the secret to staying young?”

Well, since I just turned 40 in January, this question is very relevant. I may get a lot of flack for this, but it seems to me that people with children are “older” in general no matter what their age than people who are childless. I don’t know what that is exactly, but perhaps it is that they have a responsibility that far out surpasses any responsibility that those of us who are childless (at present anyway) have.

Thinking of being 40 is still a little foreign to me. I LOVED being in my 30s. I felt so much more at home in my body and in who I am. And I felt that almost instantly upon turning 30. While I still feel that way now, I guess I was thinking there would be another depth like that when I turned 40.

I know I haven’t answered the question directly, so perhaps I will come back to this question another day.

I keep saying I am going to blog thinking I have something important to talk about like the presidential race and the fact that I saw Obama, Huckabee and Clinton all speak before the March 4 Texas Primary. (Going to see them personally clinched my vote BIG TIME for Obama — hands down!) But then I let it go too long and then it just seems like too much time as passed for a blog to be relevant anymore….. So I just don’t do it…..

Well, I have this “game” called Table Topics with a bunch of cards in a box and I thought I would pick one and start talking about that until I make blogging an actual habit or close to it anyway. So here we go.

Ah, a good one chosen at random: “Where would you choose to live if you had to leave this country?”

Hmmmmm — do they mean Texas or America?? tee hee!!! (those outside Texas should know that we still think of Texas as its own country!)

Of the places I have been — Mexico, France, Italy, England, Austria and Switzerland — I would probably say France or Switzerland. I spent a summer in each country (France in 1986 and Switzerland in 1989), and I loved them both dearly. Unfortunately, not being able to speak French would make me a little apprehensive to live full time in either country before I learned French well.

I know I haven’t ever been to Canada, but I should really think I would like to live there just from what I saw on the film “Bowling for Columbine” about Canada’s news and crime statistics. I am so fortunate not to have ever been a victim of a direct crime upon my person or home (my car? definitely! My radio was stolen out of my Toyota Tercel 3 times!)

Where would you go if you HAD to??

Mark and I went to New England last week without much planned or many expectations, which really worked out and made it so relaxing!

Tuesday night when we got in we just drove around downtown Boston a bit then drove right out north to Chelmsford where we were staying while Mark was working out there on Wednesday and Thursday. I worked on an event follow-ups on Wed morning. When Mark got off at 3, we drove down to Salem. Unfortunately, everything in NE seems to close around 5 pm, so we just had an hour. We spent that hour at the Salem Witch Museum and then walking around the homes and buildings from the 1600s-1850s.

Thursday I drove into Boston (well, Cambridge) while Mark worked, so that I could see the one museum I really wanted to see Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. This place is amazing and so inspiring to me and my love for art. I HIGHLY recommend it!! I walked around Harvard Medical School and Emmanuel College trying to find the museum. It was a cold day but I was so excited that I hardly felt it. I drove to pick up Mark from his last day of work and we decided to drive as far north as we possibly could.

We finally stopped in Brunswick, ME. We spent the night there and then drove back down south — taking the long way! We stopped in Freeport at the largest LL Bean store in the world. We found some cool stuff for Mark and both of our Moms. Then we drove down to Portland — saw the oldest lighthouse (commissioned by George Washington in 1791 — museum closed for the season). It was beautiful. There was an old fort in ruins nearby that we explored as much as we possibly could. It was FREEZING!!! And there were men in trucks with snow scooping things on the front of them out just waiting for the next snow storm — which was just about an hour away. We then went to downtown Portland and LOVED it!! We both agreed that we could both easily live there. We went to a Photo Gallery with Maine artists taking photos of Maine subjects that was preparing for an opening. It started to snow and rain pretty badly so we abandoned our plans to head to the Portland Museum of Art and find a hotel. So we stayed in for the day and ate at a local dive called, uh, Chili’s (it was close enough to run to from our hotel room!). It snowed a couple of inches an hour overnight, but with the shovel trucks and with the rising temperatures overnight it wasn’t really noticeable in the morning with the exceptions of all the hills of pure snow on all the parking lots and various places.

Actually there were remnants of snow everywhere we were the entire time!! It was wonderful to see!!

We left Portland the next morning (Saturday) and continued to drive. This time to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We were originally looking for Portsmith because that is how everyone seemed to be pronouncing it to our Southern ears! In Portsmouth, we found Strawbery (yes, just one “r”) Banke. A collection of houses and buildings from the 1630s. Of course, as was our experience the entire time, the museum was closed for the season, so we just explored around ourselves. We then continued south to Ipswich, Mass. There, we understood, was the largest collection of First Period houses (meaning, those built between 1625 and 1725) than any other community in America. But we actually spent quite a bit of time in a couple of antique shops.

With everything closing in Ipswich at 5 (and it gets dark at 5 too), we headed to Concord to spend Saturday night. I couldn’t believe how many people were friends who lived in Concord at the same time — Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Louisa May Alcott — mid-1800s!! PLUS, it was where Paul Revere’s ride took place and the 1st battle of the American Revolution. So we saw Walden Pond. And while Mark studied, I went through the Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott wrote “Little Women” and scores more books, poems and essays. I LOVED it!!!!

Because we drove around and around looking for the Concord Museum. We stumbled upon 1800s cemetery and we walked around there — I LOVE old cemeteries and had never walked around one with snow all over it, so we did! Mark FINALLY stopped at a gas station so we could ask directions and it was just around the corner we hadn’t tried yet. The streets aren’t marked very well and they change names quite often too making driving a challenge! We then went to the Concord Museum. Little, tiny Concord is just bursting with history!!!! It is truly amazing!! I told Mark that I just really love being so surrounded by history — it just invigorates me.

We then drove into Boston Sunday evening. We stayed at a 1800s hotel just on the corner of Boston Common. We got there while the city was bustling with excitement and loads and loads of people. We settled in to the hotel and then ventured out — walking around Boston Common, we ended up for dinner AND the Super Bowl (New England Patriots vs. New York Giants) at the bar that was the inspiration for Cheers!! It was originally called Bull & Finch, but they smartly changed the name to Cheers. We got a great table — had dinner and drinks and then walked back before 1/2 time. Walking back we were laughing about how deserted the city was. In the Boston Common, there is a huge ice rink. When we were walking to the bar, there were probably 100 people skating. When walking back, there were Three!!! It was funny!!

Back at the hotel, we watched the game, laughed at WHY they had Tom Petty for 1/2 time, and then had to rush out for a fire alarm (false alarm, thank goodness!!). We had a great time though!

Monday morning we were ready to head to the airport early and back to Dallas at 3 pm on Monday. It is good to be home, but what an incredible trip. And with not much planned (I wanted to see Salem, Concord, and lighthouses), we did and saw SOOOOO much!!

On Sept. 26, 2003, I made the crazy decision to actually adopt not 1 but 2 dogs who happened to be 11 years old at the time - Bella and Bunky. I got both of them because I was told that Bella, who had bad arthritis, would probably only live for another 6-9 months. Knowing that if I didn’t take her she would be put down, I decided to give her what good life I could during the short time she had left on this earth.

Bella and Bunky lived with a loving woman in a bad relationship. As I understand it, after she got these 2 Lhasa Apses, she decided to breed and show Pekinese. She said that at any one time, she had as many as 12 dogs and 6 cats living with her.

Bella was the ringleader for the entire bunch. And she had the kind of personality that reminded me of Lucy from the Peanuts comics (I would always say to her and Bunky: “Now, would Benji do that?”). While I have no doubt that this woman loved all of her animals very much, she got into a bad relationship that changed her life completely.

I won’t go into all of the details as I am sure that I don’t remember, or even know, them all completely, but in a nutshell, she hooked up with a very abusive guy. He apparently took his frustrations out on the animals and especially Bella because she desired (make that: “demanded”) so much attention. Because a baby on the way, her boyfriend made her get rid of all of the animals. Bella, Bunky and Bubba were the last I know of to go. (Bubba was adopted by my friend, Wendy. And luckily, the woman moved with her baby girl to the East Coast — getting as far away from Mr. Abuser as she could!!! Good for her!! I wish her and her baby all the happiness that they deserve.)

I was in a relationship that was going nowhere, but I had been slow to realize it. Bringing Bella and Bunky in to my life actually made it easier to see that as time went on. My boyfriend at the time didn’t like dogs and really resisted me getting them. I knew the relationship hadn’t been right since January, 2003, but I didn’t have the guts to break it off. Somehow the closer I got to the dogs, the fact that I was in a bad relations came to light more and more. I finally figured out that the path we were on wasn’t going anywhere where I actually wanted to be. So I broke it off with him on our 4th anniversary in June, 2004. (I told you I was slow to realize!)

I met my husband, Mark, November 12, 2005. And while Bella never really warmed up to him (probably because of the abuse from that other man), Mark worked hard at relating to Bella. Unfortunately, as she learned to accept him, she got very sick.

In August, 2007, Bella weighed 17 lbs. On December 22, I took her to the vet because she hadn’t eaten for 2 1/2 day (which was HIGHLY unusual since she would try to bully Bunky off his food unless I refereed), she weighed 13.6. Even though she kept dwindling away, her little spirit was still as strong as it had always been. I told the vet that if she could live on sheer will alone, she would be jumping off the couch right now. But on January 7, Mark and I took her in (she now weighed 10.2 lbs.) and we said our goodbyes. I told her to go find Bubba so she could boss him around again. It wasn’t a peaceful end, but she is at peace now.

Goodbye, Bella-baby, my Honey-B. Thank you for rescuing me!! I will see you in Heaven some day.

As Mark says, “It has been a great 6 months.”