I was not surprised to see Charlie Sheen 's name in the news again today. I mean the guy is a train wreck and has been for many years. But I was surprised at his candor. Most celebrities never tell their producers, agents, studios and their adoring fans what they really think about them but Charlie Sheen said exactly what he thinks (and I use the term thinks loosely) about the people who pay him millions more than he's worth, and AA.

What I find interesting, although also not surprising, is that the studio kept paying this so-called "actor" for so long. Apparently they had no problem with how he treats women, or his own body until his rants became personal attacks on them.

Charlie Sheen should have been replaced years ago because of his personal demons but the studio thought he was too valuable. He wasn't, isn't and will never be. Actors are a dime a dozen. When the writing is good people will watch. Hollywood seem to have everything backwards. The real reason people watch Two Men...(or any sitcom, episodic, or movie) isn't because of an actor. We watch because of the writing. Yes, actors must be able to memorize lines and deliver them without falling over a chair but even the best actor can't make up for bad writing.  

Charlie Sheen didn't keep anyone with a brain coming back every week. Charlie isn't the glue that ties any of us to the show. It was and still is the writing. The show, although very raunchy, is funny.

To further make my point...Aren't they the same writers for Mike and Molly? The stars of that show are not recognizable names to most of us and yet the show is so funny that we watch it every week.

For some reason Hollywood thinks that we will only watch a successful show because of an actor. That's why they coddle them, pay them more than they're worth, forgive their pecadillos, give in to their every tantrum and lie for them. But they're wrong. We watch programs because they're funny, engaging, heartfelt, informative....the actors are just the vehicle you use to deliver the lines. I mean, you can train millions of people to do that. Forget the idea that "the show can't go on without (fill in a name)" because it will as long as you keep the real stars onboard. The ones that put out the great lines and stories.

So, keep Two and a Half Men. Just do all of us, the viewing audience, a favor and replace Charlie Sheen with a ...real actor that IS  good looking, unlike Charlie who can barely spew a line without making that annoying sound every time he wants to make a point. He is also missing some very small rodent sized teeth, has a huge nose, aging skin and skinny lips. This guy is NOT attractive.


The thing attracting women to Charlie, or more correctly the prostitutes/ porn bump and grinders and wanna be actresses now is the huge sums of money he throws their way and the fifteen minutes of fame they hope will rocket them into celebrity. I mean look at those two bimbos he's with now, the porn grinder from the hotel....

The show would not have suffered if the producers had gotten rid of this bad apple years ago. They could have had his character die of an overdose...very believable, introduce a cousin that Alan can mooch off or turn Alan into the dirtbag character who now has to share Charlie's house with a new and this time handsome character that has everything except money. What ever...
 

Charlie Sheen may think he has it all, but then anyone with an addiction problem like his is probably also delusional. Hopefully the studios will learn something  from this mess they helped create, and hopefully Charlie Sheen will get some real help.

This is what a third grader thinks about his grandparents who retired. Very funny
"RETARDED" GRANDPARENTS   
       
             Written by a third grader, on what his grandparents do.
            
             After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One child wrote the following:
            
             We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa.  They used to live in a big brick house, but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Arizona .  Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass.  They ride around on their bicycles, and wear name tags, because they don't know who they are anymore.  They go to a building called a wreck center , but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, they do exercises there, but they don't do them very well.  There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on.  At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it.  He watches all day so nobody can escape.  Sometimes they sneak out, and go cruising in their golf carts.  Nobody there cooks, they just eat out.  And, they eat the same thing every night - early birds.   Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house.  The ones who do get out, bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck.  My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and, says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too.   When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house.  Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren.

Well, we're finally here and have been for a few months now. Everyone is friendly and helpful but as we've made our way around the community finding clubs to join, introducing ourselves to neighbors and taking in probably the most anticipated event of the week, the garage and estate sales, I've noticed that many women are single. 
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And with a dismissive wave of their hand they'd tell us, "My husband died a few weeks ago." I hoped I was the only one that noticed but I wasn't. My husband was appalled at their cavalier attitude. Was he wondering if all women acted that way? Almost relieved that they were alone again? The fact was, I wonder why they seem detached too. So I started making excuses for them. Maybe they were still in shock. Maybe their spouse had a prolonged illness and they had mixed emotions they hadn't sorted out so they were just matter of fact. Maybe they had a bad marriage and they were glad to alone finally, who knows? But of the ones we've met at garage sales, most were just getting out of Dodge. And I didn't ask for an explanation.
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There are couples here too. Since we are probably younger than most, I get this a lot, "So how are you handling having him around all day?" they say with a look somewhat akin to smelling cauliflower cooking on the stove.
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I never know quite how to respond to this question. Are they waiting to hear the dirt on how difficult it is having my husband under foot? While I admit there is an adjustment that has to be made for both partners, I like having my husband around. And he likes being with me too. We're best friends. But I do have to say that it's healthy for each of us to have interests we do separate from one another.

Spending a few hours away from one another a couple of times a week makes coming together again pleasurable. You also have more things to talk about.

We would have been home by now except for the numerous flat tires and faulty air conditioners that needed changing and  tending. Starting our retirement in an RV hadn't gotten off to a very good start. It was a good thing we changed our minds about living in Mexico in our RV while looking for a condo. I love travel probably more than the next person, but I couldn't imagine being stuck on the side of a road in the middle of the desert down there. Even the thought of it made me shiver uneasiness.

So, instead of living in the RV...and paying a minimum of $400 a month for a space in a park, we decided to buy a home before my husband quit and travel from the east coast to the west to our final retirement destination. We got in by the skin of our teeth and found a nice home with a house payment that was about as cheap as renting a space in a nice park for our RV. 
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Our travel day started hot and dry, which I prefer to hot and humid. I actually enjoy eating in the RV because we can stop wherever we want to enjoy the views. But the best part was that we could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel now. After Albequerque we'd head up into the mountains, travel cross into Arizona, driving through Flagstaff and down the mountain into Phoenix. We'd finally arrive at our new (old) home to begin retirement in earnest.
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The days before this seemed like an impossibility. Arizona was so far away, and we'd had so many setbacks, but now we were within reach and the excitement was starting to build.

We decided we couldn't make it all the way into Phoenix, so we'd find a spot in the mountains somewhere near Flagstaff and drink in the scenery and feel the cool breezes.

It was a lovely idea.

Just outside Albequerque NM we began a leg of our trip I hadn't really considered, a long haul up the mountain...Ahead the RV seemed to be slowing, and finally stopped barely off the freeway.

Steve came to my window. "We have to go back. The RV won't go into gear and we'll never make it up this grade."

"Where are we going to turn around?" I protested, a little fearful. There were cars zipping down the freeway in every direction so fast that I swore the Hounds of Hell were on their heels. Where had all they come from anyway? Even the thought of getting back onto the freeway in the direction we were traveling was terrifying to me.
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My husband was determined and told me not to worry. Right.
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He got back into the RV and moved onto the freeway. I drove behind with my flashers to warn other drivers we were having problems. Then he changed lanes. Once, twice towards the fast lane. I called him on the cell and he told me he was going to make a U-turn at the next opportunity, which as I already had seen was just up the road. "No, the RV is too big and I'll be stuck in the middle of the freeway. The cars are going too fast going back down the hill and no one will let you in."
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I knew I might as well have yelled at the moon. I would have gotten the same result. He did exactly what he said he was going to do and just snapped at me not to worry. He'd take care of it. Don't worry.
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I was literally sweating I was so nervous. I can't explain how scary it was. One of those 'you had to be there' moments I guess. But my husband can be an agressive driver when it comes to making quick decisions. Unlike me who pulls out of a parking stall looking and re-checking several times to make sure no one is behind me, he looks both ways and pulls out. No pussy-footing around. Just do it.
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Before I knew it we were headed in the opposite direction, coasting down the right side of the freeway, me still behind with my blinkers on.

Long story short, we spent another day and a half of this trip in Albequerque waiting to get a new transmission put into the RV. Luckily we had the other cars so we weren't stuck at the repair shop. But our original plan of saving money by moving our furniture ourselves (we'd had a very bad experience with the movers when we left the west coast) wasn't going well. We ended up spending as much as we would have spent hiring so-called "professional" movers who trashed our furniture on the trip from west to east.

Finally we were on our way again. The rest of the trip was uneventful. Thank Heaven. We arrived at our home, which we had bought sight unseen, around 10 o'clock in the evening.
(We had never seen the property because the bank wouldn't lend on the one I'd found on my trip out to find a property and our agent had to find another one FAST)
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We unpacked the essentials...a mattress, sheets and personal items and fell into bed, exhausted.