Testing The Waters

"It really don't matter if I lose this fight...  all I wanna do is go the distance." ~ Rocky (1976) There are some films that strike a deep chord in the hearts and minds of audiences,  "Rocky" and all the subsequent sequels are among those films  (well, with the exception of Rocky 5) . Each movie in the "Rocky" franchise has the ability to stand alone as a film, which is a testament to Sylvester Stallone as a writer and as an actor. With Rocky Balboa Stallone created an endearing lovable loser character that everyone could not only identify with but also root for. The success of the franchise is due in part to the raw, undiluted brilliance of first movie, "Rocky." GOING THE DISTANCE One of my absolute favorite scenes from the first film is when Rocky reveals to Adrian his goal for the fight against Apollo Creed. In that scene he declares, "all I wanna do is go the distance." Its such a humble goal - Rocky doesn'...

"A Life, Taken" is inspired by my personal experience with sexual abuse. Before writing this story I never spoke about what happened to me as a child. Sitting down to write my story wasn't a conscious choice it was more like I was led to do so by a force greater than myself. I had no idea the effect it would have on me and my life. I can still remember the day I finished the first draft (over year ago), somehow I felt lighter, like a w eight had b e en lift ed. I know now that by writing my story and getting it out I had dropped the heavy weight of shame I had been clinging to all these years. My silence insured that I held tightly to this shame as if it were some kind of life preserver instead of what it really was - a 10 ton weight. I chose to stay quiet and not speak about what happened to me. I thought this would make it "go away".  Boy was I wrong.   This is like putting a bag of garbage in a closet in the ho...