Writings by Diane

The news of the death of Larry Hagman on Friday included remembrances of his past work, such as I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas. Personally, I didn’t watch these shows and they aren’t the first things that come to mind. There was one memory of Larry Hagman I have and it still resides with me to this day. Years ago, I had seen him in an interview where he was describing advice his psychiatrist had given him “Don’t worry, be happy.”  This advice was life changing to Mr Hagman. He immediately took these words to heart and it became his motto. However, just hearing the words wasn't enough for him. He wanted to share this message with everyone. He made a large sign proclaiming these words. He added Feel Good and displayed it outside of his Malibu house at the time.   I don’t know what it was about this simple message, but it stuck with me.  Even to this day, if I notice I’m feeling the blahs, I think of these words and I actually do start to feel good and happy (...

I have always admired painters.   I myself am horrible at it. Perhaps I don’t have the painter’s vision to draw something that will resemble anything.   I prefer the minimalist approach—I can paint a slash of green on the page, believe it is minimalist and call it good! A few days ago, I was looking at a painting that my husband’s Aunt Dorothy created. It’s a humble barn in the middle of a green field with a royal blue sky background. I am glad to have a tangible memory of her. I remembered before she got ill, she would sit and paint while watching the show Bob Ross The Joy of Painting on PBS. She would laugh when he would say things like “ You know me,I’ve gotta put in a big tree”   Sometimes, she would talk back to him on the television, agreeing with him that a happy cloud needs to be added. I found this all confusing—Dorothy always struck me as a strong, pragmatic, full of spit and vinegar, no-nonsense woman. I found Bob Ross to be an odd fellow, to ...