Loved Him Then, Loved Him Now, Les McKeown – Revisited

So three years ago, I blogged about Les.  I loved the Bay City Rollers when I was a kid.  I still can’t spell Saturday without singing it.  Those songs will come on and it just takes me back.  So when I ended up in that place three years ago I got an idea for a story.  Dog Day Afternoons.  The main character was inspired by Les.  It got published in an anthology that eventually got pulled from publication when that publisher merged with another.  So earlier this week guess who retweeted one of my Bay City Roller Tweets.  Les himself. It was exactly what I needed to be reinspired and remember once again why I love the Bay City Rollers and Les McKeown and always will.

Les 1

Loved Him Then, Love Him Now – Joseph Gordon-Levitt

This is another of those that’s a little bit different.  First love Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a child star.  Think Angels in the Outfield.  Then there he was an adolescent and into teen years in Third Rock From the Sun.  Then we had a delightful young man in the romantic lead in 500 Days of Summer.   Now he’s all grown up and being a hero in The Dark Knight Rises.  Oh my he is handsome.  Looking through his long list of credits there are Batman connections.  He was in 10 Things I Hate About You with Heath Ledger and in Inception with the Dark Knight’s very own Bain, Tom Hardy.  I’d also seen him recently in Stop/Loss with the very handsome Channing Tatum.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I’m thinking Child Star to SuperStar.

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Loved Him Then, Love Him Now – TOMMY LEE

He’s bad, he’s very, very bad.  You know he does very dirty, very naughty things.  How can you not love the guy? Well I know some of you can help it.  I cannot.  I see him and I get that little oh my shiver of thrill.  I saw Motley Crue in concert in 1984 when I was 18.  I saw them again the year I turned 40.  The concert was a little more high tech 2006 but they rocked it just the same.  The crowd was very much the same.  The big difference was that Mick Mars was pretty stationary.  He had hip replacement surgery before going on the road.  So I feel like I’ve got a long history with Motley Crue and Tommy Lee.  Loved him Then Love Him Now.  Keep on Rockin Tommy.

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And just for fun one of my favorite songs by the Crue back in the day.

 

Loved Him Then, Love Him Now – Rhett Butler

Watched Gone With the Wind again last night. I read the book for the first time when I was ten years old and have been in love ever since. It’s been one of those evolving love affairs. At first I just felt sorry for Scarlett because Rhett left her. Then I felt sorry for Rhett because Scarlett just couldn’t get it. Last night I was thinking if they could only catch a break. Scarlett really got a bum deal when she and Ashley got “busted” at the lumber mill. It was innocent. Then she fell down the stairs. She still wasn’t over that when they lost Bonnie. Then Melanie died. How was any relationship going to bear all of that. I like to think they got back together eventually but never ever in any reality I know, the way Alexandra Ripley wrote it. Not to speak ill of the dead but come on. So here he is without further ado, Rhett Butler.

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Loved him Then, Love him Now – Les McKeown

Thanks to my friend Joan, I have been crushing all over again on my childhood pop idol, Les McKeown. of the Bay City Rollers.   Being the mother of one son and involved in Boy Scouts.  I often find squealing girls annoying until I realized watching YouTube that the Bay City Rollers make me squeal now.   Besides crushing I’ve got an idea for a story too so that’s doubly good.  Thanks Joan.  So here’s my crush clad in plaid in his youth and not bad looking these days either.

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Loved Him Then, Love Him Now – Halloween Edition

Normally, I have some hot man in this category.  This time it’s a man who has entertained me for 30 plus years, Stephen King.   From Carrie and “salem’s Lot to Duma Key my most recent read.  I have loved reading Stephen King books from the very first one I picked up to read.   I have spent nights unable to sleep because I was so disturbed by what I had read.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about Christine, who would have thought a car could be so scary.  And Pet Semetary truly frightening.  The Shining, kudos to Jack Nicholson for nailing that one.  One of my all-time favorites was IT what an awesome epic book.  So you know we have to have pictures so here are a  few covers. 

 

Loved Him Then, Love Him Now – Alan Jackson

I loved him when he was singing about the Chattahoochee.  I camped on that river.  I knew exactly what he was singing about. 

Loved him when he sang Drive.  My Daddy let me Drive too.  I can relate and Alan told it/sang it perfectly

We all loved Alan ten years ago when he shared our pain and sang Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning.

Loved him when he shared his memories with us in Remember When.  

Loved him then and I love him now.  Alan Jackson is a great storyteller singer and when the songs he sing help tell the story of your own life it’s extra special.  Thanks Alan.

Loved Him Then, Love Him Now- Travis Tritt

I loved him in 1990 when he was singing Country Club at the Buckboard in Smyrna.  When I got his autograph at the K-Mart in Mableton and he sang our fellow Georgian, T. Graham Brown’s song Darlene to me.  I’ve loved Travis for a long long time.  Saw him on  New Year’s Eve here in Pensacola in 1992 into 1993.  Saw him again in Pensacola in 2002.  He’s playing at Wind Creek Casino next month and I want to see him just as much now as I did that first time 21 years ago.  So here’s a little bit of Travis then and Travis now.  Loved him then love him now.

Loved Him Then, Loved Him Now – Keanu Reeves

It was 1989 and Bill and Ted took us on a most excellent adventure and more importantly gave us a great introduction to Keanu Reeves. 

  He was so cute and so funny how could you not love him?

Next came Parenthood where he played a very similar very cute part.  The crazy reckless anti-hero, 

Ted apparently did graduate and Keanu moved on to more mature parts.   And we got to meet Johnny Utah in Point Break surfing with Patrick Swayze and his cohorts

Keanu was growing up nicely.  The action role really suited him he went on to do Speed and the Matrix Trilogy.

But there was that romantic part in A Walk in The Clouds.  A wonderful sweet and just plain beautiful movie  watch it if you get a chance. 

The Devil’s Advocate is also a favorite, then as a football player in The Replacements Keanu was not to be typecast. 

With Sweet November and The Lake House Keanu secured his place as a romantic lead in chick flicks.

Here’s a pic from The Lake House which I love even though it makes me sob.


Keanu has shown great diversity and I’ve loved him in so many different roles and types of roles I think I Could be posting this again in another ten years and have a plethora of new roles to share.  Loved him then now and always.

Loved Him Then, Love Him Now – James Bond

I was about to do this post on someone completely different, a pop star that I adored as a child and he’s still awfully darn good looking now when what should come on my tv but Casino Royale.   I haven’t adored Daniel long enough for him to fit this category and I”ve already used Sir Sean so I’m going with a fictional character today.   I did love James Bond from the time I was old enough to watch Bond movies on TBS.   As a side note, one of the great benefits of growing up in Atlanta in the 70’s was TBS.  It had other call letters then but I can’t remember them I do remember that it was Channel 17 and the best shows came on there.  Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan’s Island, the Brady Bunch, Hogan’s Hero’s, Wrestling and James Bond movies.  I was too young to go see Bond at the theater but through TBS I got to know and love James Bond.  Sean Connery and then Roger Moore captured my imagination and my heart.  I saw Living Daylights but Timothy Dalton was not the Bond for me.   I have to say I never watched anything but snippets of Pierce Brosnan’s Bonds.  He was Remington Steele.  He could not be James Bond in my mind.  He was too pretty, too polished to be Bond for me.  But nonetheless the thought of Bond, James Bond with his martini shaken not stirred thank you very much lingered then along came Daniel.  Ahhh Daniel.  I was not familiar with him as an actor prior to his being casted as my childhood hero.   But I planned to go the movie opening night.  In fact my son and his friends made a party of it.   In my opinion Daniel nailed the role.  He was ruggedly handsome, drop dead sexy, tender when needed and even made me laugh a bit.  I believe that Sir Ian Fleming would have been pleased.   So here are the Bonds (including George Lazenby).