Not much today.  I just wanted to say good-bye to two ladies who affected my life in different ways.

Annette Funicello.  I remember coming home from school and watching the Mickey Mouse Club before supper.  It was in black and white, of course, but it was still magical.  I wanted to be a mouseketeer, especially one like Annette. She was so pretty and so charming and always acted so sweet even after she became an adult.  My brothers liked Annette, but for different reasons.  Anyway, I watched her in all the beach blanket movies where she was the only one to wear a bathing suit while all the other girls wore bikinis.  Frankie Avalon(sigh) was always her love interest.  They remained friends throughout their lives.

In later years Annette got MS and wrote about it in her book “When You Wish Upon A Star.”  She lived a life of dignity and style even then as she fought this terrible disease.  I saw her in a made for television movie when she appeared in a wheelchair, but, you know, she was still beautiful and captivating as always.  While many of the mouseketeers had problems in their lives, Annette always took the high road.  She was definitely part of my childhood and she will be missed.  God bless you Annette.  I know you are dancing in Heaven now.

Lady Margaret Thatcher.   She was a big influence on me on how I looked at the world.  She was a strong leader and she really saved England.  She was a good friend of Ronald Reagan, who was and will always be my all time favorite president.  The world just seemed right with those two in control.    I became a conservative during this time and have remained so since then.  We need another Margaret Thatcher as we need another Ronald Reagan.  They broke the mold when those two were born, I’m afraid.

In later years Margaret Thatcher was vilified by many for standing up for what she believed was right.  A movie was made about her starring Meryl Streep which did not put her in a good light which was intended, I’m afraid.  Even then, she is still looked up to by millions and today she is being lauded and praised for the way she led England in the eighties.  God bless you, Mrs. Thatcher. I’d love to hear what God says to you.

Today we lost two great ladies.  Bye.