Diamond Anniversaries: Baseball Movies Celebrating Milestones

 

Top to bottom: Field of Dream, Major League

and The Natural

by Michael Lyons 

 

“[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”

- A. Bartlett Giamatti, Former Commissioner of Major League Baseball 

 

Never has such a sentiment summed up baseball so perfectly. It is back, just when we need it, right here in the middle of spring. This pastime means so much more to so many than a sport; it means we are heading into those days when it fills the "afternoons and evenings."

 

Hollywood has understood our special connection with baseball, and several popular baseball movies are celebrating anniversaries this year.

 

Here they are to make the season even more winning:

 

Field of Dreams (1989) - 35th Anniversary

 

If you've ever uttered, "If you build it, he will come," in a low whisper, you have been impacted by this ethereal film. 

 

It is the story of a farmer, Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), who plows under part of his cornfield in Iowa so that the ghosts of legendary baseball players can all come back to play the game again. He winds up not only connecting himself and others, including a reclusive author (James Earl Jones) and an aging doctor (Burt Lancaster), with the magic in life, not just in baseball.

 

In the film's emotional finale, Ray is also able to reconcile with his father.

 

Director Phil Alden Robinson's Field of Dreams has connected with audiences so much that the baseball field in Iowa that was used for the film still stands as a tourist destination to this day (and in 2021, MLB held a game on the field between the White Sox and the Yankees).

 

Thirty-five years later, Field of Dreams is a quiet, purposefully paced film that doesn't surface much anymore. One that goes beyond its subject matter to connect with all of us who yearn for a past that seems to have faded away like a ghost.

 

Major League (1989) - 35th Anniversary

 

When a former Vegas showgirl, Rachel Phelps (Margaret Whitton), inherits the (then) Cleveland Indians, she looks to move the struggling team to another city, and puts together the worst team ever.

 

She hires Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), a washed-up catcher playing baseball in Mexico, Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen), a third baseman just looking to retire, and Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), an out-of-control pitcher with bad eyesight, among other ragtag recruits.

 

Of course, the opposite happens in director David S. Ward's raunchy underdog story, where the team winds up having a comeback season in a movie that speaks to baseball fans who stick by their teams, even in their most underdog moments.

 

Oh yes, the film features some great lines from real-life baseball player turned-actor Bob Uecker as a sarcastic sports broadcaster. 

 

The Natural (1984) - 40th Anniversary

 

Baseball gets raised to mythological levels, and Barry Levinson's beautifully crafted classic adaptation of Bernard Malamud's novel celebrates that.

 

Robert Redford is Roy Hobbs, a past-his-prime rookie who comes out of nowhere to save the struggling fictional team, the New York Knights. This film is filled with elements of everything that range from fairy tales to superhero origin stories. The Natural boasts an impressive cast that includes Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Robert Prosky, Richard Farnsworth and Barbara Hershey.

 

With messages of second changes, fate, and hope, The Natural also features incredible cinematography from Caleb Deschanel that gives each scene the look of a painting and a majestic score by Randy Newman; this film never fails to fill one with a sense of wonder around baseball.

 

Three anniversaries, three baseball movies, each one of them different in their celebration of the game. But all of them are perfect for viewing this season before baseball leaves us when we "need it most."

 

Looking for something NEW to read? My brand-new book, Magic Moments: Stories, Lessons & Memories from a Twenty-Year Career at Walt Disney World, is now available on Amazon!

And for more of my writing and podcasts, and my first book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, head over to my website,  Words From Lyons!

Of Biblical Proportions: The 65th Anniversary of "Ben-Hur"

by Michael Lyons

Growing up, it seemed that Ben-Hur was an Easter week tradition. One of the local stations in New York, sometime during the days leading up to Easter Sunday, would show Ben-Hur, sometimes spreading the epic film out over two nights.

When I got older, I came to appreciate this film as part of the season and as an example of powerful filmmaking and storytelling we just don't see anymore.

Based on the book by Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur is set in A.D. 26 in Jerusalem and tells the story of the title character, a Jewish prince, played by Charlton Heston, who is betrayed by his friend, Messala (Stephen Boyd), and sentenced to a condemned life as an enslaved person.

Through the act of a Roman Commander (Jack Hawkins), Judah Ben-Hur is able to return to a new life that eventually finds him the champion of the chariot races at the circus. He vows vengeance against Massala but finds his mind and faith are changed and renewed after a chance meeting with Jesus Christ, and witnessing his crucifixion changes him.

Celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, Ben-Hur is still just as powerful in its three-and-a-half-hour run time, telling a story of another time that's still relevant today.

In honor of the film's milestones, here are some quotes from those who worked on Ben-Hur and the critics who have greeted the film with acclaim:

 

"They asked me to do Ben-Hur. It was really not the kind of picture I...been making. But, I felt it would be intriguing to see if I could make a Cecil B. DeMille picture." - Director William Wyler

Left to right: Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd,

and director William Wyler on the set of Ben-Hur.

 

"...Mr. Wyler and his money-free producers have smartly and effectively laid stress on the powerful and meaningful personal conflicts that are strong in this heroic tale. As a consequence, their mammoth color movie, which opened at Loew's State last night, is by far the most stirring and respectable of the Bible-fiction pictures ever made." - Bosley Crowther, reviewing Ben-Hur for The New York Times, November 19, 1959

Ben-Hur playing at the Loew's State

Theater in New York.

 

“There was one particular point where I had to be dragged, and the company very kindly made a sort of a steel contraption that would give me some sort of protection around my stomach. They naturally did a dry run on this just to see whether or not it would work. I was down at the other end of the of the track, and I saw them go up on this dry run, and it looked all right, but when they got to the other end of it, they stopped, and they all got around, and they seemed like they were having the conference. So, I wondered what was going on, and finally, the young Italian doctor who was there [on the set] came walking down to me, and he said, ‘Steve, you want to die, go die.’” - Stephen Boyd, laughing, as he remembered filming the iconic chariot race sequence.

The chariot race scene in Ben-Hur.

 

“An extraordinary motion picture, greater in dimension and significance than any similar film of our time, Ben-Hur is more spectacular than any of the previous spectacles. More importantly, it is at the same time a highly rewarding dramatic experience, rich and complex in human values: a great adventure, full of excitement, visual beauty, thrills, and unsurpassed cinema artistry.” - from Ben-Hur movie review in The Hollywood Reporter, November 18, 1959.

Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur.

 

"You can be sure that they'll be showing Ben-Hur somewhere for a long, long time to come." - Charlton Heston.

The ending scene of Ben-Hur.

 

Oh, how right Mr. Heston was. From its days as a "road-show movie event" to its annual Easter season viewings today, appreciation, 65 years later, for Ben-Hur is deserved. It is a story of how our life’s events can change us and shape us, and how the power of kindness, forgiveness, and faith is unwavering.

 

 

 Sources:

Brainyquote.com

hollywoodreporter.com

IMDb.com

Youtube.com

For more of my articles, podcasts and to learn more about my book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, visit: Words From Lyons

As Good As Gold: The 65th Anniversary of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People"

 

by Michael Lyons

When it comes to those corners of Disney history that have become somewhat forgotten through the years - movies, TV shows, theme park attractions, and even characters - Darby O'Gill and the Little People has become one of them.

Thankfully, with its story set in Ireland and rooted in the country's culture and legends, the film has resurfaced each March in the sixty-five years since its debut to help celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. Although, with Disney's catalog (including Darby) transitioning to Disney+, those March 17th showings have disappeared, and, with it, knowledge of how excellent this film is seems to have also.

 Darby O'Gill and the Little People is a movie that deserves to be celebrated more than once a year, as noted writer and film historian Leonard Maltin wrote in his book The Disney Films: "Darby O'Gill and the Little People is not only one of Disney's finest films but is certainly one of the best fantasies ever put on film."

Set in the small, fictional Irish village of Rathcullen, the film centers on the title character, Darby (played by Albert Sharpe), an aging ner'do well, who is well known around the village for sitting in the pub, and sharing his "tall tales" about his meetings with the little people, the leprechauns.

Darby is being "retired" as the caretaker of an estate and replaced with a younger man, Michael McBride (Sean Connery in his American film debut). Darby is somewhat embarrassed and hasn't yet told his daughter Katie (Janet Munro).

Darby turns to King Brian of the leprechauns (Jimmy O'Dea) and the other little people for help, but Darby tricks the leprechaun king and traps him, forcing Brian to grant him three wishes. This further complicates Darby's situation, causing trouble for him and culminating in a life-or-death situation in which the wailing (and scary) banshee appears.

Directed by Robert Stevenson, who would go on to helm some of Disney's best-loved live-action films, such as Mary Poppins (1964) and The Love Bug (1968) and written by Lawrence Edward Watkin (based on stories by H.T. Kavanagh), Darby O'Gill and the Little People is carefully crafted storytelling and filmmaking.

As Darby himself, Albert Sharpe, who spent most of his career on the stage and only made about a dozen films, is a wonder. The twinkle in his eye, coupled with his sometimes innocent/sometimes mischievous delivery, would lead anyone to believe in leprechauns. 

The actor crafts a character that's just a joy to watch on screen, and he has fantastic chemistry with actor Jimmy O'Dea, who plays King Brian of the leprechauns like King Lear, with seriousness and heart, making the magical world seem all that more real.

It's no wonder that Connery went on to a career as 007 and beyond, as he is a true charmer on screen, and Munro is extremely likable as Darby's put-upon daughter.

Some incredible visual effects also significantly influence Darby O'Gill and the Little People., which uses a concept of "forced perspective" an optical illusion where actors stand in different locations while filming gives the appearance of differences in size.

The technique allows Darby and the Little People to seemingly occupy the same space. A sequence where Darby visits the realm of the Leprechauns is still astonishing six decades later in our age when computer-generated imagery makes anything possible.

Just as unique and terrifying is a sequence toward the film's conclusion where the wailing banshee visits Darby through a "negative" film and color technique.

When Darby O'Gill and the Little People debuted, the promotion for the film, including an episode of Disney's weekly TV show, hinted at the fact that the leprechauns in the movie were real. This even carries over to a quote from Walt in the opening credits:

"My thanks to King Brian of Knocknasheega and his leprechauns, whose gracious co-operation made this picture possible."

Walt Disney (right) with "Darby" and "King Brian,"

promoting the film on his weekly TV show.

This technique gives the film a heightened sense of wonder.

This author first saw Darby O'Gill and the Little People at the Mayfair Movie Theater in Commack, NY, during the summer of 1977 as a double-feature with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which was part of the "Disney Summer Hit Parade" film festival.

The schedule from 1977's

"Disney Summer Hit Parade," which 

featured "Darby" with "Winnie the Pooh,"

July 20-26.

Darby O'Gill and the Little People was magic then and is even more magical today, sixty-five years later. Thanks, indeed, King Brian. 

For more of my articles, podcasts and to learn more about my book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, visit Words From Lyons !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Film FOMO : Oscar Snubs Through the Years

 

Clockwise: Audrey Hepburn, Leonardo DiCaprio,

Steven Spielberg and Cary Grant.

by Michael Lyons

 

How the heck did THAT happen?!? 

That's all that was heard the morning of the Oscar nominations when last year's biggest film and a movie that became an event more than a movie and saved the moviegoing experience - Barbie - received multiple nominations.

However, there were major snubs - no nomination for the film's star, Margot Robbie, and director Greta Gerwig, who had both championed the movie into existence.

How the heck did THAT happen?!? 

Well, it happens all the time, almost every year. And Margot and Greta are in good company. They shouldn't have that fear of missing out (FOMO) feeling, but instead, they should know they are in good company.

Here are some other famous Oscar snubs through the years:

 Steven Spielberg - Jaws (1975) and The Color Purple (1985)

Yup, it's true. Steven Spielberg gave us one of the greatest films of all time, which also created the summer movie blockbuster, and the summer movie season - Jaws.

And, while this all-time masterpiece may have been nominated for Best Picture and a host of other awards, Spielberg, crafted the film so carefully (he didn't even have a fully functioning automated shark for most of the film) that it's become a benchmark for so many other films, but he was shut out for director when the Oscars for 1975 were announced.

The same thing would happen a decade later: The Color Purple received 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, but Mr. Spielberg was shut out for a director nom.

Since then, thankfully, the Academy has remedied these wrongs, and Spielberg has won twice - for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Additionally, he now holds a record of being nominated at least once over the past six decades.

 

Bruce Beresford - Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Here is a beloved film that won Best Picture, but the film's director, Bruce Beresford, wasn't even nominated. In his opening monologue, that year's host Billy Crystal called it "...the movie that apparently directed itself."

 

Leonardo DiCaprio - Titanic (1997)

James Cameron's massively epic Titanic brought him Best Director and Best Picture Oscars, and the fact that it was, then, the biggest movie of all time brought major viewership to that year's Oscar show.

But, Leonardo DiCaprio, who helped make the film such a success, was shut out of the Best Actor race that year. He would eventually make up for it with multiple nominations years after, including a Best Actor win with The Revenant (2015)

 

Rob Reiner - A Few Good Men (1992)

Another film nominated for Best Picture, and another film, where the director, Rob Reiner, was left out in the Oscar cold.

Reiner had helmed beloved films such as The Princess Bride (1987), but for his now classic, A Few Good Men, he didn't receive a nomination, which he deserved. And, if you don't believe that? Well..."You can't handle the truth!"

 

Barbara Streisand - The Prince of Tides (1991)

The legend herself, Barbara Streisand, had already won Oscars for Best Actress (Funny Girl, 1968) and Best Original Song ("Evergreen," the love theme from A Star is Born, 1976). Still, when she went behind the camera to direct the acclaimed adaptation of the novel The Prince of Tides (1991), she found herself without an Oscar nomination as director. The film was nominated for seven other Oscars, including Best Picture.

Bob Hoskins - Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

How do you act to nothing and make it look like something? This is what Bob Hoskins did, and did so brilliantly in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. No "Toons" were on set, and the animation was added later. In addition to the fantastic effects, Hoskins is a big part of what made this film so amazing, but he didn't receive an Oscar nomination for it.

 

Audrey Hepburn - My Fair Lady (1964)

This one hurts. There was a lot of controversy that Julie Andrews, who originated the lead in Broadway's version of My Fair Lady, was replaced by Audrey Hepburn in the film adaptation.  Andrews went on to star in Disney's classic Mary Poppins, released that same year, and she won Best Actress for it. And...as a real burn...Audrey Hepburn wasn't even nominated for My Fair Lady. Yikes!

 

Cary Grant - The Philadelphia Story (1940)

He had top billing, this is a fantastic classic...and he's Cary Grant, but while Katherine Hepburn was nominated and James Stewart won, Grant was completely shut out. The only Oscar that Grant ever received was an Honorary Oscar in 1970.

 

These are just a few of the many Academy Awards snubs through the years. Watching the Oscars this Sunday night on ABC may make you think not just of who wins and not just of who is nominated but also of the many talents that weren't recognized. Ah well, here's to next year!

Visit my website: Words From Lyonsfor more articles and podcasts, as well as information about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance !

Bosom Buddies: The 65th Anniversary of "Some Like It Hot!"

 

by Michael Lyons

 

"I'm a man!"

"Well, nobody's perfect!"

 

It is one of the greatest ending lines of dialogue in film history and one of the many reasons that 1959's Some Like It Hot is a classic and was ahead of its time.

Celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, this cross-dressing comedy from master director Billy Wilder continues to not only provide laughs but also says so much.

Some Like It Hot takes place in Prohibition-era Chicago, where two musicians, a sax player named Joe (Tony Curtis) and a bass player Jerry (Jack Lemmon), accidentally witness the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, an infamous event where a number of mobsters were killed.

As an aside, this setting and the romance that follows make Some Like It Hot an ideal movie for Valentine's Day.

After witnessing the massacre, Joe and Jerry need to go into hiding and need a job. They take a gig as  musicians with the band Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators, but since it's an all-girl band, they need to disguise themselves as women—Joe as Josephine, Jerry as Jeraldine, and later as Daphne.

 

As the band travels to Miami for a gig, Joe falls in love with Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), the band's vocalist and ukulele player. Meanwhile, a well-meaning millionaire named Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown) becomes so obsessed with Daphne that, in the end, he doesn't even care that he is Jerry (as evidenced by the hysterical last line cited above).

Meanwhile, the hotel the girls are performing at is where a group of mobsters are meeting, and they eventually recognize Joe and Jerry from the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.

Some Like It Hot was groundbreaking when it was released in 1959 and had to be released without approval from the Motion Picture Production Code as cross-dressing was considered "taboo."

What was also unlike any other story of the time was the film's script by director Wilder and his usual partner, I.A.L. Diamond. It was efficiently and sharply written, with messages about how men and women view each other and how society views them both.

All of the actors in this film are in top comedic form. Curtis conveys a smooth, easygoing persona as Joe and a hysterical voice as Josephine; Jack Lemmon is at his manic best, and his scenes of panic as he realizes that Osgood has a crush on him (and their dance scene together) are the stuff of legend.

It's said that Monroe had challenges making the film, but you'd never know from her performance as she conveys innocence and delivers some great, deadpan lines.

The three are all backed-up by an incredible supporting cast that not only includes Brown but character actors Pat O'Brien, Nehemiah Persoff, and Mike Mazurki.

Wilder pulls everything together in Some Like It Hot perfectly. With eclectic films like Double Indemnity (1944) and Stalag 17 (1953) to his credit, he knew how to stage a shot. With Some Like It Hot, like his other comedies, he also proved himself to be deft at delivering humor.

Released on March 29, 1959, Some Like It Hot has rightly earned its place in film history over the past six and a half decades.  The American Film Institute listed it as number one when creating the list of the 100 greatest comedies ever.

The film's legacy remains today, particularly with a hit 2022 Broadway musical adaptation.

It's fitting that we still celebrate Some Like It Hot. As film critic Roger Ebert noted, it is "...one of the enduring treasures of the movies, a film of inspiration and meticulous craft."

Sources: Wikipedia.

 

 

 Visit my website: Words From Lyons for more articles and podcasts, as well as information about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance !

 

 

 

 

The 50s at 50: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of "Happy Days"

The cast of Happy Days. Clockwise: Tom Bosley,

Anson Williams, Marion Ross, Ron Howard,

Erin Moran, Donny Most and Henry Winkler

 by Michael Lyons

 

"I always wanted to be known as the Norman Rockwell of television, and Happy Days represented the part of me that wanted to make mainstream America laugh." - Garry Marshall

 

Garry Marshall most definitely accomplished this. His sitcom Happy Days, centering on the Cunningham family, living in Milwaukee in the 1950s, was one of the biggest hits of the 1970s, bringing us a character called Fonzie, who would secure himself as an icon of everything from television to lunchboxes to action figures and part of our pop culture.

 

And Happy Days made us laugh, becoming one of TV's most comforting and beloved shows.

It's hard to believe that Happy Days turns fifty this month. A show that was about nostalgia has now become nostalgia. 

 

To celebrate this "cool-a-mundo" milestone, here is a rose-colored look back at just some of Happy Days most memorable episodes:  

 

 "All the Way," January 15, 1974.

 

This was the first pilot episode of Happy Days, where Richie (Ron Howard) is invited to babysit with a pretty girl from school, Mary Lou (Kathy O' Dare), who has a reputation, which isn't what it seems, and Rich learns about judging others.

 

The episode focuses on the setting, with plenty of 50s pop culture references sprinkled throughout. There's also a lot that changed later on in the series, such as Richie's older brother, Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy), who later disappeared from the show: no live audience, a laugh track, the fact that Fonzie barely speaks and wears a grey windbreaker (the network was worried about a leather jacket being connected to gangs).

 

"Guess Who's Coming to Christmas," December 17, 1974

 

In the show's first of many Christmas episodes, Richie finds out that Fonzie (Henry Winkler) has no place to go for the holiday and, through a series of events, invites him to spend Christmas with the Cunninghams.

 

This episode laid the groundwork for the character of the Fonz and his long-lasting relationship with the Cunningham family.

 

"Fonzie Moves In," September 9, 1975

 

New sets and a live audience were introduced here, which would become the standard for the series going forward, as Fonzie moves in above the Cunningham's garage, creating a new dynamic for the series, where it became very Fonz-focused.

 

"Fearless Fonzarelli" Parts 1 and 2, September 23 and September 30, 1975

 

In a "To be continued..." two-part episode that had everyone waiting anxiously for one whole week, the Fonz looks to set a record by jumping over 14 garbage cans in the parking lot of Arnold's restaurant. And, with that jump, a pop-culture icon was born with Fonzie, Happy Days became a blockbuster show, and Henry Winkler was on his way to becoming a star.

 

"A Date with Fonzie," November 11, 1975

 

The Fonz sets him and Richie up on a double date with Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) in a funny episode that resulted in an equally popular spin-off for the two guest stars.

 

"Fonzie Loves Pinky," Parts 1 through 3, September 21 & September 28, 1976

 

Fonzie's old flame, Pinky Tuscadaro (Roz Kelly), returns so that they can face off in a demolition derby against the villainous Malachi Brothers. The Fonz was ingrained in our pop culture zeitgeist at this point, and this was a three-part event that was "must-see" TV for fans everywhere.

 

"Hollywood," Part 3, September 20, 1977

 

Richie and the whole gang visit Hollywood when he gets a shot at a movie contract, and while they are visiting, Fonzie accepts a dare and water skis over a shark. The term "Jump the Shark," now part of our lexicon for shows that have outstayed their welcome, was born from this episode.  Ironically, many feel this is when Happy Days "jumped" their "shark," but the show would be on for another seven years.

 

"My Favorite Orkan," February 28, 1978

 

In a dream sequence, an alien from another world named Mork (Robin Williams) visits Rich and faces off against The Fonz. The episode unleashed Williams' genius, gave him his spin-off, and made him a comedic legend.  

 

"Ralph's Family Problem," May 6, 1980

 

The episode centered on Ralph (Donny Most) as he discovers his parents are getting divorced. It was also Most's last episode and the last episode of Howard, who was about to embark on an Oscar-winning career as a movie director.

 

"A Little Case of Revenge," November 9, 1982

 

Fonzie is challenged to a fight by a former grammar school classmate, who has held a grudge since the third grade. And who played that former classmate? An up-and-coming actor named Tom Hanks.

 

"Welcome Home," Parts 1 and 2, October 25 and Nov 1, 1983

 

Ron Howard and Donny Most return in their roles of Rich and Ralph, and Rich and Fonzie get into a fight...where Richie belts the Fonz! It was a turning point, for sure, for fans.

 

"Passages," May 8, 1984

 

Joanie and Chachi (Erin Moran and Scott Baio) get married in the series finale. In a very touching last line of the show and the series, Mr. C (Tom Bosley) raises a glass, looks at the camera and says, "Thank you all for being part of our family...to happy days."

 

And they were Happy Days indeed. Eleven seasons and ten years, from a time before home video, cable, and streaming, when a TV show was "appointment viewing," lasting long enough to be seen by multiple generations, who would gather in the schoolyard and the workplace the next day to talk about the episode from the night before.

 

Well done, Happy Days. Thumbs up to fifty years!

 

 Looking for more of my articles, podcasts and information about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance? Head over to my website: Words From Lyons !

 

Also - would you like a free signed and personalized copy of my book? I am giving one away to the first person who reads this and sends me an e-mail at: michael@wordsfromlyons.com !