What is a Hero?

According to the dictionary: A person who is admired for great or brave acts of fine qualities. An illustrious warrior. One who shows great courage.

As writer's we visualize. I like to have a visual image of my characters to study their movements, actions, gestures, which is why I prefer if they're an actor and I can watch their movies over and over again.

This is my share for today, a few of my personal heroes:

Who doesn’t know John Wayne? The mere mention of his name conjures an image of a man larger than life, no matter his age, in any given movie, he’s my number one hero…always will be. There isn't a stinker in his movie line-up. My son, Michael, is named in honor of him, chosen by my dad before he passed away. Dad was John Wayne’s biggest fan EVER!!!

Who could forget Robert Mitchum in River of No Return with Marilyn Monroe? Mitchum fights for all their lives and brings them home; but it's the final scene where he tosses Kay (Monroe) over his shoulder and hauls her out of the saloon and then she drops her red high heels into the street as he and his son take her 'home'.

What about Cary Grant in An Affair to Remember with Deborah Kerr? My favorite scenes are when 'Nickie' takes 'Terry' to visit his grandmother and the final scene when he realizes she cripple. Cary Grant was a great actor, just sayin'.

Or Kirk Douglas as Spartacus. The movie itself was terrific, but as far as I'm concerned, no one but Kirk could have played that part.

I’ll never forget Bill Holden and Steve McQueen in Stalag 17 or Richard Widmark in The Alamo. They were their characters.

I love the of visual of Clark Gable standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up, as Scarlett descends in Gone With The Wind.

Or of Errol Flynn standing on the crest of the hill saying Welcome to Sherwood in Robin Hood.

Then there’s Audie Murphy. What’s not to love? A real life military hero, his Destry character, but I love the movie about his true life story, To Hell and Back.

And what about Jimmy Stewart? He too was a military man, a 2- Star General. But when I think of him I think of It’s a Wonderful Life, Strategic Air Command, The Glenn Miller Story, The Shop Around the Corner, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington…and the list goes on.

Let not forget Red Skelton. The Fuller Brush Man, Neptune's Daughter, or his many televison series, all designed to bring us laughter at his expense.

And not to be left out, Clint Eastwood. I’ll take Dirty Harry on any given day. And the man can sing…don’t believe me, watch Paint Your Wagon, or listen to the final song of Gran Torino. That’s my personal favorite movie of his. Don’t get me wrong, I love all his stuff, but it’s his old grizzled character of Walt Kowalski that has my heart.

There are many, many more:

Gary Cooper as Sergeant York, in High Noon, and They Came to Cordura.

Howard Keel as the eldest Adam Pontipee in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Calamity Jane, Showboat (boy that man can sing to me any day of the week) and don't forget him on the series Dallas.

Gregory Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird, Moby Dick, The Big Country, Guns of Navarone, and How the West was Won.

Jerry Orbach’s character of Lenny Briscoe in the original Law and Order is one of my favorites. Everything about his charcter is memorable.

I need to stop, I could go on forever...but there you have it, some of my favorite characters.

Who are your favorites and why?

Have a great day.

Deb

I met Jeane Daly, a lovely lady and dear friend, through the Critique Loop of the on-line chapter, FTHRWA--From The Heart. We were a bunch of novice writers struggling to learn and write according to rules we learned from each other.

We didn't mind reading and critiquing three, or five or even ten submissions a week, while anxiously waiting for our own submission to come back with compliments! More often than not, it came back with a lot of blue or red suggestions, comments, corrections that prompted us to revise and edit and resubmit.

Those were the days, my friends, we thought would ne-e-ver end...

But they finally ended on a happy note for many of us.

Our guest for today, Jeane Daly is a mother of five grown children. Jeane and her husband live in the coastal town of Hingham, Massachusetts. A retired nurse, she has returned to her first love, writing. Jeane, an avid reader, says there’s nothing better than getting lost in a good book or watching a Jimmy Stewart movie.

Jeane, I am so happy to welcome you on the Pink Fuszzy Slippers' blog as you await your first book, LOOKING FOR JIMMY STEWART, published by Wings-Press.

http://www.wings-press.com/Bookstore/LookingForJimmyStewart.htmpress.com/Bookstore/LookingForJimmyStewart.htm

Here are some questions for you to help our readers know you:

Q-Why did you choose this title?
A-Enjoyed all his movies - but after reading the biography of Jimmy Stewart, the husband, father, friend, decided he'd become the personality my heroine was searching for.

Q-Is the book really about James Stewart?
A-No. Only a character with his traits and gentle personality.

Q-What inspired your story?
A-A friend had been laid-off from airline for similar reasons that I'd written about. It took her almost a year to get a job. Sad to say, she's been laid-off again.

Q-How did you receive the Call?
A-Via an email.

Q-Tell us about your journey to publication.
A-I went into this as a real novice. I had taken creative writing courses in college - - but learned more from the online writing courses offered by FTH and other struggling authors. It took almost 4 yrs to complete after many revisions.

Q-Was Jimmy Stewart your favorite actor? Have you see all his movies?
A-Yes. He is my favorite actor. Such a versatile actor - a natural in every role he played.

Q- What is your favorite movie? your favorite book?
A-Sorry Jimmy, but I'd have to say, Gone With the Wind.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Jack flattened his hands on the wall, one on each side of her head, leaned in and smiled down at her. “This may sound strange, but the last part of this evening was the most enjoyable.” His mouth, soft and warm, caught hers in an all too brief sweet kiss. Nothing passionate about it, but it reached every part of her body like an explosion.

Swimming through a haze of feelings and mixed emotions, she pushed him away.

“Why did you do that?” She struggled to catch her breath.

“I hadn’t planned on kissing you. It just happened.” He turned and opened the door.

She thought of Kimmie. “Let’s pretend it never happened, okay? I just want us to be friends, nothing more.”

“Friends it is. And I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

She smiled, hoping she’d made herself clear. “Have a nice flight.”

Jeane, thank you for being with us today.