David

Beverly’s Full House – Birthday Cake Drama

by patricia on April 16, 2012

Beverly and Anansa may agree that birthdays are important, but when it comes to Beverly’s birthday that may be all they can agree on. As Anansa began to pull together some ideas for her mom’s celebration, Beverly hit her daughter with a distraction of a 3-month old party for Ava. Although I know Bev loves Ava…it was clearly a move to keep Anansa in check with any plans she may be hatching.

Like most family moments with an infant in the house, they all gathered in Anansa’s room to stare at little Ava. Robert entered the room and suddenly everyone was on guard. They could smell the smoke on his clothes and the lectures began. They came down on him and insisted he wasn’t to hold Ava until he kicked the nasty habit. In his search to stop, he decided to get hypnotized. Now, some people may think it is crazy but I personally know people who have stopped after decades of smoking in this way…and no they don’t quack on command or run around the backyard acting crazy. A simple little session (and maybe a follow-up one if needed) and that’s it! It’s great that Robert looked for ways to stop, but of course Bev wasn’t thrilled. She was more concerned about how it was going to impact his day-to-day work. She may have lots of love but that girl is always working.

With the room lined with balloons and streamers, a couple of close friends joined in the moment. The family even took a little time to tease Beverly about her Feng Shui home. Personally, I say if it workds for you, go with it!

As the women fussed over adorable Ava and gathered around the cake, Robert started conspiring for Bev’s birthday party. Soon after the party ended, Anansa and Robert headed to the grocery store to get the ingredients but the trip ended with Anansa chasing him around the parking lot as he lit up a hidden cigarette. Full grown men hiding cigs…too funny yet sad at the same time. Addictions stink!  However, this was only the beginning of the craziness surrounding the birthdays. [read more…]

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Beverly’s Full House – The Waiting Game

by patricia on April 10, 2012

On the premiere episode we had the drama of mom and daughter moving in together, but this week it got even crazier and believe it or not….more dysfunctional. Communication issues continued to plague both mother and daughter. The faces may have been flawless, but the gestures weren’t. By the looks of things, this wasn’t going to be easy!

Anyone who watches the show can tell that Anansa and her mom love each other and truly want to get it right, but it isn’t easy when you are beginning a mother-daughter relationship as adults. As much as it appears that Beverly’s heart is in the right place…she isn’t really showing her selfless mothering side. For instance, Beverly led her daughter to believe they were doing a mother-daughter photo shoot to help Anansa get back into modeling after having the baby. BUT Beverly’s true intentions eventually bubbled to the top. It wasn’t a laid-back family shoot, it was serious business and all about Beverly’s wig line. Feeling a little tricked, Anansa did her best to hold it together and stay professional.

Understandably Anansa has her abandonment issues being raised by a supermodel mom who was always on the move. Yet, it appears Beverly still hasn’t slowed down long enough to show her that she matters. Don’t get me wrong…she is trying, but many of the gestures are falling flat. Before they even left for the shoot, Beverly bailed out of helping her daughter (a new mom) get everything packed for the trip and literally took off without her. Then without mention, they enjoyed their night before the shoot only to wake to more disappointment. Beverly told her daughter to grab some food and she’d pick her up at 11am. Well, things changed and Beverly didn’t bother to call or anything. Jumping into a can, Anansa dragged along the baby but tried to leave behind the anger. It just seemed Beverly wasn’t connected to her daughter at all. Although the excuses were sufficient, it still wasn’t cool. Anansa isn’t sure what to think and Beverly is in a different place in her life. She doesn’t have a child and really isn’t the kind of grandma to take over and help. But when she tells her daughter she will step up and doesn’t…it hurts her.

However, they are taking steps to make it better. Beverly hired a life coach, David, which actually seemed more like a therapist. He got straight to work over the phone and peeled away at the layers of hurt. Within a few minutes, Anansa revealed the pain she felt as a child seeing her mother making fun of her weight…something that she has carried her whole life. Suddenly “not feeling enough” was making more sense. With a supermodel mom, it couldn’t have been easy growing up with a healthy self-esteem and clearly she didn’t feel loved as she was. But with this reveal, we see both of these strong women open to sharing their thoughts. That is a great start!
Now of course the drama wasn’t confined to just Beverly and Anansa….the boys found their own inner divas. While Beverly tried to discuss her issues with her boyfriend, Brian, Anansa did her best to download with her husband, David. BIG mistake since he was lost in the game. There was no way she was going to get what she needed at that time. She should have just taken a bath and waited.

Especially since the guys got him a bit drunk leading to foolish talk that should have landed him the doghouse. More importantly we can’t forget Robert, Beverly’s house manager, who is slowing melting from the overloaded house. He is use to a quiet house filled with him, Bev and the dogs. Now, it is crazy!

Each episode I am drawn a little more into this incredible family and find myself already taking sides, like any sibling would. What I do know is that each of these characters are so unique, lovable and certain to bring us a full season of diva drama! Tune in next week for Beverly’s birthday Saturday at 10/9C…only on OWN!

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OWN’s “One Lucky Elephant” – The Journey of Letting Go & an Unconventional Love

by patricia on December 6, 2011

As I watched the recent documentary, One Lucky Elephant, on OWN, I found myself immersed in many colors of emotions. In the beginning, I struggled to watch as my mind flashed over all the elephant abuse videos I had seen from the Humane Society. The images still haunt me to this day and I haven’t been to a circus in decades – doing my small part to make a change. You see….I don’t believe wild animals should be chained and placed in small trailers and transported around to perform stunts that I can only imagine at times hurt. It just doesn’t’ sit well on my soul.

However, as I progressed into the film I watched as the relationship between David Balding and the young elephant, Flora, surfaced. It was clear that he had loved her since the day he adopted her when her mother was killed. Now as he grew older, he found himself troubled by leaving her behind. African elephants can live up to 80 years old…meaning Flora will most likely be around long after David is gone.

His original intention was to return her to Africa. However, the plans fell through. In truth, it was a bit too far for comfort for him anyway. He was fortunate that the Miami Metrozoo agreed to house her while he searched. Here was an elephant that hadn’t been around another in decades. She was used to being alone and surrounded by people. Now she was in a cage with other elephants. Although it was sketchy at first, she seemed to acclimate and take on the submissive role needed to keep the peace. However, it didn’t last long. When a new trainer became the new kid on the block, Flora found herself challenging him. On one horrible day, she ended up causing him injury and she needed to move.

 

This doesn’t surprise me. These animals are like slaves. At some point they are going to stand up and lash out. You can’t treat any soul like that and not expect a reaction. They are animals but deserve to be treated with kindness. No one wants to live their life in chains. So…it doesn’t surprise me that any elephant would slowly build up an aggressive behavior. Like most parents, David was in denial about placing any blame on Flora. He failed to see her aggressiveness. This wasn’t the first time Flora had hurt someone. Toni Schamadan shared her story of her experiences with Flora. She had gotten to know her and had even ridden her. Although they realized Flora was having a bad day, the trainer still allowed Toni to ride Flora and interact. They should have listened to her clues because on that day Flora wrapped her trunk around Toni and banged her against a tree breaking many of her bones. For Toni, she could handle the pain of the cracked ribs and bones, what was hard was that Flora had done this to her. She loved Flora, yet that was how their relationship ended. David was convinced that the incident never would have occurred if he had been there.

Desperate to keep Flora out of a prison-like zoo, David looked over his options once again. His first pick would have been for Flora to go to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee run by a friend, Carol, who had started the sanctuary to house her own circus elephant, Tarra. However, she didn’t have the ability to accommodate an African elephant. Not only do they eat differently than her Asian elephants, their play was actually translated into aggression for Asian elephants. They just couldn’t mix. Trying hard to find a solution, David scoured every option. Then one day, Carol was approached by a zoo that wanted to move two of their elephants to her sanctuary. Being that they were just getting ready to renovate and add space, everything aligned and Flora suddenly had a home. [read more…]

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Sneak Peek at OWN’s upcoming documentary “One Lucky Elephant”

by patricia on November 25, 2011

OWN’s upcoming Oprah Winfrey Doc Club film looks amazing!  The story…16 years ago circus producer, David Balding adopted an orphaned baby African elephant, Flora. She quickly became part of his family, the star of the show, and someone he loves deeply. This film, which was 10 years in the making, takes a look at the consequences of keeping wild animals in captivity, the dilemmas it created and the love David had for One Lucky Elephant.   The film premieres on OWN Thursday, December 1st at 9/8C.  Take a peek! 

 

 

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Another NEW Film Added to OWN’s Doc Club – “One Lucky Elephant” Sneak Peek

by patricia on June 2, 2011

I just recently got a glimpse of another Oprah Winfrey Doc Club film and wanted to share it with you. The story…16 years ago circus producer, David Balding adopted an orphaned baby African elephant, Flora. She quickly became part of his family, the star of the show, and someone he loves deeply. This film, which was 10 years in the making, takes a look at the consequences of keeping wild animals in captivity, the dilemmas it created and the love David had for “One Lucky Elephant”. Take a peek!

One Lucky Elephant (trailer) from Kristin Cooney on Vimeo.

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OWN Network – Our America with Lisa Ling: Season One Revisited

by patricia on March 30, 2011

Where are they now? This week OWN’s Our America with Lisa Ling paused to reflect back on the most memorable stories and people of the season. I can’t believe the season is already coming to a close. I will miss Lisa Ling’s exceptional reporting, but know that she is hard at work on bringing us more compelling stories about our neighbors, friends and average Americans. 

Updates on Pray Away the Gay: Original Story

This episode was by far the most controversial. With some viewers believing it was too sympathetic to gays, others believed it was a horrible mistake to even give TV time to ex-gay ministries. 8 months later, Lisa revisited Christian only to find that he had cleaned house. In order to clear a place to think, he appeared to have removed ALL of his art work from his home. As Lisa said “but to grow in God, it seemed to me like he felt he needed to put his creativity in the closet”. Then Lisa asked “if God is as loving as Christians say he is, then shouldn’t he love Christian no matter what?”. However, Christian stayed focused on his vision of what he wanted out of life.   [read more…]

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OWN Network – Our America with Lisa Ling – Online Brides, AFA Romance or Marriage Tours

by patricia on March 16, 2011

 Looking for love on a romance tour…what are the chances of finding real love? OWN’s Lisa Ling explored marriage tours in Columbia on this week’s episode of Our America.

A Foreign Affair (AFA) ia an international “introduction” service that hooks up men with foreign women…for a few thousand dollars. Advertized as “romance or marriage tours”, at first glance it appears that so much more is for sale. During the tour, men will meet hundreds of beautiful women. “Love makes you blind, but lust makes you really, really stupid”…the founder, Ken Agee, reminded the men as they embarked on their whirlwind.


Why leave the country to find a wife? Self-proclaimed “average guy”, David claimed he was looking for a life partner. With former marriages under his belt, he seemed to be genuine and simply saw the tour as “one more way to meet women”. With a date already planned before he leaves…yes, which includes an interpreter… David packed his bags and left Houston for sizzling Columbia. So what did his family think? That he was “crazy” to think he could find anything other than fun. Stuck in a rut, he was willing to take the chance. Once David arrived in Columbia, the first woman he met was Cilia. However, before the meal even arrived at the table, Cilia had already asked if he had planned on having more children. David apologetically mentioned that he already had a vasectomy and wouldn’t be able to. To Cilia, it was important…she wanted children. WOW! Over before the meal even arrived. Talk about an awkward lunch. [read more…]

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OWN Network’s Searching For… Mary & David w/ Pam Slaton : Case of David Bandler, Searching for his Birth Mother

by patricia on March 3, 2011

Pam Slaton had to walk a delicate tightrope this week on OWN’s Searching For. The tension was there from the beginning. David Bandler had been searching for his birth mother for 25 years. Wow…that is nearly half his life. He was raised in a wonderful family that provided for him in every way. Frustrated at the legal system’s roadblocks, David contacted Pam 2 years ago to help him with the search for his birth mother. David actually sued the State of NY for the information regarding his adoption. As an adult he felt he shouldn’t be denied information about himself.

At this point, I felt for David but I also struggled with the feelings of his birth mother. It had to be difficult for her to make the choice to place her child up for adoption. The records were suppose to be protected so that he didn’t come back into her life asking uncomfortable questions. Who knows why she had to make these choices? Maybe those reasons still exist today. Then again, I understood David’s need to know more. [read more…]

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