February 27th, 2011 by Regina Brett

Guilty pleasure: Oscar night.

 

I love everything about it. The gowns. The speeches. The celeb sitings. The movie clips. The winners. The moments.

 

Movies matter. Think about all the ones that shaped you. In my Plain Dealer column, I wrote about movies that remind you what's important in life. Here are 25 movies that did it for me:

 

1. "The Great Escape." It's amazing what can be done in the worst circumstances when you work together.

 

2. "Field of Dreams." A catch with Dad matters no matter how old you get.

 

3. "The Shawshank Redemption." Hope is the one thing no one can take from you.

 

4. "The Mission." Forgiving others has the power to set you free.

 

5. "The Wizard of Oz." There's no place like home, and it's right here. Click your heels and claim it.

 

6. "Big." You have to grow old, but you don't have to grow up.

 

7. "Apollo 13." When things are at their worst, it could actually be your finest hour. With a roll of duct tape and some imagination, you can fix anything.

 

8. "Singin' in the Rain." As long as there is a song in your heart, it's never a cloudy day.

 

9. "To Kill a Mockingbird." Even in a world that is unfair and unjust, nobility still matters.

 

10. "Glory." True power comes from the inside and can never be taken from you.

 

11. "All About Eve." Love trumps fame.

 

12. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" Your family is important; so is knowing when to hold on to them and when to let go.

 

13. "The Elephant Man." We're all beautiful on the inside.

 

14. "To Sir, With Love." A teacher can shape you for the rest of your life.

 

15. "When Harry Met Sally." If you leave your wedding without your best friend, you married the wrong person.

 

16. "Dead Man Walking." Be the face of love for another.

 

17. "Citizen Kane." Your childhood shapes you forever.

 

18. "Chariots of Fire." It doesn't matter if you fall, it matters how fast you rise from the fall.

 

19. "Defending Your Life." Fear could be the greatest sin of all, the stumbling block that keeps you from experiencing heaven on earth.

 

20. "Schindler's List." One person can make all the difference in the world.

 

21. "Dead Poet's Society." Seize the day. Live deeply and fully this moment.

 

22. "Saving Private Ryan." The ultimate act of love is to lay down your life for someone you don't even know.

 

23. "Parenthood." Life is messy and one bumpy ride. Hop on the roller coaster anyway. The merry-go-round is for sissies.

 

24. "City Slickers." Only one thing matters. Find out what it is, and you'll never lose your smile.

 

25. "Lilies of the Field." Holiness abides in us all. Amen.

 

What would you put in your top 25?

 

February 23rd, 2011 by Regina Brett

We spend almost half of our waking lives at work.

 

How can you get more out of your job without feeling drained at the end of every day?

 

Tonight on "The Regina Brett Show" we're talking to the co-founders of Heart to Heart Communications. Larry Vuillemin turned his life around after having a stroke at age 35. Father Norm Douglas talks about how to stay true to your purpose and mission at work. Together they're training leaders and co-workers to have a purpose-driven life.

 

Corry Devin from The Energy Project in NYC talks about the "Take Back Your Lunch" program and tips on how to get re-energized every day before, during and after work.

 

Call in during the show at 888-957-8897 or email regina@wksu.org and join our conversation.

 

What are you doing to feel fulfilled at work?

February 17th, 2011 by Regina Brett

Here's a simple way to sum up the race gap in America:

 

The average grade of black students is a C +. The average grade of white students is a B+.

What do we do to close the race gap?

 

Ron Ferguson, a former Clevelander, has become the guru on the gap. His tips?

 

Hire leaders who pair passion and competence, a sense of urgency and possibility.

 

Empower teachers, don't just criticize them.

 

Stop preaching at parents and give them tools to do a better job.

 

Talk to your children about ideas. Help them become thinkers. Celebrate knowledge.

 

Read, read, read. Read in front of your kids. Read to your kids. Read around your kids.

 

Turn off the TV.

 

Churches, employers, the media, retail outlets, sports teames, everyone needs to send the message that education matters.

 

Decide to be optimistic.

 

My favorite quote that Ron shared: "People who say it cannot be done should stay out of the way of people who are doing it."

February 16th, 2011 by Regina Brett

As soon as the shooting stopped in Tucson, the phone started ringing. Jeanette Halton-Tiggs heard from family, friends and strangers.

 

She's all too familiar with mental illness. She knows what it's like to be called the monster's mother. Her son, who has schizophrenia, killed a Cleveland Heights police officer.

 

Tonight on "The Regina Brett Show" on WKSU 89.7 FM, Jeanette shares her journey. We also have Terry Russell, the head of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, psychiatrist Todd Ivan and Dr. John Clarke and his son Daniel, who has schizophrenia.

 

Are we doing enough to help those with mental illness? What more should we do?

 

Call in live during the show from 7 pm to 8 pm EST at 888-957-8897 or email regina@wksu.org

 

 

 

 

February 9th, 2011 by Regina Brett

My handwriting is atrocious.

 

One nun in grade school gave me an F and wrote on my paper, "Chicken Scratch."  It's only gotten worse over time as I write faster to keep up in interviews.

 

People told me I was destined to be a doctor, since no one can read a doctor's penmanship.

 

Who needs handwriting these days? We communicate in texts and emails. It could become obsolete. Not for me. There's nothing like handwriting in a journal, feeling your fingers around a pen flying across a blank page. My dad's hands were stained from tar and paint from his roofing work, mine are stained by ink.

 

Tonight on "The Regina Brett Show" at 7 p.m. we're talking about handwriting. Guests include Virgina Berninger, Michael Sull and Margaret Shepherd.  Join us during the show at 888-957-8897 or email regina@wksu.org

 

You'll also get tips on how to write a love letter to your valentine, which sure beats sending a text. 

February 7th, 2011 by Regina Brett

It's never too late to apologize, never to late to offer words that heal. Someone might be waiting years, decades even, to hear them.

 

A reader just sent this email:

 

"The little girl in me, the eleven year old one, needs healing, love and attention. Lots of all of those. My dad left home when I was 11; it took him 35 years to apologize for the selfish choice he made, for how we suffered emotionally as a result, but hearing his words just this week helped heal the wound a bit.

 

"And reading what you said about 'caring for that child' made me realize it's ok to indulge these feelings and to take care of me. Thank you for not ever giving up, for taking the time to share, for learning to be true to you."

 

How sad it took 35 years to apologize, but what a gift to finally hear those words. It's never too late to heal the people you hurt.

 

 

 

February 6th, 2011 by Regina Brett

Like most of America, we watched the Super Bowl tonight.

 

Unlike most of America, we taped the game and fast-forwarded through the game to watch all the commercials. Not many great ones this year, but a few memorable ones.

 

My favorite? The commercial for Chrysler 200 "imported from Detroit."

 

A lovely view of a city that gets dissed like Cleveland does too often. The commercial made sure we knew, This is not New York City, the Windy City, Sin City and it's no one's Emerald City.

 

But boy, did that commercial make Detroit shine like the rare gem it is. Detroit is a lot like Cleveland, so much beauty amid the grit that most people can't look past. Both towns have been through hell and back again, both have stunning cultural events, architectural wonders and people who offer their breathtaking talents to breathe new life into the city every day.

 

Kudos to Chrysler for honoring the people and the place, not just the car.

 

February 3rd, 2011 by Regina Brett

Norma Herr lived in pain on Payne.

 

That's where the women's shelter was located, on Payne Avenue in Cleveland. She was a piano prodigy who might have ended up at Carnegie Hall but schizophrenia derailed her life.

 

She lost her marriage, her home, her daughters. But she ended up blessing all the women at the shelter, just by her presence, by surviving so many years on the street.

 

Her daughter, Mira Bartok, wrote a lovely book "The Memory Palace" about their journey that zigged and zagged, as most life journeys do. 

 

You can read about Norma in today's Plain Dealer. I love the words spoken at her memorial:

 

"If you want to get attention, whisper. Miss Norma had a life of whispering. She taught me to dismiss the noise. Pay attention to what really matters."

 

What matters might not be in the noise, but in the quiet surrounding it.

 

 

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