Subterranean Issues

The testament of an optimist is when the more that's wrong with them physically, the better they feel and the more cheerful they are. The minute you let aches and pains and sniffles and sneezing get you down, then your body has won and your spirit has lost. Those kinds of losses are debilitating.

So, what other definitions exist for the word "optimist"? Well, good ol' trusty Google images brings up this image first when you type in the word because, of course, it immediately searches for a noun.

Not only does it look like a happy, little sailboat, it is obviously quite flexible and seaworthy as the picture to the right demonstrates.

One of the classic movie icons who struck me as an optimist, at least in the majority of his roles was Cary Grant aka Archie Leach. In fact, if you haven't already visited http://www.archieleach.com/, please do and let me know if you think Cary Grant REALLY wrote the autobiography posted there. It sounds like him but I would like to see some verification somewhere on the site. Of course, I'm only on Chapter Two so it may be there and has simply eluded me up until now.

Just from reading the first chapter, it's clear he took the best of both parents (only child) and built on that to develop his personality or at least, that's what happened to him subliminally. OK, now I've read the second chapter and I would love to believe he actually wrote the book. I need some other opinions though. I don't truthfully know if I'll ever know so maybe I'll just "choose to believe". Hm, was Cary Grant created by Disney?

Well, the more I read, the more I'm learning about the many facets of his personality, which falls right in line with my subterranean theme. First,we have sexy Cary on the left. I wonder if he ever got skin cancer?

Next we have the debonair version of Cary. Would you trust this man to help you out of a jam or to share all your deepest, darkest secrets? Of course you would, you'd jump at the chance just to tell him all about them. Then you'd faint dead away just from being in the same room with him.

Anyway, back to my progression through the many facets of Cary. We go from the pipe-smoking version to the evening-wear version of Cary where anyone else in the room would need to be in an Oscar de la Renta or a Gucci gown worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or pounds sterling, depending on your continent of choice, to be worthy of his company. How can a tiny little thumbnail photo so completely capture the animal magnetism and pure, unadulterated yet romantic sexiness of this man? Even knowing he's long dead, he's hot!

Now we move to the mysterious Cary as found in two of the Alfred Hitchcock roles he played, both of which helped him to conquer his fear of heights (acrophobia). He reports in his autobiography that he then proceeded to fly repeatedly with Howard Hughes, landing all over the place including in Mexican fields. I guess once you've hung from the faces of Mt. Rushmore and gallivanted across the rooftops of Monte Carlo you basically have no fear.

Of course, none of us can stay young forever but there are multitudes of photos capturing his gradual transition into his older years. Is he not the most handsome man to get old in all of history? What is it about a dimpled chin? With him, I think it was his persona as much as his looks. It was all about the complete package and there was nothing not to like.

In fact, here is proof that he actually enjoyed the aging part. Or, at least, he was caught during an optimistic moment! It makes you wonder if he ever had to deal with the aches and pains I started out talking about, I don't know the answer but I'm pretty confident he would have dealt with any such adversity in a positive way. How do I know? I simply choose to believe this.

What a guy! Any suggestions for who in the current generation can take his place? Good luck.