Gracie & Me #2: Gracie Gets Her Name

     We did a thing. In west Texas speak, we did a thang! Yep. We got a dog. For all the preliminary details about our new addition, please refer to my previous blog, Gracie & Me #1.

Gracie

     Her name is Gracie. We were inspired by Jane Fonda... seriously. Here's how we agreed Gracie would be a good name for our newly adopted four-legged friend.

     This black dog showed up. She was obviously young, but also incredibly social and well-behaved. For a day or two, we just called her 'Hey girl...' Then, we branched out to the names we thought fit her best. Like I wrote in blog #1, she responded to just about any name that ended with an 'I-E' sound like Maggie, Missy, Lady, etc. We liked 'Gracie' because we're new Netflix(ers) and we're big fans of the show "Grace and Frankie." Do you know it?


     I included the part about us being new Netflixers because where in the world have we been for the past many years? We've heard about all this streaming TV shows stuff, but just figured the technology necessary to accomplish the 21st century while living the country was beyond our pay grade. Turns out, it's not.

     We got one of those 'smart' TVs, bumped up our internet capabilities and now we're watching the shows the rest of the world's been talking about for who knows how long. We still don't stream anything to our other devices (remember when that meant your other mostly illegal stuff?) But at least for now, we're able to pick up one of our three remote controls and find something that's been water cooler talk for a very long time for the rest of the world. Seriously up until a few weeks ago, we weren't that far removed from the old days of three channels. If we didn't have our original remote, my name could easily be "Change the channel." Anybody remember those days?

Gracie

     So back to Gracie and how she got her name. Teresa and I delved into Netflix. We started with T's favorite "Grey's Anatomy." We then watched "The Highway Men" with Kevin Costner. Then, we branched out.
     Me: "Let's find something we haven't heard of, see if we like it and go from there."
     T: "Okay. You pick."
     I picked "Breaking Bad." We didn't get very far with it because at that time our internet was pretty week.

     A couple weeks later, we ramped up our internet for better streaming and tried again. This time...
     Me: "Okay, now you pick."

     T picked a show starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston called "Grace and Frankie." We had no idea what to expect. We picked the show simply on the quality of the cast. We were surprised and then we were really surprised.
     We didn't expect the premise of the show. It didn't set us off watching but it might some. The synopsis is: There are two couples (Fonda & Sheen and Tomlin & Waterston.) It turns out after many years of heterosexual marriage that Sheen and Waterston, who are law partners, are gay and in love with each other.
     The heterosexual relationships unravel, but the subsequent relationships involving a married Sheen to Waterston and a friendly relationship between Fonda and Tomlin propel the show. Suffice it to say if you use words like Fag, Queer, Lesbo, etc or judge others then this show isn't for you. But if you want rapid fire quick wit, genuine care and just a break then "Grace & Frankie" is indeed quite entertaining.
     In fact, I think Tomlin's never looked better. Waterston, who's played Academy nominated roles ("The Killing Fields,) is outstanding and Fonda and Sheen are a hoot. Plus, the supporting cast of mostly unknowns, at least to us, is very good too.

     What's this got to do with a stray black dog that showed up on our porch? Well, the black dog who answers to just about anything that ends in the "I-E" sound, answers especially well to the name "Gracie." So, we named our dog "Gracie" after Jane Fonda's character "Grace" on the Netflix show "Grace and Frankie."

     I guess we could call her "Hanoi Gracie," but I'm pretty sure that's too many syllables for a dog.😊

Bill Robertson
Next: Gracie Goes to the Vet and more...