Carrie Fisher aka Princess Leia

Tags

bi-polar disorder, Carrie Fisher, Craig Fergeson, postaday2013, Princess Leia, Star Wars

I haven’t seen Carrie Fisher in ages and so when I saw that she was a guest on my boy Craig Fergeson’s show, I was instantly intrigued. I know that Carrie Fisher has had to deal with bi-polar disorder which is a challenging mental illness and I was curious to see how she was doing. The last time that I saw her in a movie was, I think back in “When Harry met Sally” and I loved her character as Sally’s best friend. After that I know that she has kept busy writing novels and putting together a one woman show based on her own life. Her show, like her books, have been successes for her critically, so I wasn’t very worried that her creativity wasn’t being fed. I vaguely remember that she had done a weight loss program and was doing very well; having lost the weight and keeping it off.

So I was happy to see her come out, engage with Craig and be happy, self-deprecating, witty and upbeat. She has been a force for many fans since the 1970’s; I remember thinking of Princess Leia as a hero in the same vein as Hans Solo or Luke Skywalker. Princess Leia was no damsel in distress, she was powerful, brave and noble in her own right. I would say that in dealing with her own set of challenges, Carrie has shown us that she is also strong and brave. Not only is being bi-polar a difficult journey to go through but admitting it to the world and being very open about the various therapies and how they have affected you is such a courageous tour de force, I admire her.

Craig was such a gracious host. You could tell that he really enjoyed her body of work and he was very sensitive to her experience with her bi-polarism that she was being so bitingly funny about. He kept on saying “Carrie I am trying to be sensitive to what you have gone through and I know that you can say whatever you want but have some pity for me, I am walking a fine line” and Carrie laughed and hugged him. You could also tell that she had some very real affection for Craig as a friend and fellow comedian and former addict. It was a joy to see the two of them enjoying the interview and each other’s company.

Favorite poem

What is your favorite poem? Why?

What is interesting about the timing of this prompt is that for the first time in a long time, I was reminded of my favorite poem by one of my fellow bloggers, Vivinfrance. She is such a talented poet. ,I before blogging, rarely spent any time reading poetry but since 2010, when I started writing, I have had the privilege of encountering four wonderful poetry writers; Thelaughinghousewife, Weescoops, Vivinfrance and Kolembo. They are each different but so special and inspiring, I love reading their works.

This brings me back to my favorite poem:

Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,

For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,

Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,

Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,

And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,

And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Death Be Not Proud

by John Donne

My freshman year English teacher had us read Death be not Proud the novel, inspired by the poem, and it touched me much more deeply than anything that I had ever read before. Mind you I was only fourteen and reading a novel about a father watching his only son dying from terminal brain cancer and feeling powerless to stop it, wasn't the standard fare for my age group, but Mister Manion made the emotions and the feelings come alive for myself and the rest of my class. He especially made the poem by John Donne live and breathe and made us understand how one poem could inspire a father to write an entire book dealing with his pain, loss and admiration all at once. This was a poem that had a profound impact and I will never forget it.