A Woman with Class

Last night the pat-ourselves-on-the-back season of award giving continued with the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills.

Ricky Gervais hosted.  I adore him and think he’s a scream.  Some stars mentioned Haiti.  Paul McCartney, one of the richest men on the planet, sat there looking all, well, Beatle-esque while Gervais gave him a slight, subtle jab about not opening up his fat wallet for earthquake relief.  McCartney the man makes me ill.  He could give $100 million and not feel it.  But he never does. 

Meryl Streep’s speech was heartfelt and beautiful.  She won for playing Julia Child in Julie and Julia and she said two things that stuck with me.  First she said humbly, “I have played so many extraordinary women that I’m being mistaken for one.”  Then she recalled her Mom and how she used to remind Meryl of her good fortune in life and how to live it well in the face of tragedies like the one in Haiti.

“I come to Golden Globes weekend and I am conflicted how to have my happy movie self in the face of everything I’m aware of in the real world, and that’s when I have my mother’s voice coming to me: Partners in Health, shoot some money to Partners In Health, and be damn grateful you have the dollars to help. And I am grateful. I’m really grateful,”