The Day America Grew Up

?Once Upon a Time - in America

Facebook: In 1978, a young Meryl Streep was on the verge of becoming the greatest actress of her generation. She was also about to lose the love of her life. "She doesn't talk about it much," says Michael Schulman, author of the Streep biography "Her Again."

"But that year was so wildly eventful and dramatic in her life. It was instrumental in shaping who she was as a person and an actor."

Streep was 29 years old, a gosling in the New York theater world. She was living in a loft on Franklin Street with her boyfriend, actor John Cazale. He was 14 years her senior and a legend among his peers.

"Learned more about acting from John than anybody" Al Pacino has said. "All I wanted to do was work with John for the rest of my life. He was my acting partner."

Streep and Cazale met in 1976, when they were cast opposite each other in "Measure for Measure" in Central Park. By then, Cazale was not quite a star - he lacked that ephemeral quality - but he was regarded in the industry as a rare talent, in demand among the great directors of the era.

He was Fredo in "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather Part II" (1974) and had lead roles in "The Conversation" (1974) and "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975).

Of the five movies he starred in, all would be nominated for Best Picture, and three would win. Of the two, Cazale was the famous one, but they were still starving artists.

Cazale would take Streep to dinner in Little Italy, where…

My Comment:?Life has taught me that there is little distinction between what we eat and what we invest in.

Fast Forward?

Today in America, we are 100 days from choosing our President and Vice President.?

His name is Serge Kovaleski - reporter for the NY Times

"No Good Times, No Bad Times, No times at all,?

Just the New York Times" - Simon and Garfunkel?

Profiles in Courage

YouTube.com and Wall Street Journal?

"This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing…disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose,” concluded the two-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep.

References: The Bridges of Madison County, The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel and Disclaimer?

Disclaimer: I have intercalated images, titles, subtitles, comments, emphases and highlights in order to more effectively deliver this story. Attribution is made for the Art, literature, film, lyrics, photography, cartoons, music and footnotes are provided for the ideas of others - whenever possible and appropriate. I have not used A.I. to write or plagiarize this article, and the intuitions and disciplined inspirations - are mine.