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Why I Love Kirstie Alley
The Basically Brooklyn Series

Kirstie Alley is the most beautiful girl in the world. Her eyes sparkle. Her smile radiates the warmth of the heart of America. Born in Wichita, Kansas, Kirstie came of age in a decade that saw the crooner from New Jersey welcome the trucker from Tennessee. In The Seven Year Itch, a beautiful blonde stood on a subway grate where a puff of air pushed the hem of a skirt into immortality. Bop bopa-a-lua, whop bam boom, tutti frutti... It was the perfect time for young, impressionable minds to make their way into America. Boundaries were being pushed. Segregation was being questioned. America's economy was in a never ending expansion. Lucy. I'm Home! To the moon, Alice. To the moon. The possibilities were endless. What little girl wouldn't want to grow up to be the most famous actress in the world?

Kirstie Alley walked away from college in her sophomore year to become a famous actress and what has she accomplish since then? In 1994, Kristie won an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in David's Mother. In 1991, she walked off with an Emmy for her role in Cheers, for which she also racked up a Golden Globe. In '91 and '98 she was handed the People's Choice Award, and at 7000 Hollywood Blvd., you'll find her star. None of these awards, however, so completely captivate Kirstie as a reflection of how great a nation we continue to be.

As a nation, we are constantly striving to stay on top of our game and forever at the mercy of forces beyond our control. We struggle with our self esteem and we strive to push ourselves further along. We dare to hold close our impossible dreams and fear no tears when we stumble and fall. Yes. We fall face down on the mat, but do we ever really stay there for very long? We struggle with our demons and addictions, but do we let them beat us, or, do we inevitably drive them away and keep them at bay because we, as a people, are indeed strong?

It doesn't matter whether your addictions are alcohol or tobacco, acid or in the case of Kirstie Alley, cocaine. People are big enough to recognize them, go to war with them and overcome them.

We struggle with our weight, binge eating and then sweating the pounds away. The economy may be slamming us over the head, but there doesn't seem to be any shortage of determination in the gyms across this nation of ours.

Kirstie Alley is Aunt Rita in the upcoming romantic comedy, Nailed, starring Jessica Beil. Rita, of course, is just an actress. Kirstie is a woman with a mountain of hatred for the papparatzis that never leave her alone. She is a little girl from a place in Kansas, called Wichita. She is the embodiment of all of our imperfections and a reflection of our strength and drive to overcome and best of all, Kirstie constantly reminds us that there is nothing we can't do.

The possibilities are still, after all, endless. I don't care how big Kirstie is. I want to wrap my arms around her and thank her for sharing herself so freely with each and every one of us. Well, at least buy her a cup coffee.

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