Author: robyndexter

Ladue News Feature Stories

A Talk with the Minister of Silly Walks

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photo courtesy of John Cleese
photo courtesy of John Cleese

On Tue., Jan. 24, the man who established The Ministry of Silly Walks took the stage at Powell Hall as part of the St. Louis Speaker Series presented by Maryville University. John Cleese is best known for his work with the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe – including fan-favorite films Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life – as well as BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda, a film he co-wrote and starred in alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline.

In late 2014, he released his best-selling memoir, So, Anyway…, which details his early life and how he first broke into the world of comedy. Cleese is currently on an American tour in support of the book, including speaking engagements like the one at Powell Hall, as well as making appearances at screenings of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

LN had a chance to catch up with Cleese just before his appearance at Powell Hall to learn about his memoir, how he’s seen comedy evolve in the past five decades and what he has planned for 2017 and beyond.

What has your U.S. tour been like so far?

It’s been quite hard work, but very enjoyable. The shows themselves have been terrific, with wonderful audiences. They’re great, particularly the Holy Grail audiences. When I walk out, there’s a great deal of warmth and affection. They have my sense of humor. A couple of days ago, we traveled for seven hours and then did a show at the end of it. If you do a couple of those in a row, it’s very tiring. We’re doing Worcester, Mass., tonight [Fri., Jan. 20], which will be the eighth show in eight days, and then we fly to Chicago for a day off, which feels like a week off!

What was your writing process like for So, Anyway…?

It was extraordinarily enjoyable, and I didn’t know whether it was going to be or not. I know one famous British film star who started writing his autobiography and found it was so emotionally painful to go through and relive some things that he stopped writing. I had the opposite response, probably because I’ve had so much therapy over the years, so I feel like I’ve worked through most of those things. When I was able to look back on those moments when I’d been very upset, I remember how I felt at the time, but I was no longer influenced by it emotionally and was able to watch it from sort of a distance.

Are you planning on writing more in the future?

Yes, I’m going to write another [book] … when I get some time!

What’s your favorite thing about Americans and being in America?

I think the friendliness is my favorite thing about Americans. The people in hotels are always so friendly and want to do their best. I also think [there are] some really good newspapers here, and we don’t have that in England. I love reading The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe.

Do you think American attitudes toward British comedy have changed in the past few decades?

I don’t think so, no. So far as British comedy films are concerned, it’s pretty rare to get a breakthrough. But I think so far as television is concerned, a lot of Americans, particularly the older ones, would say they’d rather watch old English comedy than old American comedy. I think we’ve always liked each other’s comedy.

Do you think Monty Python and the Holy Grail would be popular if it were released today?

Yes, I do. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be. I think we’d have much more trouble with Life of Brian [if it were released today], but it’s hard to tell. There were protests in New York when we showed Life of Brian in 1979. People were carrying placards saying, “Monty Python is the agent of the devil.” In fact, they did our publicity for us. They made us news every day for a week!

What are you most proud of in your career?

I think Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda and Monty Python’s Life of Brian were all very good. I think my autobiography is very good, too. What’s interesting is, it’s now out on audiobook. People hear me reading it, and they find it far funnier than they did when they read it to themselves.

What’s next after the tour?

[My] next is a hip-replacement operation. I’m going to have [the operation] in Los Angeles because I can’t face the gloom in London – I should be able to recover in the sun. Another six weeks after that, I’ll be leaping around again doing more speeches, including one in Anchorage. Then I’ll be doing a TV series for the BBC – as an actor, not writing. It’s a character that’s completely different from Basil Fawlty … a very old man. I’m 77 years old, and I’ll be playing at least that. Life is very pleasant.

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Tristan, Isolde and the Ball Family

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hea_ball02For the first time in many years, Joan Ball and her husband, Roger, were without a cat or dog. Their cat of 17 years had passed away in August, and coming home to a house without pets felt empty.

Over the past 30 years, the Town and Country couple had adopted cats and dogs from rescue organizations, especially the Humane Society of Missouri. So, when they found themselves seeking a four-legged companion or two, the Humane Society was the first place they looked.

When their children were home for Thanksgiving, the four of them went to look for a new pet. That’s when a 4-month-old kitten named Tristan caught their hearts.

“He was just so cute, running around and playing,” Joan Ball says. “He was and is so sociable.”

After they fell in love with Tristan, the Balls wanted him to have a friend, so they adopted Isolde the same day.

“She’s just this tiny, sweet little thing,” Joan Ball says.

At the time LN talked to Joan Ball, the family had had the kittens for only about a week.

“We’re getting used to having kittens again,” she says. “I forgot how much they get into everything.”

She worried about having a house full of people for the holidays with such tiny new family members, but she says Tristan and Isolde were “so good.”

“They wandered around and ended up in everyone’s laps. It was very cute,” she says.

Initially, the Balls tried to ban the kittens from a part of the house with a child gate. That plan failed almost immediately.

“It took about three minutes for them to figure out how to climb up over it,” Joan Ball says. “Now they have free reign of the house.”

Overall, Ball says the kittens just make her smile. They leap and play and curl up in her lap. She says she loves watching them chase after jingly ball toys. Both kitties love watching the birds in the bird feeders outside, especially the cardinals.

“I have a fur collar now named Tristan,” she notes with a laugh. “He purrs at 6 a.m. to wake me up. They’re settling in just fine.”

The Christmas decorations were a big hit with the kittens, and Joan Ball says she would regularly find the kittens in the boxes. She notes that they also love hiding in houseplants.

“Hopefully they won’t eat my chives!” she jokes.

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Hans, Anna and the Higginbotham Family

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58499b6df0b89-imageOnce upon a time, there were two extremely sick 8-week-old border collie mixes. Part of the Frozen litter, they were named Hans and Anna. Beth Higginbotham and her husband, Tom, had been fostering for 4 Paws 4 Rescue for more than three years and agreed to foster the sickly pups.

“We had to give them baths every day and keep them separate from the other animals,” Beth Higginbotham recalls.

They carefully cared for Hans and Anna, handling them with gloves. A few weeks into their stay, Tom Higginbotham brought up the idea of adopting the puppies, and the rest is history.

Hans and Anna are now about 2 years old and aren’t sickly anymore.

“They are polar opposites,” Higginbotham muses. “Hans is easygoing and loves everyone. Anna is afraid of everyone and everything.”

Higginbotham says they do a lot of training with Anna, both for socialization and for athleticism.

“Since she’s a collie mix, she’s extremely athletic,” Higginbotham says. “She jumps through hoops and is great with obedience commands.”

Anna has to start and end her day with a hug from Beth Higginbotham and will press her head into Beth’s shoulder.

Hans, although he loves everyone, isn’t as athletic as his sister. Higginbotham says he’s more inclined to be a couch potato than jump through a hoop.

The dogs love to go camping, something they first experienced this past summer. They also enjoy going for walks, chasing squirrels and trying to catch moles in the backyard.

The Higginbothams are fond of herding breeds and had a collie before the brother and sister duo.

“We lost her at 16, and Anna was extremely attached to her,” Higginbotham says. “That was adorable.”

Though Beth Higginbotham has never dressed up dogs before, she says these two are an exception. This past Halloween, Anna had a yellow saddle costume with a cat, so it looked like the cat was riding her. Hans had a surfer riding his back.

“We had kids who had visited earlier in the night come back later with their parents and grandparents just to see the dogs in their costumes,” Higginbotham says. “It was hilarious.”

The Higginbothams continue to foster for 4 Paws 4 Rescue, but it’s mostly been temporary fostering since they adopted Hans and Anna.

“We’ll transport and drop off, help with paperwork if necessary,” Higginbotham says. “There’s always something to be done.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Lady Sybil and the Cunningham Family

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581b80c4f2ad1-imageOnce upon a time, Lael Cunningham wanted a cat. She really wanted a cat. She tried to convince her mom, Janel Cunningham, that she was ready to take care of one, so she drew up a contract of all the things she would do to take care of one. Last Christmas, Lael Cunningham’s gift was her contract back – notarized and signed by her mom.

Janel Cunningham says that her 11-year-old daughter was very specific about what she wanted in her cat, so the pair took to the internet to find the perfect furry friend. There, they found pictures of a kitten named Coco Puff, who was available from St. Louis Pet Rescue.

Former foster mom Lisa Ucko says that Coco Puff was orphaned at a very young age and required bottle feeding. She and her littermates, Cheerio and Cap’n Crunch, were found in a south St. Louis yard.

“Coco Puff really struggled,” Ucko says. “We really thought she was going to be miniature forever, and she was plagued by parasites. With around-the-clock care, Coco Puff was able to overcome her rough start and thrive.”

The Cunninghams have had Coco Puff for almost a year. She was renamed Lady Sybil, after Lael Cunningham’s favorite Downton Abbey character.

Janel Cunningham says Lady Sybil is “cuddly, but only when she wants to be” and is very playful. She loves to play fetch with plastic shower curtain rings.

“She’s pretty puppylike because she’ll follow you from room to room,” Janel Cunningham says. “She’s an excellent first pet.”

When Lael Cunningham gets home from school every day, she does all the things she agreed to do in her contract in order to take care of Lady Sybil. Janel Cunningham says the cat allows her daughter to be more playful, and they even do dance moves together.

One of Lady Sybil’s funny habits is her behavior when someone either leaves or comes home. Janel Cunningham says the cat will come “tearing down the hallway” to the garage door and run up into her cat tree.

“At first, we were worried about her getting out into the garage, but that’s not her objective,” she says. “She just wants to watch you come and go.”

Lael Cunningham loves to snuggle with her cat, and the two will curl up while she is watching TV or reading.

Janel Cunningham works shift work, so she likes being able to come home to an animal when her daughter is at her grandparents’.

“I don’t feel the same kind of loneliness I did before,” she says. “[Lady Sybil] is always waiting at the door.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Stolie and the Urda Family

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57f57bdfa2c9e-imageOnce upon a time, Emily Urda was looking for a family dog for her household. With a son with a disability, she knew the dog would have to be pretty special to fit into their family. She went to Stray Rescue of St. Louis to see if she could find one that would be a good addition to the family. While she was there, she spoke with adoption manager Valerie Strobo about service dogs. Urda had considered this option in years prior, but everything had been thousands of dollars, or her son Jackson was too young for the dog.

“Then I met Stolie,” she says. “She seemed like she’d be a great fit for our family, so we decided to go for it.”

Stolie was rescued by Stray Rescue in February and was enrolled in the Missouri Puppies for Parole program. The 2-year-old female terrier mix learned basic obedience at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center and received full training. Stolie knows “sit,” “stay” and “come,” along with being housebroken and walking great on a leash.

Urda has only had Stolie for about a month, but she says the dog’s been an exceptional addition to the family.

“It’s been so nice to see Jackson interact with her,” she says. “With his disability, he’s not really interactive with other kids and would rather be with adults. Now, he and Stolie are friends. It’s so sweet to see them together.”

One of the things they’ve been working on with Stolie’s training is a hide-and-seek-type game where Jackson hides and Stolie has to find him.

“It’s so entertaining because he’s not very good at hiding, but she’s very good at finding him,” Urda says.

Aside from her time with Jackson, Stolie enjoys hunting frogs outside and playing fetch with her ball. After Jackson’s asleep, she’ll curl up on Urda’s lap.

“She’s probably around 70 pounds, but she’ll do whatever she can to get in your lap,” Urda says. “She climbed over the armrest yesterday to get into my lap.”

Urda is still in the process of getting Stolie trained to meet Jackson’s needs, but “she’s as sweet as can be.” She says it took Jackson a few days to warm up to Stolie, but the dog is already very protective of the family.

“Stray Rescue has just been so helpful with this whole process,” Urda says. “They’ve always been there right away to help. They did a great job of finding the perfect dog for our family.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Foxy and the Sehrt Family

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Once upon a time, Sue Sehrt was looking to adopt a dog – or two. Sehrt is a firm believer in having two pups at once, so each can have a friend to romp around with.

She and her mom went out to a Needy Paws Rescue adoption event at the PetSmart in Sunset Hills. Sehrt spotted a little black dog named Marigold, but her mom wasn’t too keen on Marigold since she was still a puppy. They continued looking and spotted a black-and-white dog who was very shy. Foxy, a border collie and Jack Russell terrier mix, was four years old at the time and had been feral. When she was found in Gideon, Missouri, she had heartworms and fleas. But Sehrt was immediately drawn to her.

“I thought there was something about her,” Sehrt says. “I could tell she was in need.”

Foxy is what Sehrt calls a “special needs girl,” so she wanted to give the dog a place to heal and learn to trust again. She ended up leaving the adoption event with both Foxy and Marigold.

“Our last two dogs had been rescued from terrible situations, and both shook almost to the point of convulsions, so I was hoping we could provide a nurturing environment for Foxy and help her continue to heal and trust as well as learn to love and live life to her fullest potential,” Sehrt says.

She’s had both dogs for a few months, and Foxy continues to make improvements. When she was a foster dog, Foxy didn’t want to be touched. She was scared to go outside to go to the bathroom. Sehrt credits former foster mom April Belangee for Foxy’s progress in the 13 months she had her, saying her love and patience made all the difference.

Marigold has helped Foxy come out of her shell, along with Sehrt respecting Foxy’s personal space. It didn’t take long before the two dogs were playing together. Foxy watched Marigold interact and play with Sehrt and has started to follow along sometimes.

“I let her come to me, and I’ll slowly pet her as she controls the length of contact time,” Sehrt says.

The two pups have “probably 20” toys and a very open house they can run through. Foxy’s still coming out of her shell, though, and will surrender toys to Mari without hesitation.

“She’s still coming into her own self and needs to be reassured,” Sehrt says. “She’ll get there. It just takes time.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Sheldon and the Critzas Family

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Once upon a time, Sheldon waited for a forever family at the Crestwood Animal Shelter. Sometimes, he would get to leave the shelter and go places like Danielle Critzas’ house. Critzas’ mother works at the shelter and would bring Sheldon over when she was watching him.

Critzas recalls how Sheldon would fall asleep in her and her boyfriend’s laps.

“He just always wants to show you how much he loves you,” she says.

Her boyfriend had just gotten a new camera and was tasked with making a video so Sheldon could get adopted.

“I knew when we were looking back at the video that I wanted him,” Critzas says.

They’ve had Sheldon for nearly half a year, and she says he’s the “perfect dog.”

“His favorite things are cuddling and being held, but he’s 25 to 30 pounds,” she says with a laugh.

Lately, Sheldon’s weakness has been blankets. Critzas says that while he won’t destroy anything else, blankets left out stand no chance in their household.

“If he has access to a blanket, he’ll destroy it,” she says.

Sheldon is partially blind, and Critzas says he gets nervous if he can’t figure out his surroundings quickly. It took him a while to figure out the layout of their place. Critzas recalls him “crashing into everything” when they first brought him home. His solution to making sure he’s not going to walk into anything? Stomping.

“He stomps so loudly when he walks,” she says. “I think he’s hearing his feet so he knows where he is. He also snores so loudly.”

When Critzas’ mom first got him at the shelter, Sheldon had a stroller he would crawl into and ride around in. He loved to be pushed around in it, Critzas says. She thinks it made him feel safe because he didn’t have to worry about figuring out his surroundings. When she adopted Sheldon, she got a little covered trailer for her bicycle so he could ride around, too. While such trailers are usually meant for children, Critzas says Sheldon is content to “go for rides” with her.

Critzas and her boyfriend went to great lengths to adopt Sheldon. Their former place didn’t allow them to have dogs, so they moved to be able to accommodate him.

“I hadn’t had a dog for almost a year, and having a dog was such a huge part of my life,” she says. “Now I have this dog that’s totally content with lying in my arms at the end of the day.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Rey and the Meadows Family

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Once upon a time, Brooke Meadows and her husband weren’t looking to adopt any animals. They had a 1-year-old baby, and it didn’t seem like the right time. However, Meadows owns a kennel and does adoption events for Gateway Pet Guardians to showcase its adoptable dogs, and she fell in love with a dog named Escalade.

“We ended up deciding to take him and go through the adoption process,” she says. “We renamed him Champion and moved into a house after renting.”

When the dog they had before Champion passed away, the family knew they were ready for two dogs again. One day, Meadows found a dog with “big bat ears” on Gateway’s website, and she just had to go meet her.

“She seemed like she had the most personality of any dog I had ever seen,” Meadows says. “We had a meeting to get her, and now we have two Gateway dogs.”

The bat-eared dog, who has been renamed Rey, was picked up off the street while in heat being chased by a male dog. Meadows says the staff at Gateway told her they wanted to get Rey off the streets before she had puppies. It’s estimated she’s about two years old.

The Meadows family has had Rey for nearly two months, and “she fits in perfectly,” Meadows says.

“Champion loves cuddling, but doesn’t always take to new dogs. They were curled up together the first night. He immediately fell in love with her,” Meadows says.

Rey’s a short dog, but absolutely loves sitting at the window and watching squirrels. Meadows says she’ll run to the back door and wait to be let out to go chase them.

“She likes the kids a lot,” Meadows says. “She’s so good with them and will give them kisses. Rey is definitely a nanny dog.”

The best part of having Rey around is the affection she gives, Meadows notes.

“She loves cuddling up to you,” she says. “She wants to run all the time, but when you’re tired and curled up on the couch, she’ll sit with you and snore. She has a great little snore.”

Rey has some allergies and gets regular baths, but Meadows says she’s gotten used to them and is very tolerant.

Overall, Meadows says Rey is the most affectionate dog she’s ever met.

“I haven’t had a single person come over that hasn’t fallen in love with her,” she says. “The other day, my mom came over, and Rey started attacking her with kisses. ‘I see why you got her,’ she said.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Goose and the Krebsbach-Lucio Family

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Once upon a time, an EMT found a little black cat in East St. Louis while on a call. The cat had a broken leg that was infected and sore from dragging it. Unsure how to help or what to do, the EMT started making calls.

Tenth Life Cat Rescue was able to swoop in and get her in for surgery, but her leg had severe nerve damage and had to be amputated.

Despite the amputation, the kitty was quick to earn the name “Goose” at Tenth Life because of her happy and silly-goose nature.

Jordan Krebsbach and her partner, Cydney Lucio, discovered Tenth Life on Facebook because they bring foster pets to events to garner attention. In this case, it was the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market.

“The first cat we saw was Goose,” Krebsbach recalls. “She had just come in and was super sick. She was staying with her foster mom for a few months, and we had been seeing updates about her.”

Krebsbach says she and Lucio filled out an application to be Goose’s family, and they ended up being good friends with her foster mom. The process took a few months, since Tenth Life does vet checks and comes to houses to make sure they’re suitable for adoptive cats.

“We were second in line to be Goose’s parents,” Krebsbach says. “[The first people in line] went to meet her and [Goose] wouldn’t come out from under the couch. She was terrified.”57598ce7edf89.image

When the first family ended up backing out, Krebsbach and Lucio went to go meet her.

“She was still scared, but we just laid on the floor and petted her,” Krebsbach says. “We were probably there three hours. By the end, she was purring and happy and playing. We knew she needed more time, since she’d been through so much already.”

May 31 marked Goose’s “Gotcha Day,” which Krebsbach and Lucio fondly call her “Goose-iversary.” They’ve had her one year and a few weeks now, and they estimate she’s about two years old.

Goose is an odd little duck, since when her right leg was amputated, her shoulder had to be amputated as well. Lucio says she’s “oddly buff for a three-legged cat” and that she’s more agile than their other pets who have all their limbs. Lucio also notes how weird she is, and that she makes bird noises and has her tongue out a lot.

“We always say she’s way too good for us, and we don’t deserve her,” Krebsbach says with a laugh. “She’s so sweet and loving. She sits on top of her cat-tree throne and delegates like she’s queen of the house.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Maddie and the Dill Family

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Once upon a time, Myers Dill had a bad habit of looking at Petfinder – all the time. He and his wife, Christine, had gotten their first dog, Chief, from the website, so he was always perusing it, looking for a friend for Chief.

“About once a month I’d send [Christine] links, saying, ‘Chief wants a sibling!’” Dill says. “She’d reply with a ‘ha-ha,’ and it wasn’t really something we had seriously discussed.”

He sent his wife a link to a dog named Kiwi, a pit bull terrier described as “as sweet as the fruit she shares a name with.” She was rescued in July 2015 by Even Chance Pit Bull Rescue, a St. Louis-based organization that seeks to counteract misinformation about pit bulls with factual education, communication and resources. Even Chance rescues pit bulls from area shelters and provides foster care for rescued dogs until they find their forever homes.

“Kiwi had a whole extended profile that sounded a lot like Chief’s personality,” Dill recalls. “The whole Even Chance mission was attractive to us, so we set up a meeting for Chief to meet Kiwi.”

The meeting went well, and the Dill family took Kiwi in about a week later for a trial run. Even Chance worked with them to make sure Kiwi was a good fit for their family.

“They were so accommodating in making sure the home was a right fit for her,” Christine Dill says. “They set up a training session for some things we were trying to work on and gave us a lot of great resources.”

In October 2015, Kiwi had found her forever home and was renamed Maddie.

Though they don’t know much of Maddie’s backstory, they do know that she was found in a shelter in East St. Louis. The Dills think she’s been in a home before, because she knows basic things about being in a house. But other than that, her background is murky.

57349fd9103d7.image“We think that maybe because of her squirrel obsession, she got away from someone,” Dill says.

Having two dogs has been a lot of fun for the Dill family, and Chief is enjoying his new little sister.

“It’s different having two dogs,” Dill says. “Maddie is a great playmate for Chief, but Chief is seven years old, and Maddie’s only two. She has a ton of energy.”

The Dills talk about the dogs playing in the backyard with endless energy. They say Maddie gets along great with other dogs and loves to cuddle, too.

“She wants to be on your lap all the time,” Dill says. “She’s added so much fun and excitement to our lives.”

Maddie does have a bit of a squirrel obsession, as noted, and will sit at a window and watch them for hours. Dill says she even got a few feet up in a tree one time chasing after one.

She also specializes in completely destroying all toys.

“She’s completely fearless,” Christine Dill says. “I’d say it’s one of her top qualities.”

Despite this fearlessness, Dill says Maddie’s also a diva.

“Something will fall in another room, and she’ll run in to see what happened. I carry her around over my shoulder a lot. She’s a strong, dominant dog, but she’s also a big baby,” he says.

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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