There's One Thing I Do Know....and that is that I love you, Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the whole silly world going to pieces around us, I love you.

Scarlett is 75 and she never looked better! (keep reading for more information about the giveaway!)

You're beautiful. No, you're beautiful

Say what you want, the gal has staying power. She has been restored to her original Technicolor glory and she is more beautiful than ever.

Real Estate Lesson #1: Location, Location, Location

I know, I know....it's probably Honey Boo-Boo's favorite movie, too, but I can't help it. It's a great story. Margaret Mitchell wrote a timeless winner and created unforgettable characters. David O. Selznick drove himself and everyone else nuts to produce the work of a lifetime. Max Steiner wrote an unforgettable and emotional score, Walter Plunkett designed costumes that live forever in our memories, and Victor Fleming (and George Cukor) herded these cats with skill and clarity.

Director Fleming at the helm

Now, the old gal has become rather commonplace these days and is regularly shown on television. So, remembering the great experience of seeing it in the theater many moons ago, I jumped at the chance to see it on the big screen. Boy, am I glad I did.

Shown in its original aspect ratio, the close-ups are particularly lovely (and not stretched across a wide screen giving it that botox look). The performances are almost perfect, with Hattie McDaniel's Mammy full of heart and dignity and Olivia de Havilland's Melanie especially touching in her scenes with Gable. I have always had a bit of an issue with Leslie Howard's Ashley (who was apparently raised in England and educated at Oxford. Which makes me wonder when Scarlett had a chance to fall in love with him). But today, sitting in a theater full of people, I gave him a pass. He charmed me. A bit.

Let's dish during nap time

The heart and soul of Tara and beyond

And let's just get it out there and there could never be another Rhett other than Clark Gable and another Scarlett other than Vivien Leigh. Gable is magnificent and sexy (more so on the big screen than you can even imagine), but Leigh is a miracle. She is in almost every scene and she carries this load on her elegant shoulders like the champ that Scarlett is.

Spend what you like, Scarlett. What a husband!

I guess that's what I love about Gone With the Wind. It really is all about Miss O'Hara. Scarlett is many things, and some of them not nice, but she is a survivor and stronger than she ever knew. She is put through the wringer and refuses to give up. And, after all that she had been through, remains an optimist. You go girl. I know you got him back.

Scarlett in her lovebird dress on her honeymoon

Giveaway alert (good though October 11, 2014)

Interested in winning a copy of the Gone With the Wind 75th Anniversary Blu-Ray DVD? Besides a bright and shiny restored version, the DVD comes with a few nice extras including the Christopher Plummer narrated "Making of a Legend," a reminiscence by Olivia de Havilland and the TCM bio of Vivien Leigh.

If you'd like to take a chance, please see the instructions on the sidebar to the right of this post.

Good luck!