The Skinny On Happiness (or How Breitbart Slimmed Me Down and Shaped Me Up).

Resolution last year:  January 2012, after a year of watching friends get laid off and local stores with “Going Out of Business” multiply   I made a resolution to pay attention to just what the hell was happening in America. I started watching  the FoodNetwork and Bravo less and reading and watching all the news channels.

I wish I remember the day I discovered Andrew Breitbart, but I probably noticed him on Twitter – and loved that he was outrageous and so NOT boring. I was so intrigued by Breitbart, I decided to kick off my resolution by starting with his book: Righteous Indignation – which explained (very entertainingly) how he went from elite Liberal to Conservative Warrior.

Of course, in my resolution, was also a goal to lose weight and get back in shape. In December of 2011 I realized that while I’d been fantastically in love for almost 7 years (or something like that, I’m horrible with dates) – I’d gotten too comfortable in my skin and after the holidays (of course!) I was going to shed the love pounds (but keep the guy!).

So in January 2012, I started both my resolution of losing weight and paying attention to WHAT THE FUCK was causing the decline of jobs and businesses.

Breitbart’s book was fabulous. I specifically remember telling John all about him on a trip to Wegmans one cold day in January.

The next few months I would blab about “Breitbart this, Breitbart that.” I know John usually tunes me out, but he must have been paying attention occasionally  because on March 1st he came into my office and said, “Did you hear? That guy you like died.”

“Who?”

“That Breitbart guy.”

“What?” I thought for SURE he must have the name wrong or I misheard.

“That guy you always talk about – the crazy guy? With the white hair?”

I checked online and sure enough (I’m getting goosebumps as I write this) it was all over my Twitter timeline. I couldn’t believe it. I cried. I bawled. I’m not a crier.

And being a former medic, I KNOW that life is fucking short, I would say 70% of the time I lived my life balls out, but Andrew’s death made me step into the political arena. For 3 months I’d been re-familiarizing myself with the Constitution, I’d been trying to understand how we got from 1776 to 2012. Breitbart’s death made me realize I needed to dive in.

Ok – so, what does this have to do with losing 40 pounds?

Because I realized that the key to life is freedom.

It seems to simple, and who wouldn’t agree with that? However, once you’ve experienced real dependence, you realize how dangerous it is to your confidence, your spirit.  I knew this, because I’d been in an abusive relationship that started off great – but by the end, I’d lost all my independence and actually had to plan my escape – which took 6 months (another story there.)

But I’d NEVER made the connection of power and dependence to government.

Breitbart gave me that “AH-FUCKING-HA” moment and

I wanted to wake people up who were like I used to be prior to my wakeup call – just happily floating along in life – the only drama I knew of came from the Real Housewives.

March 1st, 2012 was my turning point in life – it’s where I went from crawling to sprinting. Though I’ve pretty much always been myself, Breitbart gave me that little extra courage to embrace my craziness.

“Apologize for what?”

I didn’t lose my weight by exercising (though previously I’ve tried that: I’ve had gym memberships to just about every local place – and workout videos and even the Total Gym which I finally sold!) or by cutting out carbs or sugar or gluten (tried all that too at one point or another – watch Fathead the movie – it is an eye opener!) – I simply ate smaller meals and walked dog Jack almost every day in the summer. I did actually cut down a bit on alcohol (nothing too crazy! Still drank once or twice a week!).

Looking back, 2012 was a year full of sadness; we said goodbye to our police K9 Thor – who was such a fucking warrior! Breitbart died. The country re-elected a president who, with the help of media, has the majority of America believing that dependence on Government is the New American Dream.

2012 was also the year I realized it’s true when they say: Do What You Love and success will follow. The more passionate I became about waking up people- the more I met fabulous people who inspired and encourage me…C.L. Bryant for one (of many!) and wonderful opportunities came my way. And we introduced a new police K9 into our family. And I bought a gun.

Breitbart was the match that put me on my path to empowerment – and his untimely death set me on fire.

In 2013 – my goal is to wake up more people and empower them to realize the difference between dependence and Independence – (dependence gives your power and confidence away and Independence gives you power and confidence)

To have bigger balls than boobs this year…heh heh…

and finally, my goal is to NOT BE BORING.

I didn’t lose weight by starving myself – just the opposite – I feasted on passion, on freedom, on living with a purpose.

The only thing you should ever take off your plate is Big Brother Govt and media trying to make you swallow  crap disguised as “something that’s good for you.”

Thanks to Breitbart – I’ve got the skinny on happiness; and I’m not afraid to fly my freaky freedom flag.

#Fearless

Breitbart Lives On via Jimmy Arone

Jimmy Arone and crew at Tea Party Picnic

How can you not immediately like someone who wears a Breitbart mask at a picnic?

Meet Jimmy Arone – a bonafide Hollywood Conservative who received a call from Andrew Breitbart in January of 2009. Jimmy and Andrew became friends – because, how could anyone with a heart and a sense of humor NOT be a friend to Andrew (thereby proving that Progressives are heartless and lack a funny bone.)

Jimmy wrote several articles for Big Hollywood. Go to Breitbart.com and plug his name in the Search feature and Jimmy’s articles pop up.

Breitbart FEARLESS T-Shirt

Jimmy reached out to me after discovering my blog. In an effort to continue Andrew’s legacy, he’s created t-shirts to honor Andrew; to show America that Andrew Breitbart is still HERE and he lives among the best of us.

Jimmy sent me a Breitbart T-Shirt.  I love it. I love it, I love it, I love it. Not only because it’s a statement, but also because I know that the person who created it knew Andrew, loved Andrew, and continues to champion Andrew’s fight.

I’m now ordering a black t-shirt (he sent me a white one) because I know I’ll be wearing my first t-shirt EVERYWHERE! And it is white. And I like to eat anything BBQ.

Black FEARLESS t-shirt

For info on how to show you are a FEARLESS Breitbart warrior – scroll down to the end of post. But first, please read Jimmy’s story about how he went from a Liberal to a Conservative and how he came to be friends with Andrew:

 

How did you come to be politically aware/involved?

I grew up right outside the great city of Boston, where the three most important things in people’s lives are sports, politics and revenge. Politics are kind of in my blood. I can recall, as a kid, very passionate discussions, between the adults in my life, whenever the subject reared it’s thorny head.

It was a wonderful thing to experience and I believe those conversations have served me well over the years when talk turns to politics.

Jimmy Arone

I’ve been involved as an activist for many years on a number of issues. The key for me has been to educate myself best as I can, take a stand, then take action. When I led the fight against the proposed expansion of our local regional airport back in the early 90’s, I was at city council meetings on a regular basis. Wore the badge of gadfly with honor.

How did you meet Andrew and what did he mean to you?  

I believe, I first became aware of him during an Internet broadcast, in the fall of 2008. He was debating a radio talk show person named Nicole Sandler and the way he handled himself with her and the host, was just a thing of beauty.

She was nasty, rude and seemed so angry. Listening to Andrew that night was like listening to a great verbal prize fight. He totally outclassed and outscored her with his knowledge, coolness and wit. And eventually he knocked her out. I was an immediate fan.

One morning, in January of 2009, shortly after the launch of Big Hollywood, I got an email from Andrew along with his phone number and the words, “call me”. I was taken by surprise but after I called and we spoke for about 15 minutes, I knew I was gonna to be ok. He talked to me about a group of like minded people, who worked in the entertainment industry, that I would soon become part of. I knew that he, along with a small army of new friends, would have my back from there on in.

Not long after our phone conversation, at his invitation, I became a contributor and wrote my first article for Big Hollywood, ‘Conservatives: A Love Story’, in which I shared the story of my moving from the Left to the Right.

Andrew was a good man, who I am proud to call my friend. He inspired me and continues to inspire me. To stand up for the principles which I believe in. To fight the good fight.

To be FEARLESS.

For people who want to continue on fighting his fight, what advice would you offer (i.e.: What would Andrew do?)

Live life. With passion. With energy. With humor. Each day, do the best you can. Love your family along with your country. Don’t take things for granted. Today is all we’ve got. Tomorrow…only God knows.

Andrew lived life balls out…that works for me.

Is the USA half empty or half full and how can we make it better?

I am, for the most part, an optimist, so I tend to look at things as being half full. To make anything better in life, a person should have a good attitude, work hard to the best of their ability. The stakes for the future of our country have never been higher. As the great Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, once said, “All politics is local”. Find a way. Get involved. No excuses.

One issue that is most important to you right now. 

No question, the presidential election in November 2012. In all probability, it will be very close, so it will be important for citizens, to educate themselves, participate and vote. As Dennis Prager has stated on many occasions, “This election is about more than just defeating President Obama, it is about defeating the Left.”

Favorite food

I’ll go with a nice thick juicy NY steak, a hot buttered baked potato and a simple green salad. Maybe something chocolate for dessert. Although, a couple of thin crust NY style slices of pizza are hard to beat. Add an ice cold Dr. Pepper (lots of ice please) and I’m a happy guy.

Favorite music

Aw man, that’s so tough. I love all kinds of music. From Sinatra to The Beatles to Paul Weller. Beethoven, Vivaldi, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, Sam Cooke, Chris Connor, Keith Jarrett, Nat King Cole, you name it. Movie soundtracks. Depends on my mood…what’s going on that day. Could be Chet Baker, Bobby Darin, Paul Westerberg, one minute then something from Motown the next. The Supremes, Righteous Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, then maybe a taste of Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison, Dave Clark 5, The Beach Boys or The Who. And blast it!

Favorite movie

The same as with food and music. What am I hungry for? Without a doubt, in 1961,’The Guns of Navarone’, started the ball rollin’ for me, when I was 8. Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, magic up there on the silver screen. For me, goin’ to the movies was like goin’ to church. I went to see that movie every afternoon on our Christmas school vacation. Drove my poor mother nuts. Years later, when I became an actor, she kind of understood.

1973, it was Scorsese’s ‘Mean Streets’. Same thing, went to see it 54 times. My mother thought I was insane but after that film, I just knew I was gonna be an actor.

Other favorites include, ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington’ ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ ‘On the Waterfront’ ‘Mister Roberts’ ‘The Apartment’ ‘Hud’ ‘The Dirty Dozen’ ‘Cool Hand Luke’ ‘Wait Until Dark’ ‘The Party’ ‘In the Heat of the Night’ ‘Midnight Cowboy’ ‘The Friends of Eddie Coyle’ ‘The Godfather Part I & II’ ‘Inside Moves’ ‘O Lucky Man!’  ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ ‘Chinatown’ ‘Taxi Driver’ ‘Rocky’ ‘Network’ ‘Being There’ ‘Raging Bull’ ‘Once Were Warriors’ ‘Wings of Desire’ ‘Lost in America’ (think I’ll stop there with the hope that come November we’ll remember and once again we’ll find America).

Jimmy Arone, created these T-shirts, from an original collage, as a way to honor his friend Andrew. To let Americans  know, the spirit of Breitbart lives on, he is EVERYWHERE and he is FEARLESS!

T-shirt info:  If you are interested in purchasing a FEARLESS  T – they come in Black/25.00 (with white ink) or White/20.00 (with black ink) S/M/L/XL. A PayPal account is available for payment.

For more info contact Jimmy at this email: jimmyluckyseven@gmail.com