The best things in life come in threes, like friends, dreams, and memories.

A man born elderly regresses into youth as he lives and loves. This is that rare big-budget film that has the heart of a smaller film, resonant with memorable characters and a heart-tugging finale. 

Also known as The Shelley Winters Swim-a-thon, this granddaddy of the glorious '70s disaster flicks blows them all out of the water. A cruise ship's passengers get the New Year's Eve of their lives (for some, it will be their last glass of bubbly) as the ship is capsized by a giant wave and they fight their way up (down?) to the quarter-inch-thick hull and survival. Stella Stevens throws down some of the film's best lines playing an ex-prostitute with a big heart and mouth. 

Oddly enough, Shelley Winters appears again, this time as a harridan mother who does her damnedest to keep her blind, but curious daughter in the dark over matters of life and love. I was six when I first saw this film and was transfixed and understood the story, even though I didn't understand all the dialogue. Based on Elizabeth Kata's short novel, Be Ready with Bells and Drums, this 1965 film pivoted civil rights from the point of view of a blind white woman. This film is heartbreaking magic.

Owen Meany is a little boy with a strange big voice who is the reason the narrator comes to believe in God. A searing indictment against the horrors of war, the novel is actually a celebration of friendship and love. 

The ultimate road trip novel casts a brewing battle between good and evil after a mysterious plague has killed over 99% of the world's population. The novel goes back and forth between crazy/scary and heroic characters, drawing the reader in to some of the creepiest scenes ever written.

Lucy Marsden, a 99-year-old nursing home resident, recounts her stormy marriage to a Confederate soldier haunted by wars, both Civil and love. Gurganus is a masterful storyteller and makes easy reading of this long, drawling novel.

Streisand soars with Barry Gibbs' beats and lyrics in probably her most successful studio album. Yes, the three Top 10 hits include the #1 "Woman in Love," the #3 title track, and #10 "What Kind of Fool," but it's the closing mini-opera "Make It Like a Memory" that has me gasping and, after the 2.5-minute rock coda, has me wanting to jump back on the ride. And in doing so, we got nothing to be guilty. 

Love it or hate it, Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes" was Billboard's longest-running #1 hit until just a few weeks later, when Diana Ross and Lionel Richie enjoyed an endless #1 run of "Endless Love." Carnes' raspy vocals show a tender side with "Miss You Tonite" and a lump-in-throat closer "My Old Pals," in which she pines for long-missed friends and times.

With a voice like butter, Karen Carpenter captivated hearts, mine included. This best-of album chronicles their early and best hits. "Goodbye to Love" is one of my favorites of all time, and I could listen to "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Superstar" over and over again. Don't you remember you told me you loved me, baby...

An up-and-coming chef inherits a cousin's flailing Chicago eatery and, with a motley crew of ambitious chefs and runners, tries to open a Michelin-star restaurant. This series is occasionally frustratingly slow, but well worth your patience. The writing is great, and the cast is amazing, with Jamie Lee Curtis in a standout role as the estranged matriarch unraveling in spite of her best efforts.

A family-run funeral home reels after the death of the father/owner. Conflicts arise as the surviving children and mother navigate the funeral business. For a show that's as much about death-- each episode opens with a death of an incoming customer-- it's also very much about living... and loving. This series also has one of the most emotionally resonant, three-hanky weeper of a series finale. 

Standup comedian Bridget Everett brings us this heartwarming and absolutely funny and yet moving dramedy about a middle-aged woman named Sam who has moved back to her Kansas hometown to care for her dying sister. The series opens after the sister's death and dives right into Sam's conflicts with her surviving sister and her happiness in a newfound friendship with a gay man as well as finding her voice as a singer. There's not a false note in this heartland.