From show tunes to different drums

Hey Guy: Simply Slaw also has a dog, a kid and Anne Hathaway

A heroic guy, a heroic dog, a heroic witch and a heroic struggle are all part of this week’s Simply Slaw, which could have used a heroic thesaurus. Onward:

Murphy Slaw

Something old: If you’re into trivia or linguistics, here’s something you should remember, remember.

Something new: It’s hard to beat a story about a dog, unless you have one about a toddler. And when you get a dog rescuing a toddler, you’re golden.

That was the situation in Arizona this week, when a 2-year-old boy wandered away from home and into the wilderness — an area where mountain lions had been spotted. It had a happy ending, thanks to Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees who patrols a ranch area half a dozen miles away. He spotted the boy, Boden Allen, and escorted him to safety, walking with him for at least a mile.

Something borrowed: This is a great list for debating with friends — or stealing for a playlist. A real theater buff could easily come up with a rival 20 that didn’t make this list, from shows like “My Fair Lady,” “West Side Story,” “A Chorus Line,” “The Book of Mormon ,” “Dear Evan Hansen” .… And still, you will never be satisfied.

Something blue: This is a powerful scene from “Modern Love,” an anthology series from several years back. In this episode, Anne Hathaway stars as a woman with bipolar disorder. Sometimes a tale of fiction can lead us to a powerful truth: “It’s amazing what trusting one true friend in your life can do.”

For another take on being bipolar, People magazine just wrote about comedian Cameron Esposito’s new special “Four Pills.” Or read this powerful piece by my former Chronicle colleague Vivian Ho.

I’m pretty well convinced we all have one mental health glitch or another — some far less serious than others, of course. Maybe you’re not bipolar but have heavy duty mood swings. Maybe you don’t have OCD but are too much of a perfectionist. Maybe you’re too sensitive — or insensitive. The list goes on and on.

So if you notice it in yourself, maybe you can be that one true friend for someone else.

Something in a lighter shade of blue: Speaking of our glitches, this hits home for one of mine: