Uncategorized | dual personalities

November 4, 2016

“You ever been in a chickie-run?”*

by chuckofish

The Star of the Month for November on TCM is Natalie Wood. Every Friday this month they will be showing her movies, including a few favorites of mine.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) with James Dean

Love With the Proper Stranger (1963) with Steve McQueen

The Searchers (1956) with Jeffrey Hunter

Natalie’s career was a little uneven, but she was in some great movies, both as a child (Miracle on 39th Street) and as a teenager and an adult. It was a sad day indeed when she drowned at age 43 in 1981.

I am happy to toast her tonight and watch a movie with one of her dreamy co-stars.

And this news made me very happy:

For those of us who have trouble sleeping at night, here are some no-brainer suggestions from the National Sleep Foundation:

Practice yoga, meditation or deep breathing before bed, to help you feel more relaxed.
Avoid TV or computers before bed, These devices can stimulate your brain and make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Enjoy a soothing mug of chamomile tea.
Take a shower or bath.
Perform leg exercises, such as squats, to promote blood flow to the legs.
Count sheep or breathe deeply. Or imagine yourself already asleep.
Earlier in the day, make time to exercise.
If there’s something you’re worried about it, think through it during the day.

I particularly like that last one. I mean seriously. Thanks.

Have a good weekend! Don’t forget to turn your clocks back on Saturday night!

*Buzz Gunderson in Rebel Without a Cause

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November 3, 2016

Variations on a theme

by chuckofish

Photo courtesy of the Missouri Dept. of Conservation

“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.”

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

We’ve quoted Bonhoeffer before on the subject of thankfulness, but can we ever say it often enough? Probably not. It is so central to our well-being.

November is a good month to take a look at the things for which we are thankful, so I plan to do that.

Meanwhile, here’s a poem by W.S. Merwin:

Thank you my life long afternoon
late in this spring that has no age
my window above the river
for the woman you led me to
when it was time at last the words
coming to me out of mid-air
that carried me through the clear day
and come even now to find me
for old friends and echoes of them
those mistakes only I could make
homesickness that guides the plovers
from somewhere they had loved before
they knew they loved it to somewhere
they had loved before they saw it
thank you good body hand and eye
and the places and moments known
only to me revisiting
once more complete just as they are
and the morning stars I have seen

And I am thankful for the flyover view.

“Grumbling and gratitude are, for the child of God, in conflict. Be grateful and you won’t grumble. Grumble and you won’t be grateful.”
―Billy Graham

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November 2, 2016

“We could be confidantes. Confiding confidentially.”*

by chuckofish

It is November, but it doesn’t feel like it, that’s for sure!

I mean really.

We had a quiet Halloween. No one knocked at our door. I watched the Halloween episode of Angel, season 5–“Life of the Party”–the one where Lorne works around the clock to throw the ultimate Halloween party at Wolfram & Hart, but problems arise when he has his sleep removed. Then I watched two more episodes for the heck of it. Not a bad way to spend Halloween.

I guess it is time to put away my festive (and very vintage) Halloween candles.

I should note that today is the birthday of the great American pioneer Daniel Boone (1734-1820)

who…

Of all men, saving Sylla, the man-slayer,
Who passes for in life and death most lucky
Of the great names which in our faces stare,
The General Boon, back-woodsman of Kentucky,
Was happiest amongst mortals any where;
For killing nothing but a bear or buck, he
Enjoyed the lonely vigorous, harmless days
Of his old age in wilds of deepest maze.

Lord Byron wrote those lines in Don Juan, Canto 8. Old Dan’l was a pretty famous guy! Anyway, I will remind you that Boone spent those latter days in my flyover state in the appropriately named town of Defiance.

As Boone said, “I firmly believe it requires but a little philosophy to make a man happy in whatsoever state he is. This consists in a full resignation to the will of Providence; and a resigned soul finds pleasure in a path strewed with briars and thorns.”

I concur. Discuss among yourselves.

*Fred in the “Life of the Party” episode of Angel, season 5

The portrait of Boone is by John James Audubon.

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November 1, 2016

Rescued from oblivion

by chuckofish

Even the most cursory of diaries can be of incalculable value. What the weather was doing. Who we ran into on the street. The movie we saw. The small boy at the dentist’s office. The dream.

Just a handful of the barest facts can be enough to rescue an entire day from oblivion — not just what happened in it, but who we were when it happened. Who the others were. What it felt like back then to be us.

“Our years come to an end like a sigh . . . ” says Psalm 90, “so teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (w. 9,12).

It is a mark of wisdom to realize how precious our days are, even the most uneventful of them. If we can keep them alive by only a line or so about each, at least we will know what we’re sighing about when the last of them comes.

~ Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words

The illustration of parked cars on a residential street is from This is New York by Miroslav Sasek.

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October 31, 2016

“Out of the everywhere into the here.”*

by chuckofish

There were three baptisms in church on Sunday, including our favorite baby Avery Rose.

There was nary a peep out of either infant and the third-grader practically plunged his head into the font. I am always amazed by the composure of the kids at our church.

Speaking of babies, I know you are wondering about our twins. Well, it’s a boy

and a girl!

We are so happy!

In other news, I watched a very good movie this weekend–Free State of Jones (2016) starring Matthew McConaughey as a Confederate army deserter who returns to Mississippi and leads an armed rebellion against the Confederacy. Like the majority of southern soldiers, Newt Knight is not a slave owner and he becomes disillusioned with fighting for a government he does not support.

I liked it a lot.

Now we are on the verge of November. Zut alors! Where did October go? (I seem to say that a lot.)

*George MacDonald

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October 29, 2016

I am not some mystical vending machine*

by chuckofish

but I do know that we all need a break from bitter political campaigning. And what better way to avoid reality than by dressing up for Halloween? Be adventurous. Go for horns and green skin.

son #1 as Lorne from Angel circa 2010

If you’re not into dressing up, you might try watching something creepy (but not too scary). I’d recommend the 1961 film, “the Innocents”, with Deborah Kerr,

or perhaps the 1945 thriller, “The Spiral Staircase” with Dorothy McGuire and George Brent.

Movies can be incredibly deceptive, however, so beware. Shortly after discovering extremely cute Albert Finney in the delightful Tom Jones,

I remember tuning in to “Night Must Fall” only to discover that he plays a psycho-murderer. That was an unwelcome shift and a very disturbing movie. I’ll never look at a hat box the same way again…

Whatever you decide to watch, find something diverting. As for me…I’m not coming back to the present reality until after the election, and I’ll be very happy while I’m away, thank you.

*Lorne in an episode of Angel

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October 28, 2016

“There is a great disturbance in the Force.”*

by chuckofish

Halloween is upon us and we have not posted once about it. I guess that reveals my true enthusiasm for the “holiday” and also the level of my being too busy to notice. If it weren’t for the piles of Halloween candy I have been trying to ignore at work all week, I probably wouldn’t even know that it is around the corner!

That being said, the weekend is upon us and I have a few things scheduled, chief among them the “gender reveal” get-together daughter #3 has planned. Did I mention that the boy and daughter #3 are expecting twins? Well, yes, they are. We have been focused on the boy going through chemo/recovering from cancer all year, but in the background daughter #3 has been working on her own project. Ain’t life amazing?

So in view of these exciting developments, here are three movie suggestions for you.

Anything starring those famous real-life twins, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen:

Certainly this one would be appropriate this weekend!

Any of those movies about these fictional twins:

And how about Double Impact (1991) starring not one, but two (!) Jean-Claude Van Damme(s)…

Note how I cleverly chose films which feature two girls, two boys and a boy/girl set. We are all wondering whether our twins will be two girls, two boys or a girl and a boy. I am voting for a little Luke and Leia, but que sera, sera! Anyway, I’ll let you know what we find out–stay tuned!

And, oh hey, this is interesting, although not as surprising as they make it out to be.

*The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

4 Comments

October 27, 2016

Alive and well somewhere

by chuckofish

“What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and children?

They are alive and well somewhere,
The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the
end to arrest it,
And ceas’d the moment life appear’d.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.”

― Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

I went to a memorial service yesterday at the Unitarian Church on “Holy Corners” in the Central West End.

You can see the Christian Scientist and Methodist churches in the background, built in better days around the turn of the 20th century.

The Unitarian Church was built on a more humble scale and added to accordingly. It turns out it was the church of William Greenleaf Eliot, the founder of my flyover university and also of the girls’ school I attended. Not that he would recognize this congregation.

Anyway, I had never been to a Unitarian memorial service before. The music was pretty bad and there was only one scripture reading–a terrible translation of Psalm 39–and one prayer. (We never even said the Lord’s Prayer.) The minister gave a long homily about the mystery of life and how everything dies, and a long eulogy about the deceased, and the husband of the deceased gave a long eulogy. Like her parents, she was a lifelong member of the church and a serious Unitarian and social justice warrior. She and her husband were also big supporters of their partner church in Transylvania–yes, there are Unitarians in Transylvania! They are the second largest group of Unitarians in the world! It is amazing what one doesn’t know about people.

Well, it all got me thinking about old Walt Whitman’s lines about death in Song of Myself, which seem very Unitarian in spirit to me but are more meaningful than anything I heard in the service. I like to think that my friend is alive and well somewhere, although I guess that’s not what she expected.

*The painting is “Moonlight” by Fausto Zonaro (1854 – 1929)

4 Comments

October 26, 2016

Till the wheels fall off*

by chuckofish

How awesome is Dolly? I mean she really gets it done. One million books per month! Now there’s a woman to admire.

Of course, readers of this blog already know that we are big fans of the beautiful and talented Dolly and have been for years. Remember when daughter #2 was in sixth grade and had to pick a person who was a “creative producer” to report on? She picked Dolly (with encouragement from her mother). She won first place as the most creative producer!

Daughter #2 as Dolly Parton, holding a shoebox replica of the Grand Ole Opry.

And she taught her teacher a thing or two about the great Dolly Parton!

Anyway, it’s great to see that Dolly is going strong at age seventy–another lesson for us all.

Til the wheels fall off
Til the spotlight fades
I will lift your banner high
Lord, I will lift your banner high
And til the walls crash in
For the rest of my days
I’ll lay it all on the line
Til the day I die
Til the day I die
Til the end of the line
Til the day I die
It’s Your name I’ll glorify

–Toby Mac and NF

4 Comments

October 24, 2016

Cheers, it’s Monday!

by chuckofish

Did you have a quiet weekend? I researched whether this pumpkin spice thing really has gone too far. And I got a lot of things around the house done and that felt good.

I went to church and read the first lesson–a not very inspiring passage from Sirach (one of those second-listed wisdom books from the Apocrypha). The second reader got to read from I Timothy–no fair.

Since it is that stewardship time of year, we had our weekly “stewardship moment,” which was delivered by a parishioner who is the producer of a weekly TV show. She was nervous about her testimony, so the two stars of her show came along for moral support and were seated in the congregation. Kind of sweet.

I went to an estate sale in the neighborhood and bought an “antique” wash stand which I put in my den, switching out a table that has never really fit there. I rearranged things and am pleased with how things look.

(Apologies for not having styled an appropriate vignette yet.)

I read quite a bit of Prelude to Terror, an old thriller (1978) by Helen MacInnes. After reading several books by Shirley Jackson, I was having trouble finding something to read. (Karin Fossum’s latest dreary Swedish mystery did not make the cut.) Helen seems to be just what I was looking for.

I watched Genius (2016) about the great editor Maxwell Perkins and the writer Thomas Wolfe. It was disappointing, despite having quite a primo cast.

Sigh. Well, here’s a little Wolfe to make up for the disappointment:

Some things will never change. Some things will always be the same. Lean down your ear upon the earth and listen.

The voice of forest water in the night, a woman’s laughter in the dark, the clean, hard rattle of raked gravel, the cricketing stitch of midday in hot meadows, the delicate web of children’s voices in bright air–these things will never change.

The glitter of sunlight on roughened water, the glory of the stars, the innocence of morning, the smell of the sea in harbors, the feathery blur and smoky buddings of young boughs, and something there that comes and goes and never can be captured, the thorn of spring, the sharp and tongueless cry–these things will always be the same.

All things belonging to the earth will never change–the leaf, the blade, the flower, the wind that cries and sleeps and wakes again, the trees whose stiff arms clash and tremble in the dark, and the dust of lovers long since buried in the earth–all things proceeding from the earth to seasons, all things that lapse and change and come again upon the earth–these things will always be the same, for they come up from the earth that never changes, they go back into the earth that lasts forever. Only the earth endures, but it endures forever.

—You Can’t Go Home Again

So it is Monday again and we are back at the salt mine. Make the most of your day.

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