Uncategorized | dual personalities

January 4, 2013

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

by chuckofish

Did I mention that we got a lot of great DVDs for Christmas? Well, we did. This should not be surprising to our readers.

When I was growing up Christmas was about exchanging books and records (LPs–remember?) Many jokes were made about those oddly shaped packages–was it a coloring book?! Oh, hahaha. Later CDs took the place of LPs and lately there haven’t been many of either, what with iPods and downloading to iTunes.

This year daughter #2 gave me an actual CD–The Lumineers–and it was a big hit! I have listened to it non-stop in my car. (Yes, I am an old-fashioned girl. I still listen to CDs in my car.)

Anyway, it is good to have a new bunch of DVDs from which to choose. When daughter #2 leaves this weekend for the east coast, I will have some solace to fall back upon. (Unfortunately, some of those DVDs are hers so they will be going with her.) Sigh.

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January 3, 2013

R.I.P. Harry Carey, Jr.

by chuckofish

I was busy last week and failed to notice that Harry Carey, Jr. had died on December 27. He was 91 and had lived a long, full life.

Rio Grande (1950)

Henry George “Dobe” Carey, Jr. (May 16, 1921 – December 27, 2012) appeared in over 90 films as well as numerous television series. Born in Saugus, California, he was the son of respected actor Harry Carey (1878–1947) and actress Olive Carey (1896–1988). As a boy, he was nicknamed “Dobe”, short for adobe, because of the color of his hair. He served with the United States Navy during World War II.

One of my pet peeves, as you may know, is Hollywood being such a nepotiz-town. There are way too many sons, daughters, nieces and nephews in the business, if you ask me. If they weeded out all the Ben Stillers and Drew Barrymores out there…well, I’ll end this rant now before I really get going. Sorry. But clearly Harry Carey, Jr. was an actor who owed his career to his father whose famous friends like John Ford were willing to insert his son into their movies. In this case, however, Junior seemed satisfied with being a character in the background. He excelled as a character actor in such movies as Rio Grande, where he was priceless teamed with Ben Johnson. When he did get a part with featured billing, he rose to the occasion, as in 3 Godfathers, where he played the guileless Abilene Kid admirably. He is also excellent in The Searchers as the clueless young man who elicits the wrath of Ethan Edwards.

Carey made eleven films with John Wayne and at least nine with John Ford– awesome career accomplishments in themselves! He also played ranch counselor Bill Burnett in the popular Disney serial Spin and Marty and an assortment of grizzled types in his later career which lasted through the 1990s.

I did not get a chance to watch 3 Godfathers over the holidays, so I think I will watch it now in honor of Harry Carey, Jr. Vaya con Dios, amigo!

I have to add that for years we have kidded my husband about being Harry Carey, Jr’s doppelganger (see top picture). But, oh my, what does the future hold?

10 Comments

January 2, 2013

Dedicated to many absurdities

by chuckofish

It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes many terrible mistakes: yet, with all that, God himself gloried in becoming a member of the human race. A member of the human race!

To think that such a commonplace realization should suddenly seem like news that one holds the winning ticket in a cosmic sweepstake. I have the immense joy of being a member of a race in which God became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.

Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

Well, what do you say in 2013 we all try very hard not to be overwhelmed by the sorrows and stupidities of the human race and instead to shine like the sun? I’m going to try.

And don’t forget this:

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January 1, 2013

A new year indeed

by chuckofish

It is a new year and I have a new desk calendar for my office at work.

There are even sparklies on the birds.

I’m feeling good about 2013.

(via avid)

Hope you are as well. Salut!

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December 31, 2012

With lots of love and happy wishes

by chuckofish

Over the holidays I re-read Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, which I discovered over twenty years ago. It is really marvelous. Here she sums up what I believe to be the very true essence of a woman’s happiness:

“When you think of me you must think of me as one who is truly happy. It is true, I want a great many things I haven’t got, but I don’t want them enough to be discontented and not enjoy the many blessings that are mine. I have my home among the blue mountains, my healthy, well-formed children, my clean, honest husband, my kind gentle milk cows, my garden which I make myself. There are lots of chickens, turkeys and pigs which are my own special care. I have some slow old gentle horses and an old wagon. I can load up the kiddies and go where I please any time. I have the best, kindest neighbors and I have my dear absent friends. Do you wonder I am so happy? When I think of it all, I wonder how I can crowd all my joy into one short life.”

Times have not changed that much if you substitute a station wagon/mini van for the horse and wagon. And don’t kid yourself that she didn’t have a “job”. She worked harder than I ever have at my cushy flyover university. At the center of her happiness is love and the freedom to do what she wants.

I highly recommend this book as a good way to start the new year off on a positive note. It is available here.

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December 28, 2012

Fa la la la lala la la

by chuckofish

Well, in our part of the Midwest we haven’t had any snow to speak of. Just a lot of gray skies.

We spent yesterday at the hospital with daughter #2 who was having some ear tube maintenance surgery.

It was a long, but thankfully uneventful day. Daughter #1 had fun entertaining herself with iPhone antics and tweets.

We were glad to go home after 4 hours, stopping at McDonald’s for Diet Cokes and Nuggets (don’t judge us). Later we went to get a prescription filled and to Walgreen’s for NyQuil and throat lozenges. I made hash with the pork tenderloin leftover from Christmas. Daughter #1 made cookies. We watched several episodes of Buffy, including one of our favorites (“Band Candy”) wherein our she-ro made an amusing reference to Nightline. (We live for such moments.)

That was our day. Sigh.

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December 27, 2012

Snow…lots of snow

by chuckofish

All through the night it snowed and we woke up this morning to this

Chez Melville

Even the protected back door had trouble opening

My mudroom is a snow room now

Gallant husband and sons #2 and #3 got shoveling and yes, the snow is up over the car tires.

Darling husband smiles for the camera

It’s still snowing and is supposed to continue all day and tonight. Fortunately, we have TWO neighbors with snow blowers who very kindly help us out when the end of the driveway gets plowed in. It’s a perfect day for apres shoveling cocoa and a good book or movie. I’d bake cookies if we weren’t replete with Christmas goodies already. How are you going to spend your day?

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December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas!

by chuckofish

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We got so busy, we forgot to post this greeting. We’ll try to do better, but while daughters # 1 and 2 are home, it s difficult to find the time to post!

All the best to our loyal followers!

December 23, 2012

Home for Christmas!

by chuckofish

Son #1 arrived safely home this morning!

The tree is up, presents piling up, and the Lego train up and running.

And as a special Christmas treat, I’ll leave you with this year’s Church Christmas pageant — “Out of the mouths of babes” as they say.

Merry Christmas!!!

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December 22, 2012

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

by chuckofish

This morning I woke up to this:

My neighbors nice house

It’s very pretty until one faces the reality of ice under snow on the cars and 4 inches of heavy snow on the driveway (the pictures don’t really do the amount justice).

Not only did my hero, our neighbor and his snow blower come to the rescue, but he generously did the rest of the neighborhood as well!

Mr. Peters saves the day

Son #3 had a 9am bell practice at church, so I dug out the cars while he got himself up and fed. It would have been easier if he had walked the 3 blocks, but he refuses to wear a coat, hat, or gloves, and it is snowing quite a lot (though it’s hard to tell from the pictures). Rather than let the church people discover the awful truth about his neglectful parents, I braved the weather. Everyone else in the house was, of course, asleep. It was worth the effort — the village green was peaceful and quiet.

Since these pics were taken at about 9am in falling snow, the Christmas lights are off, the decorations obscured, and everything is a muted grey, but you get the idea…