I finished watching Lonesome Dove (1989) and it was so good (and so sad)! I highly recommend watching it again. It is six hours well spent.
Also, the scene where Pea Eye is dehydrated and exhausted crossing the plains to get back to Captain Call and he hallucinates that the dead Deets comes to guide him to Captain Call reminded me, of course, of the scene in 3 Godfathers where John Wayne is at the end of his tether carrying the baby across the desert and the vision of Harry Carey, Jr. and Pedro Armendáriz comes to encourage him to go on. Lots of good movie references for the initiated.
And it was a fitting tribute to ol’ Robert Duvall.
So have a good weekend! I will be attending our Missions dinner at church tonight. I will be sitting at a table with I don’t know who, but I am okay with that.
How was your weekend? Mine was very pleasant, although it rained all day Saturday.
Between traveling and work, I had seen very little of daughter #1 over the last few weeks, so it was great to catch up with her…wine time at Glen Echo on Friday, estate sale-ing on Saturday and a late lunch at the Village Bar. All our favorite things. We took Mr. Smith for his weekly shampoo and then had wine time at my house.
We watched Bullitt (1968), which you will recall was the movie the OM and I always watched on Valentine’s Day.
Wasn’t that nice of her?
Of course, the movie was great as always, really cutting edge for 1968. We LOL’d as always during the chase through San Francisco as the Charger and the Mustang race past the slow-moving green VW four times. (Frank Keller won the editing Oscar for this movie!) Another of my favorite scenes is when Bullitt, Bennett, Chalmers, and Baker gather around the telecopier as the passport applications arrive. Only Steve can make watching the fax machine riveting cinema. This time we noticed that frequently during the course of the film Lt. Bullitt is asked a direct question and he gives no response. As daughter #1 commented, “He speaks with his eyeballs.” His lack of response has great effect. When he does respond, major impact–especially when he says, “Bulls–t” to Robert Vaughn’s face toward the denouement of the film. Perhaps this is a good lesson for us all.
I went to church by myself on Sunday (the boy has the flu now) and heard a good sermon on Joshua 5:13-15. Are you for the Lord? Our goal is not to conform God to us, but for us to conform to God. It reminded me of that time during the Civil War President Lincoln was reportedly asked whether God was on the side of the Union. He replied, “My concern is not whether God is on our side,” Lincoln responded. “My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Touché. He was probably thinking of Joshua, because he knew his Bible backwards and forwards.
We finished up our Intro to Covenant class, which I really enjoyed. It never ceases to amaze me how whenever I am sitting alone before class, someone always comes and sits next to me. When I first went to that church I didn’t know a single person there. Now I know lots of people. Praise the Lord.
And I’m with the Madcaps:
Have a good week! There are definite signs of spring if you look!
Daughter #1 has a big DAR event today–our annual George Washington Commemoration Event on President’s Day at Lafayette Park–so keep her in your prayers. I am serving as the chapter chaplain, so I’ll be giving the benediction–there’s a first time for everything!
The temps reached above freezing yesterday so the snow started to melt. We have some big snow banks though and they will be with us for some time. C’est la vie.
I spent a stressful and irritating day yesterday gathering tax information and digitally transferring it to my accountants. I couldn’t help thinking of Mary Tyler Moore and her shoe box full of receipts and how the accountant (or was it a tax auditor?) was so impressed with her organization. How times have changed.
(Isn’t it amazing how I can remember that show but can’t remember what I watched last night?)
This is super sad. “The attention-span crisis goes to the movies.” Why does anyone even bother to go to college anymore?
On that note I think I’ll watch a slow-moving, two-hour, old black-and-white movie.
Perfection.
So read an old book, watch an old movie, call an old friend.
There was a small earth quake in central Illinois yesterday morning, but it didn’t amount to much and there was no damage reported. The magnitude 3.8 quake, we are told, struck at 1:27 a.m. Central Time, about 3 miles north-northeast of Ohlman, Illinois. The shallow tremor was felt across parts of Christian and Sangamon counties. According to daughter #2 they didn’t feel a thing in nearby Champaign County.
Today we toast General Ethan Allen (1738-1789) on his birthday, who is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War. Fun fact: A descendant of Ethan Allen, Ethan Allen Hitchcock Shepley, was the chancellor of our flyover university from 1953-1961, following Arthur Holly Compton. I always liked the story my mother told of the time our Labrador Retriever ran away and she got a phone call from the chancellor’s wife saying they had our dog. So she walked over to their house across campus and picked him up. She said Mrs. Shepley was very nice and said Teak was a good dog. My memory may be off–it might have been Mrs. Eliot, the wife of a later chancellor, who was nice, but whatever. It’s a good story.
We also toast Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863), Confederate general and military officer, on his birthday. He has always been a favorite of mine, even though he fought on the wrong side.
And speaking of generals, it is also the birthday of J. Carrol Naish (1896-1973), the character actor who memorably played General Phil Sheridan in Rio Grande (1950) which starred John Wayne.
Naish, although of Irish extraction, was one of those capable film actors who played an array of ethnically-diverse characters during his long career, including Sitting Bull twice.
Yes, Naish played lots of Italians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Jews, Irishmen, and even Wasps–because it is after all, called acting.
Today we toast the great American dancer Ray Bolger who died on this day in 1987. He had a long and fruitful career, starting in vaudeville and on Broadway, and continuing in the movies. Here he is in TheGreat Ziegfeld (1936):
Woweee! Of course, everyone remembers him as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (1939) and with good reason. He was amazing! Whenever he was asked if he had received any residuals from telecasts of The Wizard of Oz, Bolger would reply: “No, just immortality. I’ll settle for that.” His portrayal truly was immortal.
We’ll also toast Pitbull on his birthday (born 1984) today.
Everyone needs a little Pitbull at least once a year.
After a disorienting week of coughing at home, I finally made it back to church on Sunday. We had one service so it was the whole congregation together–very nice. I sat behind the pastor’s wife and their two children and she complimented me on my plaid Christmas pants. Quelle nice girl.
Our own Becka Marsh sang this version of Simeon’s Song during the offertory and I thought it was so lovely.
I played it a lot when I got home and I cried every time.
I also read The Three Godfathers, the short story by Peter B. Kyne on which John Ford’s 3 Godfathers (1948) is based (also the seven other versions). It seemed appropriate. The story ends with the remaining godfather stumbling into New Jerusalem with the baby as a woman sings
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing,
Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! to your King!
He hands the baby to the woman and the author questions, “Who knows? Perhaps in that moment the woman, too, like the Three Bad Men, beheld the King!”
How could I not then watch the movie? (I did, and I could not love it more.)
Meanwhile, following a mild Christmas and balmy temperatures during the week–not to mention some fiery sunsets–
–we were warned a fast moving line of severe storms would move through Sunday afternoon–always exciting and unwanted. But nothing much happened.
My eyes have seen My eyes have seen Joy beyond belief: I’ve seen the Messiah!
As the year winds to a close, TCM remembers the actors, filmmakers and other film “creatives” we lost this year:
It is a good reminder. So many–from Robert Redford and Claudia Cardinale and Gene Hackman and David Lynch to our own dear “cousin” Richard Chamberlain. Sigh.
My doctor couldn’t fit me in, but I talked to a nurse on the phone. She suggested I go to urgent care to be tested and to make sure I don’t have pneumonia. Daughter #1 took me to the St Luke’s urgent care and I do have “the flu”. I got a prescription so hopefully I will be on the mend soon. Good grief.
Today is my sister/dual personality’s birthday! We wish her many happy returns of the day!
It was interesting spending 10 days with my prairie granddaughters and watching the interplay between them. Like my sister and me, they are about two and half years apart. It made me a little sad seeing how the older sometimes treats/manipulates the younger, knowing that I’m pretty sure I did the same thing. The younger is so sweet and is always trying to please her sister and mimic her. It is no surprise that she sometimes gets very frustrated. Well, siblings are one of our greatest blessings, but they also teach us the ways of the sin-sick world. We learn to cope. My older brother said plenty of mean things to me and it helped me develop a thick skin. Our siblings keep our pride in check.
I’m grateful my sister and I grew up to be close. I wish we could celebrate together! But I will be with her in spirit. And the spirit is always:
Since I did not need to go to the County Courthouse for another day of Jury Duty yesterday, it felt like a free day. Wonderful. I mailed a couple of packages. I went to the grocery store. I organized all my Christmas presents and wrapped many of them. I was cookin’ with gas. I didn’t finish, but I made a good dent.
I had a second cup of coffee and caught up on my reading.
This is good advice for anyone going through something hard. “Do the next thing.”
Well, whoduh thunk? “I took our six kids overseas — and saw a ‘family-friendly’ nation in joyous action”. Indeed, children are not carbon-emitting inconveniences, but the clearest sign that a society believes in its future. (I will say that there are great swaths of our country that are still family-friendly, including the great Midwest.)
And this is great–watch this two and a half minute clip of John Piper Asking ChatGPT to Write a Prayer:
Brilliant. What are you feeling this Christmas season? The universe is created for people made in the image of God who feel the worth of Grace…I hope you are feeling what Scrooge feels at the end of A Christmas Carol. This is why the 1951 version with Alistair Sim is the best version–because the actor gets it. He feels the joy in his heart and he is giddy with happiness. There are many other versions featuring great actors, but nobody gets it like Alistair Sim.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
(Not a bad likeness of the new baby by his older sister)
I made it home on Friday afternoon between two snow events on the prairie. Phew. I had a lot to do over the weekend–the Kirkwood Historical Society annual meeting and Christmas tea…checking in with Mr. Smith…
…catching up at church on Sunday (twice!), making Episcopal Calvinist souffle and celebrating the twin’s 9th birthday at my house!
Now I am on Jury Duty of all things! What a December. I don’t know when I’m going to mail my packages or wrap presents, much less send Christmas cards, but I’m not going to worry about it.
P.S. I hear the prairie girls watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers again–seems they can’t get enough of those wild boys!
dual personalities 