Our New Year’s Eve party was a very low-key family get-together. We never even got the 45s out for a dance party. The boy and his family were pretty tired from their early morning trip home from Sarasota, but they were game and joined us for pizza and assorted dips.
We managed to do our ‘movie clip night’ and I thought you might be interested in what we all chose to share. (It’s all a plot where I am trying to whet the younguns’ desire to watch these great movies in their entirety when they are a little older.)
I opened things up with the car chase scene from Bullitt (1968).
The wee bud was, of course, enthralled and recognized the bad guy’s car as a Dodge Charger. He also knew who “McQueen” was. I told him I thought he kind of looked like him and he was pleased. (I will note that Lottie thought this car chase was not quite as good as the car chase in The Gnome-Mobile.)
Daughter #1 chose the musical interlude from Rio Bravo (1959)…
…which led to the boy’s choice of another musical interlude from Hatari (1962)…
For daughter #3 we played the classic intro to Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1962)…
The bud chose the Genie-is-released scene from Aladdin (1990)…10,000 years and such a crick in the neck!
Then I chose a famous scene from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)…
Daughter #1 chose another classic musical interlude from Pillow Talk (1959)…
And then we finished up with Lottie’s choice of a song from Frozen II…
By this time the little bud was falling sleep and we wound things up so that they could hit the road and go to bed. Daughter #1 stayed and we watched Last Holiday (2006) with Queen Latifah and L.L. Cool J. which is our New Year’s tradish.
It is the end of the year, so it is the time when TCM remembers all those movie people who died in the past year:
It’s not, I think, one of their better videos, but it does the job. There were no real surprises except I did not know that Frederic Forrest had died. You remember him as Blue Duck in Lonesome Dove, don’t you? He scared us silly in that one. He also was Captain Jenko in the original 21 Jump Street (1987) tv series, which I have been watching recently. He had quite a range. There was also David McCallum, my DP’s first crush in elementary school. And we’ll all miss Tina Turner and Jim Brown and Gina Lollobrigida.
All these people knew their glory days, but like everyone else,
“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.”
–Ecclesiastes 12:7
Denny Burk discusses this here. “Our lives go by us in a flash. Our time is so short. And yet, still our hearts long for a fading glory—a glory that will be forgotten and unknown infinitely longer than it was known or acknowledged by anyone.”
Well, on that note, I wish all our readers a Merry Christmas!
And here’s a blast from the past which I found on ye olde internet, much to my delight:
There were even bigger trucks and excavators by our house yesterday.
They are making good progress and hopefully will be movin’ on down the road by Christmas.
Today we toast Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956)–American supporting actor, best known for portraying Uncle Henry in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Charley also played Grandpa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Jeeter Lester in Tobacco Road (1941) and my personal favorite, Gramp Maple in The Petrified Forest (1936) with Leslie Howard.
Born in Xenia, Ohio, he ran away from home to be a circus acrobat which led to work as an aerialist and trapeze artist in a traveling circus before turning to acting. He traveled all over the world with the P.T. Barnum circus. Grapewin also appeared in the original 1903 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz, 36 years before he was featured in the famous MGM film version. From the stage he moved to silent movies at the turn of the 20th century.
He was great–always recognizable, but true to his character.
The Bible, as you know, is full of angels. They are God’s servants. They are not pretty androgynous beings with blond hair, but mighty warriors who will protect you when needed. Here is a helpful primer about angels and how Christians should view them.
I am winding up my Bible-reading plan for 2023 with the book of Revelation. Wonderful. I was just reading about the grapes of wrath. Again I say, make the Bible part of your daily routine. John Piper agrees.
And here’s a shot of Bob Dylan for your Wednesday:
You can laugh at salvation, you can play Olympic games You think that when you rest at last you’ll go back from where you came But you’ve picked up quite a story and you’ve changed since the womb What happened to the real you, you’ve been captured but by whom?
He’s the property of Jesus Resent him to the bone You got something better You’ve got a heart of stone
How was your weekend? Ours was dark and gloomy and rainy, but full of festive seasonal fun nevertheless.
We went to the Christmas concert Friday night–a packed house of Presbyterians, plus a few random Episcopalians I recognized and even a few Jewish Messiah lovers. I enjoyed it very much, but didn’t get home until 10 p.m.–way past my usual bedtime!
On Saturday I went to the funeral of an old 99-year-old friend at my old church. Shirley was quite the gal–a lifelong Episcopalian, Republican and Cardinals fan who went to spring training in Florida every year. She was also a professional woman who had enjoyed quite a long and successful career. The former rector came from Florida to speak along with the former President Pro Tem of the Missouri State Senate. He told the story of how Shirley was sad when she gave up her season tickets to the Cardinals at age 97, but that she had to admit that watching the games on her daughter’s big screen tv had its benefits–namely being able to see Nolan Arenado, “the most beautiful man ever,” up close and personal.
The service was 100% Rite I, but the interim rector kept lapsing into Rite II. C’est la vie. The lay readers were good, which would have pleased Shirley. She had been one herself for decades. I always felt so validated when she gave me a thumbs up after I read. The church was almost full–which said quite a lot about 99-year-old Shirley–but the singing was weak. Shirley, I daresay, is well out of the Episcopal Church and in heaven now.
For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
–Job 19:25-27
After Mr. Smith went to the spa for his shampoo, daughter #1 came over and helped me decorate the tree.
We also watched the 1951 A Christmas Carol–the best version in my not so humble opinion.
This scene always makes me cry: “You’ve made Fred so happy!”
The boy was in Kansas City with his family all weekend, so it was just the OM and I at church and a quiet Sunday afternoon.
Also, I did want to wish a happy birthday to my dual personality. Happy Birthday, sweet sister of mine!
I hope someone is cooking you a nice dinner and that my present arrived in time for you to open it today. I hope you watch a good movie, maybe Captain Blood (1935) or How to Steal a Million (1966). I will be toasting Fizzy Fuzz, Pompey, Pete, and Robert Preston!
Also, this meme made me LOL:
P.S. Many thanks to whoever sent the fruitcake from Texas–there was no card!
It is that time of year when everything is in a state of chaos, most particularly my office. Good grief, Charlie Brown! Although you cannot tell, I am making progress. I mailed two out-of-town packages and wrote my Christmas letter!
In other news, today is the birthday of the great character actress Agnes Moorehead (1900-1974). The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she grew up in St. Louis where as a child she was in the chorus of the MUNY Opera! At the insistence of her father she graduated from college before heading to the stage. During her long and illustrious career she was nominated for an Academy Award four times and an Emmy Award seven times, winning once for The Wild, Wild West of all things. Here she is in Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons (1942):
I remember going with my mother and sister to see her at the Fox Theatre in the early 1970s when she reprised her role in Don Juan in Hell on tour, with an all-star cast that featured Edward Mulhare, Ricardo Montalban and Paul Henreid. (I would have sworn it was Myrna Loy, but Wikipedia says it was Agnes Moorehead.) I just remember Ricardo Montalban prompting the forgetful Edward Mulhare throughout the play. Well, she was a great actress who was in a lot of good movies. She certainly was the best thing about Bewitched.
And remember this episode from season five of The Mary Tyler Moore Show? All the coworkers are fed up and frustrated with each other, and Sue Ann forces the crew into a rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas.
We’ve all been there, right? So keep your chin up, smile, and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.
Over the last few days I have slowly but surely unpacked a lot of Christmas decorations. The mantle is done and I was deeply gratified on Tuesday night when the wee twins exclaimed, “Oh! You decorated your mantle!” They noticed and they recognized a lot of old friends. Lottie asked me which was my favorite, and I said, I don’t really have a favorite.
Some of them are as old as I am. They represent a lot of people and places and times.
I also put up the little tree in the dining room and decorated it.
So many ornaments have been given to me over the years and I remember who gave me each one.
The twins have their own little trees in their rooms. I gave them an ornament each to put on their trees the other night–gotta encourage the collecting gene!
Katie also has her own little tree and her own collection of hand-me-down small ornaments from her Mommy.
Cheers to wholesome traditions!
Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. (Jude 1: 2)
Thanksgiving is just around the corner! We should rejoice and be thankful, despite our manifold sins and general wickedness, all year round, but I especially do at this time of year. As always, it is the little things that stand out for me, such as the chip fest we enjoyed on Saturday night when the boy dropped off Lottie while the wee bud went to a birthday party. (Their Mom was in Dallas this weekend.)
Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined the OM and Lottie and me to watch The Gnome-Mobile (1967)–a vintage Disney film in which a multi-millionaire lumberman (Walter Brennan) and his two young grandchildren (played by the kids from Mary Poppins) encounter two gnomes in the Redwood forest of California who are supposedly the last of their kind. Hilarity ensues. Although there is no princess in this film, I think Lottie enjoyed it. At least now she knows what a gnome is.
On Sunday we all went to Sunday School, but then the boy took Lottie to a birthday party and the bud stayed with us through church. He came over to our house after church to hang out with daughter #1 and Mr. Smith who joined us for total depravity casserole. Of course, Lottie had told her brother all about The Gnome-Mobile (including the car chase) and he wanted to watch it, but I was like, um no, not right now.
The boy and Lottie came over after her party. We hung out on the driveway for awhile, probably for the last time til next year.
It was another beautiful weekend.
And Mizzou beat the pants off Tennessee! Hometowner Cody Schrader, a graduate of Lutheran South, was the star of the game. According to the AP, “Cody Schrader put together one of the most impressive performances in Missouri history Saturday night, running for 205 yards and a touchdown, catching five passes for 116 yards, and leading the No. 16 Tigers to a 36-7 rout of No. 14 Tennessee.” Normally I could care less about Mizzou football, much less watch a game, but Matt Mitchell gives them so much grief for being in the SEC, I have become an interested partisan. Anyway, I was pleased that they won.
In honor of Veterans Day we watched Gettysburg (1993) which is based on Michael Shaara’s fine book The Killer Angels. It is a good movie, except for the miscast Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. But I much prefer old Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain anyway. As you know, he is a hero of mine.
This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history you will see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new, this has not happened much, in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, not divided by a line between slave states and free – all the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But it’s not the land, there’s always more land. It’s the idea that we all have value – you and me. What we are fighting for, in the end, we’re fighting for each other. Sorry, I didn’t mean to preach. …Gentlemen, I think if we lose this fight we lose the war, so if you choose to join us I will be personally very grateful.
(Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain)
Well, continue to cultivate gratitude, appreciate your freedom and enjoy your Monday.
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
We are experiencing Indian Summer this week in flyover country–absolutely beautiful days in the 70s and even 80s with the sun hitting the orange leaves in a really spectacular way. And the leaf blowers are out in full force. I do get tired of all the noise, like a bajillion bees coming in waves to attack us. 🙄
My friend Don sent this photo of his birdbath with “the neighborhood bluebirds”.
I live a mile or so away and I have never seen a bluebird!
As we all know, the streaming platforms are a wasteland and I haven’t watched network tv for years. So I am forced to watch episodes of old shows like the old lady that I am. Lately, however, I have added Harry Wild to my watch list (on Acorn). It stars the lovely Jane Seymour as a recently retired English professor who discovers a knack for investigation and cannot help but interfere with the cases assigned to her police detective son.
Although she doesn’t quite look her age–she’s five years older than I am–she doesn’t hide the fact that she is an old retired lady. She dresses like I do. She drives an old (red) car and drinks (too much) red wine. She knows a lot about English literature. She speaks with grammatical precision and corrects those who don’t. I can actually relate to her. Also the show is filmed in Dublin and I have actually been there, so that is interesting and familiar. The show is not American, so the Irish are not stereotypes.
So I recommend it if you are looking for something to watch. And who isn’t?
Today we must not forget to remember that unsung hero Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) who was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor and abolitionist. He was murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, during their attack on his warehouse to destroy his press and abolitionist materials. As I’ve said before, Lovejoy’s life (and murder) is another reminder to us today of how rough and dangerous life was in my part of the country back in the mid-nineteenth century. And people think emotions run high these days!
We also remember Edna May Oliver who died on this day, her birthday, in 1942. She was an American stage and screen actress who specialized in formidable older women, such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice (1940) and Miss Pross in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). She was only nominated once for a supporting actress Oscar, but it was for a doozy–Mrs. McKlennar in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939).
I re-watched this movie recently and was really impressed by it. And Edna May Oliver is great; she never crosses the line into farce which a lesser actress might do. She is always 100% believable.
So enjoy these last beautiful days of fall, watch an old lady in a tv show or movie, remember some history, and praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Help me to see that although I am in the wilderness it is not all briars and barrenness. I have bread from heaven, streams from the rock, light by day, fire by night, thy dwelling place and thy mercy seat.
In the late afternoon of November 1, 1941, Ansel Adams took this black-and-white photo, “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico”. Pretty cool indeed.
Also pretty cool is Lyle Lovett, and it is his birthday today! Happy Birthday, Lyle! Hats off to you–67 years old and still touring.
Today is also the anniversary of the death of Ezra Pound (1885-1972) who was a major figure in the modernist poetry movement. An indulged son of privilege, he was always somewhat “out of key with his time”–another way to say, he never fit in. I was amused to discover that his first job out of graduate school was teaching at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, which he considered the “sixth circle of hell”. Well, la di da.
Not surprisingly, he was asked to leave Wabash shortly after starting there.
Anyway, his “legacy” is certainly a mixed one, and he is mostly remembered for his advancement of some of the best-known modernist writers of the early 20th century. All the cool kids: Eliot, Joyce, Lewis, Frost, Williams, Hemingway, H.D., Aldington, and Aiken, Cummings, Bunting, Ford, and Marianne Moore, who became one of his staunchest defenders throughout his controversial career. He lived a long life and is buried in the Protestant section of the San Michele cemetery in Venice. Supposedly Pound had wanted to be buried in Idaho (where he was born) with his bust by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska on his grave. Tant pis. He wouldn’t have fit in there either.
I would rather toast Noah Beery, Jr. who also died on this day in 1994. He was, of course, a supporting actor best known for playing James Garner’s father in The Rockford Files. However, he acted in a lot of movies, most notably as a pilot in Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and as a cowboy in Red River (1948)–both directed by Howard Hawks.
So on this first day of November, look up at the sky, listen to some good music, read a poem, watch an old movie, embrace your supporting part.
Recently Sir Michael Caine announced that he is retiring from acting. “I keep saying I’m going to retire. Well I am now,” he said. Thankfully we have all his old movies to watch (and one more new one on the way). Simon Pegg sums up his career rather well:
I read his memoir a few years ago and he is a stand up guy. So hats off to Michael Caine and a toast tonight to his illustrious career. I think I’ll watch Zulu (1964).
Sigh. We are all getting older. Think of the Rolling Stones and ol’ Mick Jagger who is 80. Good grief. Here he is in 1964 making his debut on Ed Sullivan. He was twenty-one.
O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
dual personalities 