1/26/2007

Shades of the Plaza Theater

I have to admit it. I have watched The Mummy 20 times, maybe more, since my Christmas when I bought the dvd.

Do you think I am obsessed with this movie?

My daughter accuses me of having a crush on Brendan Fraser. Well, he is a hunk of a hero and, at first her accusation embarrassed me - -
but, no, its not that.

I have continued to watch the film and I have figured out my fascination.

I have not been so caught up by a movie since Star Wars (episodes 4,5, and 6 - NOT these three latest digital graphic awfuls) was reissued ten years ago. Then Han Solo captured my imagination - not Harrison Ford - Han Solo.

In my opinion there are plenty of connections between The Mummy and Star Wars - both are fast moving adventures using the George Lucas style of storytelling. Watch for the visual footnotes The Mummy has to Star Wars - as well as references to other movies, especially Indiana Jones.

The music is compelling and propels the story.

In The Mummy the lure of my favorite period in history, Ancient Egypt, makes it doubly hard to resist.

But I realize that beyond all this is something more personal. My memories of the Plaza Theater on a Saturday morning are the attraction. They keep me coming back to revisit The Mummy - again and again and again and again.

I watch it - to once again to see a handsome hero rescue a damsel in distress and save the world.

Nothing wrong with that!

What's not to like?

I will keep watching until I find another film that also satisfies me with such pure enjoyment.

1/04/2007

Small Blessings

Following; up with my new determination to focus on the small blessings every day;

It was a warm and sunny Washington day that feels like Spring instead of January - but I went ahead and made arrangements to have someone on stand-by for snow removal.

Jim found the favorite silver earring I thought I had lost in California. It had sneaked into his suitcase when we swapped for an overnight.

I found a two hour parking meter one block from Dupont Circle where I was gallery sitting all day. That means only 3 times back and forth up 25 steep marble steps to the gallery. That IS a real blessing.

One call and I completed my storytelling schedule and money goal for March!

YES! In March I will premiere Second Hand Rose at the Rogue Festival in Fresno, CA. Learned today there is a date available so I can have the east coast premiere of Second Hand Rose at my first choice location in April.

Among the accumulation of junk mail that has piled up while we were in CA, there is treasure - Christmas cards from very special friends who have graced our lives for many years.

Hey - naming the small blessings begins to build up!

1/02/2007

Perspectives

Robin has three boys, Jamie (15), Danny (12) and Scottie (10). They went back to school today. The house feels empty. Imagine the quiet.

When 10 year old Scottie's friends Joey and Kevin stopped to pick him up to walk to school Robin heard him say,"hey guys, come see what we did in the back yard."
"Wow!" they said. "and you helped?"
"Yeah, I knocked the nails out of the wood with a hammer."
"Wow!"
Don't you love it?

Having a ten year old around would really help with keeping the big things in perspective.

We have an 8 am flight to Dulles tomorrow morning meaning we will have to leave the house at dawn. No matter what time we leave it will be hard. We have been here three weeks and so having this family around us feels routine as well as special. It will be our house that is abnormally quiet when we get home.

All right, all right. I will welcome some of that quiet and getting back my focus on my list. I have storytelling gigs to prepare for and stuff to write and etc and etc. Jim will get back to his routine and seeing patients. But it will not take the place of the vitality of life with three active boys-and their stream of friends who move through here.

I am looking forward to coming back in February for a few days when I am out to tell stories at the Rogue Festival in Fresno.

1/01/2007

Celebrate the Ordinary Day

Happy New Year.

News Year's Day brings football and gatherings.

We are still at our daughter Robin's in California. We fly home on Wednesday. Jim and I have been here since December 15; our daughter Karen arrived on the 21st. There are five in Robin's family, We ARE a gathering.

Robin proposed several outings for the day but there were no takers. We all wanted to "hang" as her boys say. So, we enjoyed an ordinary family day. The boys played x-box, and an occasional computer game. Jamie loaded a movie, the Mummy, on my iPod for the plane ride home. I worked on email. Karen watched a movie with ten year old Scottie. Robin walked.Jim and Brad checked out the various Bowl games.

About noon Robin organized everyone into a crew for a family project. A small old deck was in the way of a larger basketball space. It needed to go! So within three hours they had demolished it. I reneged on that and cooked instead.

As I watched the work progressing I realized how significant this was. We live on the east coast, 3000 miles away - our being here is an event. For us being part of an ordinary day is special.

Robin asked me to take some pictures of the crew at work - - for the family albums.

For the New Year I hope to keep my sights on the value of the ordinary and celebrate it.