Movies...

The girls at work make fun of my taste in movies, sometimes. Oh, I like all the regular mainstream movies that star all those big stars. Comedies are okay and the romance movies are, too. I draw the line at movies that underwrite Kleenex production, however. If I can avoid watching one of those, I will.


TEARJERKERS OF NOTE

I have, however, gotten sucked into watching those before. I remember the first time I can recall really having a bad reaction to a movie. We rented the movie because I absolutely love watching Richard Dreyfuss movies. So, when I saw he was in the movie “Always”, I naturally wanted to see it. BIG MISTAKE!! I blubbered most of the way through that movie. Although the movie was good, I vowed I’d never watch it again…and I haven’t.

Then there’s the time that I was laid up with my back and unable to move about much. Hubby went and rented some movies for me. He put this one in and either went to bed or left the house. I just remember that he wasn’t available to put me out of my misery! The name of the movie was “Change of Heart” with Christian Slater. I had never heard of it before…nor had I heard much of Christian Slater, at the time. The movie bumped along okay until the guy dies at the end. Talk about a blubberfest!

I hate movies where everything is hunky-dory and then one of the main characters dies at the end. Like two other movies I’ve gotten sucked into watching, “Up Close and Personal” and “Message in a Bottle”. The cast members drew me to those, too. It was another case of not knowing the plot. Stock prices had to have gone up at Kimberly-Clark after those viewings.

I’ve been warned about two movies that I will probably never watch, however—“The Perfect Storm” and “The Notebook”. I heard about the ending on “Storm” before I ever had a chance to see it.

Regarding “The Notebook”…they discussed that one at work fairly extensively. I knew it didn’t sound like one I wanted to watch. Then I talked with Stink. She and her husband had watched it—in spurts. She said it got so bad that she had to stop it every so often so Bambi could go out on the porch for a few minutes. She said they were both sitting there blubbering through it. She said it got so bad it got to the hiccup stage. What you don’t understand is that Bambi is one of those “all man” kind of men. I’m not talking macho for that’s a whole different category. For him to be this effected by watching a movie, there was NO way I would ever watch it! Hey, do I look stupid?? …don’t answer that!

Those are more modern-day films. There’s an older, classic film that I watched a number of years ago just because I love period films and I also love the stories by the Bronte sisters. I’m referring to “Wuthering Heights” with Laurence Olivier. That movie falls into the ‘Never Again’ category.

Now, when I’m really sad and feel like crying—just to get the endorphins moving—then there ARE movies that I will watch. “Jane Eyre”—the old Orson Welles version—is one of them. The newer versions of the story are all good, in their own way, but my favorite version is still the Welles version.

Another in that group is “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” with Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. No matter how many times I watch that movie, it always calls for plenty of Kleenex.

I’ve never been a particular Bette Davis fan. Yes, I know that goes against the norm but it’s a fact. She did do one movie, however, that I absolutely love. “Now, Voyager” is a wonderful film and falls on my list of all-time favorites. Perhaps it’s because I identify with her character in the film, Charlotte Vale. I still cry at that movie, but I’ll never stop watching it. Wonderful film!


CHEESY MOVIES

I mentioned that the girls make fun of my taste in some movies. Well, the ones they have reference to are the cheesy movies that are shown every weekend on the SciFi channel. I refer, of course, to such treasures as “Python”, “Python 2”, “Frogs”, “Boa”, “Boa 2”, “Dark Waters”, “Deep Blue Sea”, “The Beast”, et al. It’s not that I don’t know that they’re cheesy, for I do. That’s part of their appeal. They’re like old friends, somehow. Oh, I forgot about the spider movies…like “Eight-Legged Freaks”, “Arachnophobia”, and those wonderful spider and ant movies from the 50’s.

Cheesy movies are very entertaining. You always know who’s going to get it. They have a sense of morality all their own. The movies from the 50’s are especially entertaining with their low-tech special effects. My grandkids could even watch those and laugh. What they’ll never realize is that when those movies were made, they WERE scary. Times were a lot different back then, low-tech or not.

There are some cheesefest movies that fall into their own Hall of Fame. People really laugh when I tell them that the “Tremors” series are probably my favorite SciFi movies. I first watched the original “Tremors” film after seeing a commentary about how it’s a spoof of the B-movies from the 50’s. It also has Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward in it—two of my favorites. What I didn’t realize when I first watched it is how much it would become a part of my life. Nor did I realize that I would come to appreciate the work of Michael Gross…an actor I knew very little of before watching the movie. I’ve never been a big sitcom fan so wasn’t familiar with his work.

On a side note, he makes an exquisite villain—to which his numerous roles on the Law & Order family can attest. My favorite role for him, however, is as Bert Gummer.

There have been four “Tremors” films. Hubby’s favorite is the last one that takes place in the old West. He likes the original, too, but is not a big fan of the other two. Personally, I like them all. I think if I had to pick a favorite from them, though, I’d have to go with the third one where Bert returns to Perfection only to be confronted with a new form of the Graboid…the Ass Blaster.

My eleven year-old granddaughter appreciates the “Tremors” series, too. In fact, we had a Tremorsfest one weekend and watched all four of the movies. I suppose there are some that will say that this bit of information is very revealing…to which I’ll say, “Bah! Humbug!!”

Next up in line would have to be the “Jaws” servies. There’s something very appealing about getting your wits scared out of you every time that mechanical shark jumps up out of the water. No matter how many times I watch those dumb movies, there’s always at least one place where I’ve forgotten that it’s going to happen and it scares me. There’s enough of a varied cast in each of the series to make them really interesting…and, of course, Richard Dreyfuss is in the first one.

Not to be forgotten, too, are the "Jurassic Park" movies or the "X-Men". "Spiderman" is okay but not my favorite, by any stretch. There's a new one coming out that I want to see, too, "Fantastic 4". Comic book movies usually make really great cheesy movies.

All this talking about cheesy movies has made me think. It’s been quite a while since I watched the “Men in Black” movies. I’m going to put them in and settle back in my chair.

Bus Trips

Bus trips are pretty relaxing—at least they can be. I’ve taken a few of them in my lifetime and they’ve all been different.

In 1978 I made one with 3.5 year-old Stink. Mouse and Hubby took the truck with our possessions but there wasn’t any room for us—it was a very small truck. Stink and I took the bus from Tucson, Arizona to Eugene, Oregon where Hubby picked us up. Oregon was our final destination even though we weren’t 100% sure exactly which town we’d wind up in. We thought it would be Astoria because we’d picked it out on the map. Hubby and I were really pretty adventuresome in those days. Turns out our happiest days were spent in Astoria.

Anyway, Stink and I made the trip. I was greatly prone to headaches in those days and that trip was no exception. Stink read her story books and colored her pictures while I dozed, on occasion, trying to get rid of one. I cringe when I think of that now. A parent would never be able to do that in these times. I think that trip took us two full days, but I’m not sure. Stink was always well-behaved and that trip was no exception.

In 1983, I had to go back to Illinois from Oregon because my father was desperately ill, or so I was told. That bus trip took four very long days. If I never ride across Wyoming again, I’ll be happy. My butt was dead for quite a while after that trip—just one way! I was in Illinois for a week or so—can’t remember, for sure—and then made the trip back, of course. A while after I got back, the whole family got a bonus shot from my bus trip—scabies! Don’t think that wasn’t fun… We know it was from the bus trip because there’s a three-week incubation on scabies. I don’t EVER want to go through that mess again…

Later in the eighties, I took a couple of other bus trips from Arkansas to New Mexico and those were really relaxing—especially from Roswell to Alamogordo. Not too many people made that leg of the trip.


OREGON TO ILLINOIS 1983

The trip in 1983 was particularly fun because the bus was packed and there was a screaming and crying kid on the bus virtually the whole trip. Don’t think there weren’t a number of people tempted to get up and throttle that kid. That probably helped make those four days especially long. Also, back in those days, smoking was allowed on the bus—but only in so many rows in the back. Now, explain to me how that benefits the nonsmokers! Anyone that has ever gone to a small restaurant with the two separate sections knows exactly what I’m talking about. The smoke drifts badly and the whole place might as well be smoking. One of the states that we went through, however, no smoking was allowed and that was great. Fortunately, it’s all nonsmoking now.

Another memorable thing from that trip were all the followers of the Bagwhan Shree Rajneesh who were making some sort of journey east. Everywhere you looked there were these people in orangish outfits…and I mean everywhere! Clothes that had, obviously, once been another color had been dyed this reddish-orange color to indicate that they were the Bagwhan’s followers. They had a settlement in Oregon, somewhere, and that’s probably why I saw so many of them.

One portion of the trip this big, burly fellow sat next to me. Like I said, the bus was packed. This fellow really made me uncomfortable. I’m not sure why. He never said or did anything to warrant that. I think it was just my radar picking up something. At one of the stops, I noticed this middle-aged woman who was crocheting. We got to talking and I wound up sitting with her after that.

She was doing a stitch I had never seen before and she explained to me how to do it. It looked so simple and I figured I’d remember how to do it. Unfortunately by the time I returned home, I had evidently forgotten something about it cause I could never duplicate it. I never forgot that lady and her crocheting and have thought of her often. Turns out, years later, I discovered what she was doing. It was the afghan stitch or Tunisian crochet…and it IS very simple. I have since made several things using it.

That was not a particularly pleasant trip—the bus or the visit. That, however, is a post for the Desi and Jojo side as it involves the Fosters.


ARKANSAS TO NEW MEXICO, LATE EIGHTIES

I think I remember that trip most for the regenerative qualities of it. I had been working a lot and had a lot of stress percolating in my life. I was more than tired…I was close to exhausted—mentally and physically. I remember taking a book on that trip. Yes, I read a bit on the bus, but I think I slept more. I had the sense to bring earplugs on that trip and used them. That was quite restful sleep. The bus engine and movement pretty much lulled me to sleep and kept me that way.

By the time we reached Roswell I was pretty much awake to appreciate the scenery. There’s not a whole lot out there but the landscape was quite beautiful. It helped, too, that the bus was largely empty. There wasn’t a whole lot of conversation going on and it was pretty quiet. I remember looking at all the rocky hillsides. That was probably my favorite bus trip. At least the time I was on the bus was great—the actual visit with the Fosters placed second.

Hubby had to laugh when I talked with him because I had actually eaten by myself at a fast food restaurant in Roswell. He said I must really have been hungry! I do better about eating alone than I did years ago. In the past, I have been known to ask if I could join total strangers because I can’t handle eating alone. In Roswell, it was a mother and her two kids that were traveling on the bus. It’s one of those quirky hang-ups that people get…



THIS COMING BUS TRIP

I’m really looking forward to this trip. Desi and I are just gonna veg and catch up. I’m packing a bunch of DVD’s to take along. She has good days and not so good days so we’re just going to play it by ear. Personally, I need the vacation and not doing much of anything is exactly what I need. It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to get together. Calls can be sporadic, sometimes, since we both react to our depression in similar ways. When we get quiet, then the other one knows that we’ve hit a bad patch and just have to work through it. I’m so thankful that she can understand that.

Things have changed regarding buses since I made my last trip. You used to be able to check your bag at the start of your journey
and pick it up at the end. Now, when you change buses you have to take care of your own bag. You pick it up at bus-side when you get off and take care of it until you get back on the next bus. I usually pack light, anyway, but I plan to be even lighter this time. Thank goodness for bags with handles and wheels!!

I have a nice one that I picked up a number of years ago when I had to make a lot of business trips to Indiana and seemed to spend a fair amount of time in airports. I worked for a different company then and had forgotten about the bag until Hubby said something about it recently. That’s when I realized that I was set for this trip. If it weren’t for those little wheels, I’d be sunk! Since I’m packing light, I hope there’s enough r00m in my bag for the DVD’s so I won’t have to carry them. I don’t like to have to carry a bunch of stuff, either. I do well to carry ME!

I don’t know what I’m going to take on this one to entertain myself. I may have a paperback around here or I may take a ball of crochet thread and work on a doily. It’s not a real long trip and a good portion of it will be at night and I’ll sleep. I’ve also got my crossword book to take. Well, I guess I should be set, then… I should probably start packing this weekend and then I can just keep adding to it til I leave—that should relieve some of the pre-trip anxiety. Good idea! I think I’ll get started…