Mocking Day

I finally had a date for date night last evening and we took in the latest and blessedly last film of the Hunger Games series. This ode to teenaged angst was supremely well made and Jennifer Lawrence will elevate anything she’s in well above the mundane. This final movie strays just enough from the literary source material to keep some suspense for those who read the books. The anti-war message is as subtle as a thermo-nuclear weapon and the resulting somber feel keeps the movie from soaring.

Katniss and her merry band of sycophants launch the final assault on Donald Sutherland’s capitol and the military guy in me was struggling with the inept planning involved from both sides. This however allows them to introduce the devices of the capitol’s game designers which, while deadly, did lend the needed action around the near constant hand wringing. Katniss ends up in the same heart wrenching final battle as the literal “girl on fire” with enough of a twist thrown in. Entirely too funereal to embrace totally but still a well-executed and satisfying conclusion to the Hunger Games.

What Must Have Happened

I was charging around yesterday running the normal Tuesday errands when movies are released for sale. I had a Best Buy gift card provided by my favorite son burning a hole in my pocket. Before that hedonistic turn I had to secure our Christmas turkey. I know everyone just assumed I just confused holidays, what with tomorrow being what it is and all. I learned a while ago that to secure the really big bird you have to buy around Thanksgiving because the pickings in December are decidedly less in terms of size and the Christmas bird has to be huge. A big surprise ensued when I discovered there’s been some sort of turkey epidemic and the prices have skyrocketed. The selected bird was over $40 but a combination of store card and a handy coupon, provided by the management company I work, for lowered down to under $7, after I talked the well-meaning but clueless product of our high school education system through entering it. Even my wife, no mean judge of shopping acumen, was impressed.

Last Year Today Was a Lot More Fun

Today’s a little bittersweet. This is the first time in many years that I don’t have to hit the road on this worst of all traffic days. While one would think that would be ample cause for celebration, it’s not, because those earlier forays into the maelstrom of pre-Thanksgiving gridlock were always undertaken to retrieve one of my “kids” joining us for turkey day. The First Blog Reader, despite her singular excellence, is not old enough to travel yet so my daughter and Wingman are imprisoned on the Wrong Coast. We won’t see the favorite son and ABFA until Thursday due to in-law fairness rules.

The upside is I get to spend tomorrow with my father’s family up in New Hampshire, a tradition rapidly coming up on a century. As I’ve said before, “There’s just something special about cousins”, and I’m blessed with some of the very best so the prospect of spending time with them can lift any gloom. Well, that the accompanying pictures of my granddaughter!

Taking Charge in the Car Ride to the Doctor's Office

You see what I did there? You thought you were going to escape today’s posting with no granddaughter bragging. You obviously don’t know me very well. She had her first doctor’s appointment yesterday and was pronounced “perfect” – the doctor’s words – not mine (although I do ascribe to the theory and am impressed with the pediatrician’s perspicacity). You will, of course, be forced to endure yet more pictures of perfection in human form.

Dad - That Was Exhausting