Alligators

First Ever Letter from the BRS

This will be just a quick post today because I’m surrounded by alligators up to what we used to call my “4^th point of contact” during my paratrooper days. While this has had the medical effects for you readers of not having to endure more of my incessant prattling, this week has gone a long way in convincing me that retirement is not as heinous a foe as I previously thought. I can firmly declare I am one year out from doing just that. As tough as the week has been it was nice to receive our first ever letter from the BRS, although I’m thinking her parents helped her out a wee bit.

Cantankerous Friend's Parents - Together Again

Some sad though not unexpected news last night as we learned Cantankerous Friend’s father passed away Monday night after a long battle with declining health. One of the curses of getting old is watching the icons of youth leave the landscape. His dad was one of the last vestiges of probably the happiest times of my early years before my parents divorced and we used to take joint vacations together with Cantankerous Friend’s family, usually to York Beach, Maine. I still fondly remember those times and his dad was a larger than life figure at the center of it. He would dominate a room with an infectious laugh and soon had all of the kids marching to his tune. He worked hard his entire life and even took me out once with him on his bread route through southern Vermont. I know my friend is hurting right now having lost both of his beloved parents so please send him some kind thoughts and prayers when you get a chance.

I went to see the latest feminization of cinema worlds last night with Ocean’s Eight. Sandra Bullock plays Clooney’s sister and embarks on an intricate diamond heist with a gang of high powered, female accomplices. There was some serious acting talent on display and they all meshed perfectly with the serial infusions of humor throughout. Bullock is serene as the gang leader and Ann Hathaway is a delight. It’s a little less suave than the Vegas setting of the earlier Ocean’s settings but that’s a good thing. Each actress gets a chance to shine and there are the obligatory surprises in the last act that makes the story enjoyable. In the end a very smooth and elegant, and decidedly female, take on the heist flick that works very well due to the talent employed.