And Then There Were None - Mission Complete

I’m finally at loose ends. My four-year A-Z march through my movie library concluded last night when I watched the last one – Zulu. I started on the quest to watch every movie I own and separate the wheat from the chaff on 1 July 2022. The four years is a bit deceiving since there were four three-month breaks from the watch for the time I spent each year on the beach in Panama. So really, it took me three years. Still, it became a major effort and a bit of a pain in the ass, because it kept me from doing other, possibly more productive pursuits (that would be my Favorite Panamanian’s heartfelt opinion at least).

Part of my Library Behind Me

I’m a self-confessed movie nut, hence the burgeoning library. It had gotten out of hand with no room on the shelves as I continued to add, almost maniacally to the number of movies I own. I realized two things in 2022: 1. At my age, time was slipping away see all the movies I own. 2. There were a lot of movies I owned that I didn’t like. That set me on the path I concluded last night. I’m more than a little obsessive when it comes to completing tasks once I start out on them (I blame the Army for that). It turned into a labor of love as I relived all the adventure, romance, and action from movies I was right in purchasing. I also upgraded some beloved movies from mere DVD to 4K nobility.

The Discards

There was the corollary pain of wondering why I found myself in possession of some. That included Keene Friend’s annual Christmas attempt to compromise my sanity by gifting me treacherously bad movies. I’ll never forgive him for War and Peace (eight friggin hours of listening to Russian with English subtitles – time I’ll never get back). There was also Mother, Juggs, and Speed, The Grousers, and the Black Six amongst others. You get the picture; he’s a closet sadist.

Exempt Shelves

I ended up removing 75 movies from the library. A smarter man than I would have kept track of this as I went through it. Yesterday I was forced to scan through four years of Frail Deeds posts to make the count (that was some sneaky fun as I wandered through the attendant family memories chronicled during those four years). The ejected movies rest in a stack of Coors Lite boxes (had a bunch of those – go figure) in a corner of the Man Cave. I’ll have to figure out what to do with them. There is now ample space on the shelves for new movies but this process has made me a more discerning customer when it comes to actually buying a movie. So, it should take more time than I have left to overburden the storage capacity again, depending on how my personal gremlin, Keene Friend, inflicts in future Christmases.

Rest of the Exempts and TV Series

Now that I’m freed from this march, I may actually be able to watch some of the shows and movies recommended by friends and family. As a cautionary note, this watch did not include all the movies I own. There are several shelves containing series of exempt movies that are beyond doubting their continued presence, they were not subjected to the winnowing. This includes the Marvel and DCU films, the Star Trek and Star Wars movies, as well all the James Bond flicks. Outside of movies, I have the HBO series, Game of Thrones and, Rome, which are staring me in the face. The entire Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Combat!, House, and Entourage are also there and I won’t begin to describe the content I have from the 2004 Red Sox. So, there is a good chance my time in the Man Cave is not over, it’s become something more than that during this process, but, it is over!!!!!

The A-Z watch concluded with one movie, a keeper: Zulu – groundbreaking 1964 epic about the defense of Rorke’s Drift by the 24^th Regiment of Foot, Michael Caine’s first role and one of the best movies ever, gives Zulus recognition for their courage and honor as well.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete – my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course