Movie Ambush

Butterfield and Moretz

My wife and I have set aside Tuesday night as our weekly “date night”.  We spend that evening with each other; usually at the movies (my wife is really cool).  Last night I was confronted with something of a quandary.  I had seen all of the movies at the local theater that I considered worth seeing.  I hadn’t heard very much about “Hugo” and what I had heard, for the most part, I had forgotten.  We decided to take a chance and check it out.  I wasn't expecting much but I was almost immediately transported to Paris between the wars by the incredible texture of this movie and some truly astounding camera shots.  The special effects were amazing but not “in your face” as with so many of today’s movies.  The hero is an orphan who winds clocks hiding out at the train station while repairing mechanical toys.  The cast was truly interesting with the always great Ben Kingsely but the two young stars of the movie, Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz, were the best part.  I’ve loved Moretz in everything she’s done, especially as Hit Girl in the movie Kick Ass and Butterfield was every bit as good.  I think we’ll be hearing great things about these two for many years to come.  There are some established actors in very small roles which is something I love.  Even Sacha Baron Choen, whom I usually don’t like, is under control as a semi-villain, and against all odds actually shows some nuance.  The funniest part was that after the movie as I walked into the atrium of the theater I glanced at the movie’s poster and realized for the first time that it was a Martin Scorsese movie.   This whimsical fare was completely out of his normal routine, but he hit a home run with this great movie which has a lot of heart. Any true lover of cinema, as Scorsese certainly is, will appreciate this movie because it ends up being an ode to the love of movies, in this case during the birth of cinema.  Sometimes ambushes end up well, go see Hugo.

A Less Cluttered Life

I have never been what anyone would describe as a “neat freak”.  I can be down right sloppy if left to my own devices.  Strangely, I married someone who is the polar opposite of that inclination and surprisingly I am happier because of that.  My wife abhors any kind of disorder in the house.  She is so adamant about it that at one point it actually threatened our marriage because I felt having the house spotless was more important to her than the happiness of the family was.  She learned to tone down her out right fanaticism on the subject but I know it still pulls at the edges of her self respect to have any disorder in the house.  I was raised in a house where my mother was strict about cleaning up after ourselves (4 kids will do that to you).  Later in her life, when all the kids had left, she allowed herself to accumulate an immense amount of “stuff”.  This was due in part to her addiction to yard sales, she just loved to shop and often found “such a bargain” that she had to have it.  I became very frustrated whenever I visited because, as a fairly large guy, I had real difficulty moving through the house without knocking anything over.  In passing through the main hall I actually had to turn sideways to get through.  Add to this equation two young and energetic kids and you get frustration central.  Near the end of my mother’s life I actually cut short visits because I was felt so constrained in a house I used to adore.  I think that experience taught me greater tolerance for my wife’s very opposite approach.  I enjoy coming home to a very clean house uncluttered and easily negotiated.  Of course this means anything left lying around, even if you’re going to need it very soon, will end up put away for safekeeping.  My wife can rarely recall where the object is safely keeping because she is often doing three or four things at once when she does this.  Despite the tension this type event and my own natural sloppiness sometimes engenders between us I really do appreciate the home my wife has created for us. 

Weekend Plus

I sit here Sunday night thinking back on a great weekend, plus.  I’ve already written about Thanksgiving but Friday night was every bit as enjoyable as we journeyed down to Rhode Island to join my sister and her great in laws for what has become a very entertaining tradition.  Since my sister is a nurse she usually has to work on Thanksgiving and we started having a second Thanksgiving dinner at her place.  The best part though is later in the evening when her in laws, a very close knit family, join us for an evening of companionship.  We were joined this year by my best friend, my son and her girlfriend.  The night lived up to its reputation which is hard to do.  I love the opportunity to sit around a table with good people and just share stories and enjoy being with each other.  Luckily, I married my designated driver and she got us home safe.  Yesterday our companions sadly departed and my wife and I set out to buy a Christmas tree.  We have a large cathedral ceiling in the family room and we bought our usual very tall tree.  Since it was an uncommonly warm day my wife decided we should play musical plants in the yard before we put up the tree.  She thought some plants were too tall for their location in her gardens and so I was charged with digging them up and replanting them in new locations.  This encompassed removing a fairly large area of turf which was mildly back breaking.  Once the plants were relocated it was on to the tree which was a true adventure, they always look smaller outside.  Today was spent recovering from the parties and the forced labor, I’ve found I cannot do as much physically as I used to.  The NFL came to the rescue and I enjoyed watching the Patriots dominate.  When you look so forward to a weekend it sometimes falls short but that didn’t happen this time.  I really missed having my daughter around but my son made up for that to a great degree.  He’s turned into a fine young man and just having him around lifts my spirits.  He is so far ahead of where I was at his age and a constant source of pride and just fun to be around.

Thanksgiving Thanks

This Year's Game

We had the best day yesterday as we once again traveled up to New Hampshire to spend turkey day with my cousins from my father’s family.  It was a tradition started by my father’s family.  They were a close-knit group of 8 brothers and sisters, members of the greatest generation, who started this tradition just before World War 2, initially at my grandparents’ home and then moving to the oldest sister’s house in Massachusetts (where I and my kids first went) and now at her daughter’s home in New Hampshire.  My father was the youngest of the brood and was, of course spoiled rotten, and we were always the youngest of the assembled cousins but it was one of the defining events of my childhood and instilled an appreciation of family that I hoped I have passed on to my own kids.  I can remember not wanting the day to end because this was usually the only time of the year that I saw those incredible aunts, uncles, and older cousins that I absolutely worshipped.  Yesterday was the same although I am now older than those beloved aunts and uncles from what I refer to as the Golden Age, kind of a startling thought.  The football game takes place no matter what the weather is.  It is kind of measure of age as the aunts and uncles gradually bowed out and now most of the cousins.  There were only three participants from my generation of cousins.  I am going to hang on to the game as long as I can and rely on the almost magical effects of ibuprofen.  I wish my daughter and son in law were present yesterday but they had obligations to his family that I have to respect if I am honest in my belief of the importance of family.  I am so thankful for days like yesterday but I am most thankful for my family.

Thankfully Non Traveling

Today is the day before Thanksgiving and a day I used to dread when I was in the military.  I absolutely love going to Thanksgiving dinner with my father's family in New England.  Its a tradition that dates back to before World War II and now includes a sixth generation of the family.  This is usually the only time in the year that we see most of the family but as I have stated before, "there's something special about cousins".  There is also a family football game that is long on fun and short on rules which at times gets incredibly creative.  This is my next to favorite day of the year as nothing will ever replace Christmas for me.  So saying all this why did I dread this day so much?  The driving from the far flung outposts I was stationed to this gathering was brutal.  This is generally acknowledged as the worst day of the year to be on the roads and I was on them every year.  I admire and love my wife and kids for putting up with those stultifying trips; I think they realized how important it was for me to be at those dinners.  A few years ago my mother died on the day before Thanksgiving so I do not have a lot of "good" feeling about this day.  Since I've retired from the military I don't have to travel on this day and it's something I am so thankful for, if for no other reason than I don't have to pass through Connecticut, which is a kind of personal driving pugatory.  Looking back, as painful as those drives were, the feeling of being around family and sharing that bond was more than worth the pain.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody and my understanding for the pain of those who have to travel today and tonight.

Strange Interlude

This is kind of a strange time for me.  I’ve never gone back to the same place I have worked before.  While in the military I changed jobs regularly, almost like clockwork every 2-3 years, but never back at the same place and the people always changed anyways.  Now I find myself back in the same office that I sat in three years ago.  Most of the people are the same and I really like working with them – that is, in fact, the biggest reason for returning.  It’s still really strange though on some levels.  I am reacquainting myself with all the systems and hoping not to confuse them with the similar but different systems from my old job.  I want to be immediately relevant and launch myself in my duties but I have to relearn some things and that is frustrating.  When I left here I was the “go to guy” but now I am in most respects, “the new guy”.  At the same time, it has only been two days – maybe I ought to give myself a break – sorry – not in the cards.  I love a challenge though and that is how I’m going to pursue this.  It just feels weird to walk into the same office and sit at the same desk after three years have passed.  I’m always talking about going home – well employment wise – I’m there. 

First Day Back Home Again

Today was my first day back at a job I left three years ago.  I’ve written earlier concerning the reasons I made this decision.  I started enjoying the day when I spent less than half the time commuting to work.  It only got better after that.  Apparently I am remembered fondly here by a number of people.  I spent the day acquainting myself with the changes over the last three years and throughout the day a large number of people stopped by and told me how thrilled they were to have me back.  One even baked me a bunch of chocolate chip cookies and remembered that I didn’t like having nuts in them.  Those who know me know that my ego does not need any help whatsoever but this was good day.  I had a real feeling of coming home and I am looking forward to the challenges of this new job because it’s with a bunch of people I like and respect.  I even found out who stole the refrigerator out of my office and its coming back tomorrow.  I think I’m going to have to swim twice as far tonight due to all the cookies I’ve eaten today, at least I’ll be buoyed by this feeling of contentment.