Movie day as a reward for finishing Compass

Mark called and said he was bored and lonely. Me too, I said. How bout if I come over and we'll watch one of my library DVDs.

First I stopped at the Giant and bought myself a huge salad complete with cottage cheese, watermelon, strawberries, chicken strips, and the usual lettuces and cucumbers and grated carrots. I slathered it with thick raspberry vinaigrette dressing and some greasy oil they had.

I got to sit in Terry's chair as Mark put on the 2004 British movie "Vera Drake."

I know what it's about, I said to Mark, cuz I read the liner notes but I'm not gonna tell you. It'll be a surprise.

The movie proceeds. It's astonishingly well-acted. Someone named Imelda Staunton plays the title role.

Dowdy, I comment when she comes on stage.

Yes, he says.

I wonder if I myself am dowdy but say nothing. I think I'm too young to be dowdy.

One of Mark's cats strolls by. "Who's this beauty?" I ask.

"He's Baby," says Mark.

I watch Baby sway across the room. He's huge and fat, sort of like my son's Xena, who alas is in squirrel heaven, as Stephen might say.

The movie is so interesting that I daren't move, so well-acted, so real. Mark is really into it, too, and marvels about the realistic period furnishings and dress. It takes place shortly after WW2.

Slowly we shift from animated domestic scenes into other worlds where we ascend along with Vera Drake the rather bleak stairways of people's homes where young women wait for her in their bedrooms. Vera brings a small suitcase with her, filled with the proper equipment to get them back to normal.

No shit! cries Mark. Is she gonna perform abortions?

Yep, I say.

The acting is so remarkable you can't for one single moment tear yourself away from Vera's performance.

They're all good, all the actors. Of course the minute I get home I goggle all their names as if I could preserve forever the wonder of being in that movie, for, yes, that's exactly how you feel, that like it or not you are right there in the same room for two intense anguished hours participating! Such is the power of this film.