Speaking of movies

The weather forecasters had us all scared: icy roads, black ice, stay at home. We shake and quake when we hear that. So everyone runs out to get their supplies.

I make a huge pot of vegetable soup w/five large scallops - cut-up - and eat two bowls at a time, Ruth of the enormous appetite.

The I head for the Abington Free Library to check out DVDS. First I go into the office to say hello to Karen Burnham, tell her I've missed their wonderful programs cuz I've been down with sciatica, and ask her to share my Compass with the library director.

Karen asks if I wanna write a note along w/it. Sure, I say, and, like all library workers and like myself, hands me the back of something to write the note on.

I print out something like, If you ever change your mind, I'd be happy to do a program on bipolar disorder. (I've got 2 scheduled for later this year.)

Now the fun part. Choosing five DVDS. You get a week for each. Late fee will bankrupt you.

Lucky for me, Dennis, a young library page, is shelving DVDS into the bin.

We start talking about movies. Since he's young he has a different perspective than I do. He makes suggestions, all of which I follow.

Let There be Blood (2007) with Daniel Day Lewis as the ruthless oil driller whose vitriol comes spewing out the harder the oil does. Difficult to watch b/c of his brutality, it was hard for me to believe that this was an actor, so lifelike was Lewis.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) This British/American antiwar film about The Great War, the war to end all wars, predates the more famous remake starring Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine. Well-acted and obviously propagandalike w/schoolmasters urging their students to be brave and fight for their country, it is nonetheless an eloquent well-acted film about the horrors of war. Lew Ayres resembles Charlie Sheen. "Oh mother, you still think I'm a child," he says after she leaves his room. "Why can't I put my head in your lap and cry."

Dennis from the library picked out a Star Trek film for me, one that shows how all the main characters met each other. We'll watch that later today after I get home from our group's Sunday Excursions, this time to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Here's a thought about my relationship w/Scott. There are two ways of communicating: perfunctory conversations, such as, "When you go shopping, would you mind buying me some nutritional yeast for the popcorn?" or deeper conversations when we talk about deeply personal things between us. Mostly this would be our feelings for the animals that surround us - Scott, in the middle of the nite, saw coming to his birdfeeder: a skunk, six deer, and a fox who trotted slowly across the street.

Only then can I glimpse who Scott really is.

Other movies I got are Bourne Ultimatum, something I've heard of but know nothing about and I forget what else. I no longer check out subtitled films. Scott hates em and neither of us can read fast enough.

Oh, nearly forgot. We saw the Coen Brothers' movie Fargo. And then we listened to the commentary at the end. They actually had to use a snow machine cuz it refused to snow in Minnesota when they were making the film. The Brothers are someone you feel you know or who come to New Directions' meetings. Fiercely independent they've climbed into the bigtime without compromising their values. They have total control of their films.

In preparation of my April 1 transplant, I emailed the Barbara Walters Special "A Matter of Life and Death" to a few friends. Barbara interviews celebrities like herself who have had open-heart surgery. It's a tough operation. Watch the show here. A kidney transplant isn't sposed to be that difficult tho my first cousin Ray Sewell who just had one has had minor complications.

I expect the whole thing to run very smooth. I'm extremely optimistic. And, as Barbara Walters said, If you die during surgery, you don't even know it. She had her will remade and her daughter was with her.

I made my will out after my former boyfriend Simon died. I used his attorney.

Be prepared is my motto. Which reminds me that Girl Scout cookies are on sale. When I went to Hatboro they had a table set up near the post office. I stopped to chat with them a few moments - remember, I've been locked up in the house for 3 mos w/sciatica - so I'm like a horse out of the starting gate.

At Dan's house I had five Peanut Butter Patties, formerly called Tag-alongs, which are the best ones ever. The first article I ever got into a major Philly newspaper was one I did about Girl Scout cookies. Typed it on my Selectric I kept in my dining room.

Well, I just could not get those peanut butter patties out of my mind. When I'm bad, I'm very very bad. So when I got home I took out my frozen homemade brownies and ate three thick bars before the hour was up.

This Goggle Blogger thing I type on is having trouble. Once I log off, it takes five minutes to log back on. Maybe everyone's blogging at once...about the Superbowl.

One thing about Fargo. Even tho it takes place in the middle of America, a freezing cold America, it's real America. Take a look at the kitchen, at the cabinets. This is how we're known throughout the world. For our kitchens. And our bedrooms with the fluffy pillows and blankets. And our fancy cars. The Coen Brothers have captured what it is to be an American. And the happy couple who live in that home, even tho Frances McDormand happens to be the chief of police. She and her husband love each other - if you wanna know what a good marriage is - simply watch the two of them. They're always looking out for the welfare of each other. They also have the American love of junk food. Arby's. My god. I forgot all about Arby's. Arby's and peanut butter patties. My my my.