A very fun evening

I probably sighed, many years ago, when, in my college Great Directors film class, I heard that we were going to watch Stagecoach.  I am not a great fan of Western’s, I assure you.  But this wonderful John Ford movie was so much more than a Western.  It was really all about personal relationships, hypocrisy, snobbery, and the true self coming out in a tough situation.  With the exception of the obligatory Apache attack and last minute rescue by the thundering Calvary, it could have happened on the Orient Express.  Well, I guess it couldn’t have, because the very diverse folks travelling in the cramped stagecoach would have been in very different sections of the train, rather than confined in one small space.  The seeming good guys were a banker, (“What’s good for banks is good for America,” he says) fleeing with the bank’s funds; a Southern “gentleman” – really a suave gambler with some implied disreputable background; an Eastern lady travelling to meet her Calvary officer husband in the Wild West; and a sweet little whiskey salesman.  The seeming bad guys were escaped convict John Wayne in his first big role - we know he couldn’t be really bad because he was John Wayne after all, a prostitute with a heart of gold, and a drunken doctor (played by the wonderful Thomas Mitchell) who samples up all Mr. Peacock’s whiskey samples. The fallen woman and the doctor are on the coach because they have been driven out of town by the Ladies’ Law and Order League, the most prominent of whom is the banker’s wife.   The interactions of these diverse characters forms the grist of this wonderful movie.

I loved this movie because it is a fabulous movie, but also because John Carradine, playing the suave gambler, reminded me so much of my then husband Dennis, both in looks and mannerisms.  (I have to confess that Rudolph Valentino also reminds me of him.  He was quite the guy!)  So watching this film, was in several ways, a flashback to my youth.  

Most of the folks with whom I usually watch movies were not terribly interested in seeing Stagecoach – and I must admit that I probably would not have been that interested either, if I didn’t know what a marvelous film it was – but I knew that Dakki would be enthusiastic.  She knows a good movie when she sees one.  Plus, she is an avowed John Wayne fan, and will be happy to tell you about driving him in her taxicab, him  being a very pleasant fellow, and giving her a big tip.  So, finishing up a day of cleaning up Christmas and other debris, I called her up to have a tomato soup and poached egg dinner and watch a fun movie.  We had a very good time.

A busy day

Aaaaahhh!! Ecstasy! I have been going full throttle for four days, and I am done in. How wonderful to flop into bed with a nice cup of tea! On Thursday, Rebecca had many knitting needs which had to be shopped for, and I had a few needs myself, so we spent the day going from place to place until it was time to go to the Family Kitchen, and then to choir practice. Friday I worked and it was pretty hideous. Given that I have had a long string of nice work days, this was to be expected eventually. It was definitely my turn for a bad night. Saturday we were fixing dinner for the Aunties. Early on, Auntie Pauline called to say that Auntie Dakki was in the hospital! (Not to worry – she is OK, at least that is what she says, and I hope she is right.) So we debated what to do, and decided to have just the one auntie, and ask Julie to replace Dakki. Julie felt that this was an impossible demand but she agreed to give it her best. At the crack of dawn I drove to Becca’s to pick up her and her food bundles, bags, and boxes. We brought them in and laid everything out on the table. “Oh, no!” she moaned. “I forgot the ……..!” (I didn’t take in what it was she forgot.) So we hopped in the car, went back to her house and got the missing item. A short ways into the cooking, “We have to go to the store,” she said. “I forgot the (something or other).” So off we went again. We got home, and I was writing an email to a friend about going to the library when I suddenly realized that I needed to go to the library that very day or my requests would return to circulation! So off I went. As soon as I got back with my books, to my dismay I heard, “I don’t have any chilies. I thought you would have them.” Now there is one thing she could be sure I would not have, and that is chilies. I avoid them assiduously. So we went to the store again and got the chilies, and also the cat food which I had forgotten on the previous fourteen trips to the store. By this time, our guests were nearly due. Some frantic cooking was happening even as they arrived. Then, as I was getting a big ceramic soup tureen off a high shelf, to my horror, I saw the lid go gliding, in seeming slow motion, toward the counter and heard the terrible crash. Everyone marveled that I took this disasterlet so calmly, but by this time, I was inured. Plus, I was so relieved that only the lid broke without taking five other more precious things (like for instance, the stove top) with it. After this horrific day, the dinner was delicious – it was Chinese food with hom baos and vegetarian tripe (!!!!!). Then out again into the night to pick up Dakki’s car at the hospital! (Did I mention that on one of these outings, we visited poor Dakki?) We delivered Rebecca’s things at her house, and then Julie drove us to Dakki’s car, which is so eccentric that I am afraid to drive it in the daylight, but at night….. Well – then it’s really scary. We made it home and then I drove Becca back to her house and came home and did the dishes. Many, many dishes. Are you exhausted just reading about it? I am.
Today, we went to church, sang, visited Dakki, went to the opera – La Traviata! So wonderful. Towards the end, everyone around me seemed to be having bad allergies. There were a lot of sniffles. The opera was fabulous. A wonderful end to a Very Busy Weekend. But not quite the end. Back to visit Dakki, and then finally home to bed. Just like Samuel Pepys.
You can read Rebecca’s version of the day here.

A stressful day

I am totally knackered. Last evening at work, I got one phone call after another. The pharmacy, the doctors, the Kidney Center, the creepy respiratory therapist (most of them are saving angels, and very nice- but this one…. Grrrrr!) Then, at midnight, when I was heading for my coat and home, I heard, “Joanna, you have another phone call.” I asked who it was, and she said, “A woman.” Well, that eliminated 50% of the population. It was another nursing unit calling to tell me that my aunt had been admitted. Horror struck, I scuttled up there, to find her grumbling in her bed. The ambulance folk were still in the hall with their gurney (or “trolley” as Colin would say.) " You must be the niece,” they said. “She’s been waiting for you.” She was mad that she was there. They didn’t know anything. Why couldn’t she get something to eat. What was the matter with this bed. Why did she have to wear this monitor. How did they expect her to sleep. Why did they have to give her a CT scan when she just had one last week (for something unrelated and on another part of her body, as I pointed out.) They thought she was having a stroke. She wasn’t having a stroke. What was the matter with them. She knew more about it than they did. A low-salt diet!! Blech! What did they think she was! They just went through the same things every time she went. Look at this cheap toilet paper! What sort of joint is this! She was just going to leave! What was the matter with them. Etc., etc., etc. I was relieved, and could tell that she was feeling fine. In the morning, seemingly a few minutes after I got to sleep, she called me to tell me to come to get her. I said in an hour or two after I get some sleep. I turned the message machine down, I thought, but actually, I had turned it up. I just drifted off when my other aunt called. I told her about the complaining, and I think she was glad she hadn’t been there. She told me about a vacation to Hawaii that she had taken Dakki on, and Dakki had complained the whole time about every single thing. Aunt Pauline thought, “Never again!” Then later, she heard Dakki regaling someone with tales of their fabulous vacation and the wonderful time she had. Mystified, Pauline decided that grumbling must have been part an essential part of the fun.
Update: Dakki is doing fine, full of vim and vinegar.