Here’s One For The Ages! Or, The Princess & The Bear

Once upon a time, there was born a handsome young bear.

He enjoyed short shorts, waterparks, going skins, 80s music, preppy clothes, occasional merengue, freedom, the free market, and a strong civil society.  Occasionally, when he really wanted to get in touch with blue-collar middle America, he would leave his limousine liberal neighborhood and venture into a different part of Alexandria. . . and that’s where, one day in January 2007, he discovered Nick’s Night Club.

Then there was a moment.  Something in the universe shifted.  The stars aligned, and through some secret and un-duplicatable combination of George Strait, plaid shirts, birthday wishes for Cappy, and certainly corona, he decided it would be OK to ask a young and impressionable intern if she had any reservations about dating someone from the office.

Are you catching on??

Let’s take it from another angle.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess.

the baby princess

She grew up loving cheese, climbing trees, and carrying a denim purse wherever she went in the second grade, until she got to the third grade and became a huge tomboy.  No more pink underwear, PLEASE!

But that’s neither here nor there.

This princess got to Nick’s Night Club, and, as a relative newcomer to the DC metro area, hoped for a little something to remind her of her home in the hills of Tennessee.   But what did she find?  Hostile New Yorkers, posing as friendly normal country linedancers.  She knew something was amiss when the mysterious, tall, dark, plaid shirt-wearing fellow lied about his age and wouldn’t give her a straight answer on anything.

Perhaps she should’ve moved on to another cowboy that night. . . but she had a strange feeling in her stomach (not the corona!). . . something that told her she needed to investigate further.

Flash forward:

November 15, 2008

We have a bear who still enjoys going shirtless in public, but usually confines it to the soccer field, and a princess who’s found her knight-bear in shining armor.

And they lived happily ever after!

That is, happily for the first year.

And it has been a great year. . . even though at the rehearsal dinner, he claimed he was a better cook.  Which is false.  Fortunately I (the princess) am not bitter and am above such pettiness.  It must be so easy being married to me!

I love you, Israel-bear!

I learned to crack eggs from watching Sabrina.

I had that thought the other day while I was cooking. (“One, two, three, crack!  New egg.”) . . . and then it reminded me of when my grandmother Mamacella, Mom, and I watched the remake of Sabrina in the theatre.  Julia Ormond’s hair is so 90’s!  Let’s just say it won’t prove to be as timeless as Audrey Hepburn’s.  Though the new version is good, nothing compares to the original of course.  Anyway, as we sat in the audience watching 1994 Sabrina make out with her Paris boyfriend, Mamacella leaned over and whispered to fourth-grade me, “Now don’t you do that!”

I said, “OK,” and then she started giggling.  I don’t know why that’s such a vivid memory.

But back to the thought– I remember Sabrina and the French chef every time I crack an egg to make brownies, and I feel grateful, especially to Mom, for allowing us to be carried away in stories when we were young.  Not just movies, either (though John watched Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines every day one summer, I’m pretty sure), but books– oh, the books.  The Great Brain series, Mary Poppins, the Little House series, Narnia. . . those were the worlds to which I traveled as a child.  And certainly the ability to mentally and emotionally travel like that is something that’s valuable as an adult; helping one imagine what’s possible (now called “strategic thinking”), what type of world you’d like to live in, what kind of environment you want to create for yourself.

Beyond that, it’s easy for me to embrace the idea that I am part of a greater story; and a grand one.  It’s OK now that I’m not the main character.  But processing and living all those stories. . .  it gave me a framework to process life.  I know there will be conflict (crucial to the story!), there will be character development, and ultimately there’s going to be resolution.

As a little girl I squeezed my eyes tight and prayed that there would be a world like Narnia that I could go to, that I could open a closet door and be there.  Of course, it didn’t happen for me like that.  And even though I am not in fact Jo March from Little Women or Sacagawea the Indian Guide, or Christy teaching mountain children to read and write in a one-room schoolhouse, I want to be bold like they were.  And I want the story to end well.  It’s got to!

So, even as an adult, it’s not silly to pray now.  It’s not silly to enjoy what’s beautiful and hope for what’s good, and hope, knowing, that what’s good has got to win in the end.

Goodbye forever.

I’m emerging from all banquet all the time– back into the land of the living!

Now I have to catch up on what’s been missed.  People have gotten engaged; things have happened in the news; Halloween evites have gone unanswered; apparently on Grey’s Anatomy there was a fire, and there are people running around in yellow scrubs. . . what’s that all about?

The event went well, though I’d rather not think about the details of it any more for about five hundred years.  I hope to be sleeping normally without dreams of auction items any day now.

I’ll say though, that as miserable as I felt at points in handling all this planning, it’s a privilege to work for a place like Little Lights.  My stress and frustration are nothing compared to some of the things that the LL kids deal with daily, and at such a young age.  A racing mind over a banquet is OK if it’ll help our kids have less stress and more smiles in their days.

October already?

So, this is the closest I got to my Anne of Green Gables fantasies on our cruise to Canada (other pictures here).  We were in Nova Scotia, not quite to Prince Edward Island.  So close, yet so far!

The past two months have been transitional for me, as I started a new job at Little Lights Urban Ministries.  It’s a great organization that works with kids in public housing in DC.   The big thing that has been consuming my time is a fundraising banquet and silent auction coming up later in October.  (You should attend!)  Hopefully I will not auction off my soul before it’s all over, and through all the stinking details we’ll remember that “it’s for the kids!” –as a coworker in one of my old internships used to say.  He was making fun of liberals though.

So that explains the bloggy hiatus, and twitter too.  (Ha!)

That’s not all that’s been going on though– I’ve started my Rosetta Stone Spanish lessons!  This is a huge victory.  I can now say, “El perro esta comiendo” (the dog is eating) with complete confidence if I happen upon two people at a campsite while I’m on a hike, and they ask me what the dog is doing.  (This is a real Rosetta Stone example!)

Also, we started watching Mad Men.  Also, we got rid of cable!  It’s almost as big as the time Eliza Joy got her first pair of designer jeans.  Or when I finally got wise and abandoned my purple huffy bike.  It’s probably still sitting, rusty, on a bike rack by New Cabell Hall.

So, my summer reading was completed with Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child, with Alex Prud’homme. Mom sent them to me after we both saw the movie (albeit 14 hours away from each other– sad face!).   ML and MJ (Mom and I) agree that Julia Child and her story are a lot more likeable than Julie Powell’s.  In Mom’s words, “This girl’s grandmother should’ve taught her mother better!”  However, without Julie Powell, her blog, and the subsequent movie, we probably wouldn’t have picked up Julia Child’s memoirs.  Julia strikes me as such a positive person, but not in the annoying way you might expect.  The book is peppered with her exclamations, like “Wow!” and “It was a triumph!”  Of course, Meryl Streep is fantastic, per usual, as Julia in the movie.

Both Julie P. and Julia C. become more aware of themselves through their experiences, as they take on a project or a goal that each one assigned to herself.  That’s something to be admired.  It’s inspired my friend Megan to put her money where her mouth is, so to speak, as a self-proclaimed Jane Austen fanatic who actually needs to read all the books.  (I haven’t done that either, Megs!)

I don’t have a particular project to take on as a result of immersing myself in Julia Child-world, except to be a better cook.  And that seems especially daunting after reading about all the French dishes Julia mastered.   Plus it makes me think of all the projects I’ve left undone. . .  However, I love that at 40-something years old, Julia Child was exploring and taking on new things, and still trying to discover what she loved and was meant to do.  She also emphasizes that it just takes a lot of work, and for her, lots of time and experimenting, driven by her desire to understand the ins and outs of French cooking.   I’m certainly guilty of desiring instant gratification and success, so it’s an important lesson for me.  Also, it may point to a key difference between Julie Powell– does success mean getting a book deal from your blog?– and Julia Child, whose success was hard-fought and will likely endure far longer.

Those are my thoughts.  I can’t believe it’s October!  Along with Eliz and Bernie, we’re brainstorming on how to create the best Mad Men costumes. . . heavy drinking and smoking should be involved.  Happy fall!

dispatches from Africa

Here’s Allison’s post with stories from her trip to Kenya.  There’s another in Mocha Club’s Guest Bloggers section.  Go Al!

 

a Clueless moment

Wait a minute. . .

“I love Josh! I’m majorly, totally, butt crazy in love with Josh!”

(And who wouldn’t love Paul Rudd?)

My dear friend Ansley, a self-professed non-movie lover, uses this scene to describe the epiphany she had regarding her now-fiancé Will. 

Congrats Will and Ansley!  May your relationship be as successful as Josh and Cher’s surely was. 

Look at Ansley– she’s such an excited little muffin! 

I’m so glad that Cher Horowitz/Alicia Silverstone set the stage for it to happen.

Exciting Times

Well, as everyone knows, earlier this week Jillian chose Ed in what was, if not the most dramatic, at least the most emotional Bachelor/Bachelorette season finale  EVER!  Ever?  Ever.

Although my eyes were glued to the TV (along with yours, probably, and millions of others’ worldwide!), this is how Israel reacted to the excitement, the drama, the emotion, above all– the LOVE:

Yes, he's asleep, with a blackberry in his right hand, remote control in his left.

What do you expect?  He’s a classy guy.  He loves history, he appreciates more of a classic love story, not reality TV.  He’s just bored and depressed by such a mockery of romance.  He’s probably more stirred by scenes like these:

That’s convenient, because next week, we’re going on vacation to L.M. Montgomery’s native land– Canada!

(Don’t tell him– Jillian and Anne are both Canadian, so it’s all really the same!)

Summer reading/viewing: Lightning round

I miss the days of summer reading requirements.  Except when the books were no good.

Three books that I’ve enjoyed so far this summer are Anne Perry’s No Graves As Yet (first in her World War I series– have I mentioned I love historical fiction?), Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God, and Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. 

The latter is a charming story about Cornelia, a somewhat directionless woman who processes her life through the lens of books and movies.  Obviously, this is a great character.  Although she does get involved with a Cary Grant look-alike, Cornelia  finds some purpose when she meets her match in a little girl  (No, not in a man!  Girl power!) who similarly identifies with characters in stories– mostly orphans like Sara Crewe in A Little Princess, Anne Shirley, and the rest.  I very much enjoyed this sweet, quick read.  Great for summer.

As for movies, there have been many, some pretty good, but none that I absolutely love and want to marry.  Here are my random thoughts:

• Midnight Cowboy — Gritty has become a favorite movie-review word in our house (apartment). This NYC movie is gritty.  Sara and Manuel Ortega watched it on their first date.  Awww!  Sigh.
• The Apartment – Jack Lemmon is a great actor.
• Rachel Getting Married — I agree with AK’s assessment that Anne Hathaway is good in this (to my surprise).
• Last Chance Harvey – Meh.
• Splendor in the Grass — Hugely depressing. I’d rather watch Natalie Wood in Westside Story and Warren Beatty in. . .  something else.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen another of his movies.  We’ll add Bonnie and Clyde to the queue, and hopefully Warren can be redeemed.
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona — Love Penelope Cruz. Really interesting discussion movie. I had to discuss it with myself because Izzy went to the other room.

And for the future:  UP! has been recommended by many folks.  Sounds like a great summer flick!  I love the concept of mixing of old and young, both in the story and the viewing audience.  I’d also really like to see Julie & Julia when it comes out.  Don’t fail me, Nora Ephron!  I’m counting on you to complete my summer! 

(Note: I will see this even though my husband has a secret crush on Amy Adams.)

Any thoughts to add?  Questions, comments, personal experiences?  Queries, queries?  (One of my H.S. teachers used to say that: “Queries? Queries?”  And then we would laugh immaturely.)

like tigers out of the cage

On this lovely Monday, I’m pleased to report that the bear has returned safely from his good friend Ian’s bachelor party in Atlantic City.

I bring it up because, after going on about how much I loved The Hangover, several people asked if I was worried about Izzy on the trip, whether they lost the groom, etc. (As if it would be poetic justice or something, just because I liked the movie!  I would not have laughed so hard in real life.)

Caitlin, Ian’s bride-to-be, can relax now that the boys are home– hopefully none with a wicked sunburn.  Wise planning not to have these events the day prior to the wedding.

And although they weren’t arrested and may or may not have encountered Mike Tyson and his tiger, I’m pretty sure these gentlemen attracted plenty of attention to themselves:

Sponsored by Vineyard Vines?

Man can those Hamilton boys color-coordinate!  Most of them are neither Southerners nor Republicans!  So check your preconceived notions at the door.

And now for something completely different.  Not really. 

The readers have demanded more from my mom (or Lynnesky, as Dad prefers), so here’s another of her emails with her thoughts on The Hangover, and my morals.  She raised me, by the way.

Yesterday Kyle had a client in town (xxx [again, name withheld to protect this innocent soul]) playing in a golf tournament. After the golf was done, we were supposed to take him to dinner and entertain him for the evening. He was dressed very casually, didn’t want to go to a chain restaurant and had barbecue for lunch at the tournament, so we went to Buckley’s for a steak or whatever.

 
After dinner he wasn’t ready to call it a night, but he didn’t want to go downtown or go bowling or go to the after tournament party. He thought a grownup movie might be good because he and Liza have two small children, and their latest movie was ‘Up’ – twice. So we said that 3 of our kids had really liked ‘The Hangover’. He said that his younger brother really recommended it, also. So we went to the movie….

 
Oh. My. Goodness.

 
I am sorry to have to say that 3 of my children are perhaps morally bankrupt and intellectually spent. I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing a naked gay Chinese character jump on somebody’s face….

Having said that, there were several times when I laughed so hard that I almost choked on my popcorn.

Of course, I can never admit to most of my friends that I saw ‘The Hangover’, and I’m just thankful that we didn’t see anyone we know.

Hey, Mom?  I’ve outed you.  Don’t show this blog to your friends.

typical email from Mom:

This is just a friendly family alert.

If either the [neighbor down the street-- name withheld to protect the innocent] or the Rote house is involved in an explosion, you can let the nice agents from the BATF know that there was no terrorism – foreign or domestic – involved.

It’s just that Kyle, Mary Lynne, Richard and Beth have turned into Bill Murray in Caddyshack. It’s either us or the gophers now. We have used sprays, granules, pellets (toxic and non-toxic), traps (humane only), Tabasco sauce. We have encouraged our pets to go after small rodents. Beth has also trapped 70 chipmunks. I am hopelessly behind her with only 9. She has also hired ‘professionals.’ I think explosives are the only thing left. At least if we accidentally blow up our houses, we won’t have to pay our outrageous city taxes.

Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort?