Maybe I should just try a monthly blog. Who knows. I have so many blogs written in my head that just never make it to bits and bytes.
I've had some like moments in the past month that belong in the movies. Sometimes I just think it's good to think of life as one big movie. It would be great if there were second acts but I guess life just isn't a dress rehearsal and the older you get the more you realize that the final act is always in the offing.
My oldest boy, Thomas, has been grounded for the last 4 weeks. Grounding is an interesting concept. It seems to be intended by most as a punitive "thing." I really like to think of it as time set aside to regroup, think about what direction you should be moving in, and maybe contemplate other ways to handle what actually got you into a grounded situation. The grounds for this grounding aren't publishable -- at least not now -- but since grounding is something I don't often do, it was for real reasons. As a parent, you never really want to say you enjoy a grounding but from a parents perspective, it wasn't so bad.
What do you do when it's the opening act of SPRING and you're on a wicked short leash? You spend a lot of time with your mother and your brother. You willingly walk the dogs. You start to cook dinner and sometimes clean up. You go to crew every day because it's a chance to get outside and do something. And you mow the yard ... go on the trampoline ... talk on the phone a lot ... have people over to the house ... bitch and moan on your myspace and facebook how b o r i n g life is and how unfair those mean grounders are.
Anyway, the grounding is over and the new boundaries are drawn and we're moving ahead with life. Another example of no dress rehearsal -- just learning how to make the next act work better. It was a great time to reconnect or just spend time with my son. I can't believe that he's 15 and that in a few short years he's going to head off on a path and direction that he chooses.
On the movie side of things -- an professional acquaintance of my younger son and myself did an amazingly good imitation of someone from India talking about playing cricket. This is a man who when he laughs actually says the words "ho ho ho" instead of really laughing so a dead on imitation of an Indian cricket player had my son and myself rolling on the ground. It was kind of a Woody Allen moment.
Another movie moment was my innocent creation of a blog by the bookstore cat, Stella. I randomly type in an entry when I have about 20 other more pressing things to do because it's just so easy and satisfying. Anyway, Stella last blogged about Patrick. Patrick works for me at the coffee shop and he's a special guy. Patrick has Downs Syndrome and, in his very own words, he likes to think that he is "a ray of sunshine in everyone's day" and he truly is. Patrick is at work on time, every day. He takes care of keeping the place neat and orderly, makes sure we never run out of lemonade and salad dressing, keeps the dishes going through the dishwasher and keeps the basement in order. Patrick is a great guy. And he loves Stella. So, Stella wrote about Patrick the other day.
I told Patrick when he came in that Stella had written about him in her blog. I was pretty sure he would think it was funny but I really didn't expect his reaction. Patrick spent the better part of the day musing on just how intelligent the cat is. He was just blown away by her ability to not only think but type and asked me over and over how it was that she was able to type. We showed him the blog entry, read it to him, explained how we help Stella out ... but he left for his train mumbling about how smart the cat is.
We hosted Jane Fonda last week. Jane lived in Greenwich as a kid and I don't really think she's been back for a long time. She doesn't have great memories of Greenwich -- her mother committed suicide while she lived here. I didn't really know what to expect. All the celebrities come with amazing lists of dos and don'ts and MUST HAVES and MUST NOTS that by the time they come, you just hope you have your shirt on the right way and that something unforeseen doesn't ruin the day. Jane came with her dog in tow and was engaging and nice and funny and chatty and relaxed as she waited to "go on." We had her at the local art house theater, The Avon, and they were showing Klute right after she spoke and signed books.
Jane spoke about her life so openly and frankly that I was just surprised and delighted. She was fun and easy and open and took question after question. Her insight about filming Klute was fascinating and watching it after was so much more interesting. She talked a lot about this being her third act -- no dress rehearsal, the final act, the real thing. And she also talked about her becoming aware of herself as a person with her very own life and needs and desires. It was a fun and interesting and surprising night -- you almost forgot that this was Jane Fonda, Hanoi Jane ... superstar actress. She just seemed like another person by the end of the day and that was worth every minute of getting ready for the night.
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