Well sort of. This year we decided not to do a huge dinner with turkey or ham or anything. It just didn't make sense since there are only three of us on this side of the country. Which was ok with me since really I'm not all that thankful for the big things until I find a way to break from crushing relentless grasp of Michigan. By the way did I mention that Detroit was named the nation's most dangerous city? Can't say as I'm surprised, every visit I've had to the motor city has left wondering why we haven't just fenced it off and cut our losses. So anyway, I didn't plan to come here to complain all that much. Just write. In reality I'm trying to put the unfortunate turducken incident behind me and look towards the future!
So like I said, the plan was not to have a big dinner. Just a few small things and a couple of special items (yams, fruit salad, and olives most notably). Not grand plans but plans nonetheless. Well just as we were about to get cooking things took a turn. The power blinked out. Then it came back...for approximately .33 second and then it stayed out. Then next hour and a half was pretty much the mad dash to find candles, flashlights, batteries etc...
Next we went to see if any restaurants or stores in our town were open. We didn't have much that would amount to much food wise that didn't' require power to become edible. Unfortunately when you live in the middle of nowhere you don't always have the option of stores so dinner was completely scrapped. Well almost completely. I decided that I was probably going to die if I didn't eat (ok maybe not die but I would get very cranky) so I went ahead and made the fruit salad. Have you ever made a fruit salad in pitch dark by candle light? I don't recommend it at all! But in the end I suppose the important thing is that the fruits mixed masterfully with the cool whip and a delicious snack was born.
But the day wasn't a complete bummer. I mean any day that starts out with The Trouble With Harry, middles with (most of) The Birds (at least until the power goes out), and then ends with Pretty Poison can't be considered all bad can it? Especially when you consider that between "Harry" and "The Birds" I also caught bits and pieces of "Vertigo" At some point I even managed to catch a bit of "Rear Window"....Not bad at all.Normally I don't watch a lot of movies on AMC. Not because they don't play movies I like but but because I just can't stand edited and cut up movies at all. Not when the full then is always just a Netflix away. But when I was seeing what would be playing on the Hitchcock-athon on AMC I decided to give "The Trouble with Harry" a shot on the DVR. I'm really glad I did. I was completely surprised by how much fun the movie was. I've already placed the full DVD release near the top of my queue for a deeper watch.
As usual "The Birds" was just great. It's strange just last week I was thinking that it was time for some Tippi Hedren AMC musta read my mind!By the way how great is Tippi? Your answer better have been "really effin!" Or something to that affect.
While looking over Tippi's IMDB page my head almost exploded. I looked down at the message board area (Always a TERRIBLE idea) and I found a post that mentioned Tippi Hedren looking a lot like Paris Hilton. What??? I mean What???
Ah that brings me to "Pretty Poison". What can I say? I just really dig this movie I've mentioned it before briefly. It didn't fit the mold of the day which was Hitchcock, but the movie has a twisted dark streak a mile long. Just the way I like em. Also Tuesday Weld. Need I say more? ...I didn't think so.
So, how was your Thanksgiving? Or if you are not in the States, how was your Thursday?
In closing I leave you with the quote of the day, taken from "Pretty Poison".
"I foolishly performed an abortion on a peach tree"
4 comments:
Fruit salad via candlelight...classic! That's one of those tales that at the times seems like a complete bummer, but you'll remember, and joke about it for years to come.
My Thanksgave was clam, quiet and without such drama. It was one of the Thanksgivings that I didn't want to be around people, so I went to Burger King (only thing open) and had a Thanksgiving feast of grilled chicken and fries. It's those quirky Thanksgivings one remembers, not the same ole big turkey, etc.
One of the greatest Thanksgiving tales involves the first one with my dad and sis after the divorce...Swansons TV dinners...tator tots and frozen peas. Total riot.
Go see "No Country"...will blow you away...
Thanksgiving has always been a bit sketchy for me. I have to admit, as much as I've complained about the big family thing we used to do in the past...Now that we don't have any family near it kind of sucked having it be so quiet. I'd rather take the option of quiet rather than be stuck with it.
One of the many pieces of wisdom I've picked up over the years is to never underestimate the power of a tot! I think you hit the nail directly on the head. The memory is the important thing.
It's killing me that I haven't seen "No Country" yet. Another byproduct of the move is not having a theater handy. Which means an outing to a theater has to be a planned event.
In fact I haven't been to a theater since the move...I think a piece of my soul dies every day because of it.
I owe my dad some kind of cool fun thing since we didn't get to hang out on his B-day this year. I've been toying with the idea of treating him to "No Country". That seems like as good an excuse as any to make the trip doesn't it?...and not at all selfish (even though I'm dying to see it myself)
You're right, it is the memory of a quirky and different holiday that makes it great. At the time, we are probably bitching about how un-holiday it is. But looking back years from now, and it's those odd ones that will standout.
You should, seriously. Hop on a plane to PDX and take your dad to a movie. In fact, go to the Fox Tower as you've never been there before. But beware, once you start hangin' out in your hometown, the one you used to loathe, you will be dying to move back. I'm at that age where I've seen it occur over and over. You're young, you split town for greener pastures, then you hit a certain age and long for your hometown. All my friends and I went through it...and we all came back to Spokane.
"No Country" is the Coen's best film. It has a very different structure...it's a very serious and unblinking look into people's souls. Best film I've seen so far this year.
Do it. Book it. Priceline.com...Detroit to Portland...non-stop!
Actually dad is here in Michigan. Which adds into the complications of leaving the place and moving home.
If I did fly back to Oregon I know that there would be no way I'd be able to force myself back on a plane Mi.
I'm not sure about flying out of Detroit either, the drive to Chicago is just about the same distance as it is to Detroit from where I am. If I had the choice I'd probably go the route that would allow me an evening at the House of Blues before shipping off. That is one of the few things that are on my Midwest check list that I haven't gotten around to yet.
The other big one being a trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, but that one is much less likely at this point than the HoB.
..Here is a fun Michigan fact. Everyone here can say "Muskegon" correctly, but when it comes to pronouncing "Oregon" they apparently see that mythical trailing E that doesn't exist. However if you tag your own invisible E to Muskegon they look at you like you're the idiot.
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