BrokeBack Mountain

We went to see BrokeBack Mountain last night. It was incredibly moving. I would highly recommend seeing it. Ang Lee has an amazing way of stripping a story down to it's bones and somehow, this makes it even more beautiful. It's not so raw that you have to look away, embarrassed for yourself and the character. It's simply the most compassionate way of telling the story. I am amazed at the lack of dialog in the movie and yet how passionately the story was told. Ennis say so little and move the plot along in a surprising way. I was reminded of The Ice Storm and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. This movie is definately worth seeing. And TransAmerica is my next choice. It opens soon in Naptown. I can't wait.

Good Things

It's so easy for me to believe that I am not making progress, spinning my wheels, even wasting my time. It is especially easy when my child has a day off school. But today I have reached some small and happy goals that I have been working toward for a couple weeks.

I finally finished the auction chair for my son's school. I won't go into how I was roped into this project (I am sure it has something to do with being an artist), but at last I have completed it. It may look like a three-way collision between a crossword puzzle, a child's art portfolio, and a symphony, but it is done and I don't have to look at it any more! Hey, I'm not buying it!

I have also reached the halfway point in a commissioned piece. I can now, at least, contact the client and decide which way to go. I know they sound like small goals and tiny accomplishments, but for me this week, They are indeed, good things. It is good to remember that I have met my goals and have not been spinning my wheels, dispite all evidence to the contrary. Can I play now?

The Love of Money

So I've been wondering, what is it about money that makes me so distrustful? In my life I have been at both extremes of the money tree: we've had more than we knew what to do with, and we've wondered if we would eat tomorrow. This week, I have had occasion to interact with a number of "monied" people as several school events seem to be converging on me, the introvert. I hate these times, because I don't believe I can trust the actions of these people. Why is that? I know in my head that money does not automatically make a person dishonest or false. Some of our dear friends have much more money than we have had and I have never, in 20-odd-years, felt distrustful of their motives. In fact, I, along with the rest of America, would love to have more money and have convinced myself that money alone would solve a multitude of my problems. (And indeed, it may.)

But money makes me nervous. I worry that I could start to value things and my lifestyle over people. I worry that others around me have already begun to do so and in turn I erect my own walls of protection. I worry that the people around me who have money (particularly those I don't know well) are insincere and don't really want to know me either. It reminds me of mega-church in an ironic way. I somehow have convinced myself that these people will be nice to me here and in this place, because there are social dictates to do so. They would never risk showing their true feelings because someone else might find out and then there would be that whole awkwardness about having socially misfired (I think the church likes to call that sin).

So in a strange twist of fate, I have wound up the mother of a student in a private school (which I am convinced meets my child's academic needs 100%) where money seems to abound; birthday parties are a chance to show off your home; designer clothes are the norm and my aging minivan stands out in the crowd in a way that would embarrass most. I tend to wear it as a badge of courage, right beside that chip on my shoulder where the distrust of my heart sits and whispers in my ear. Would more money cure this problem? I seriously doubt it. God help me; we have 9 more years to go.

Wine Shippment

I called the wine club today that was supposed to deliver a shippment of wine by Dec. 31. It is now Jan. 4 and I have not recieved it. When I asked about the shippment the woman told me that UPS had damaged it and it would be shipping again in a week or so. I am the sort of person who thinks in pictures. The image of red wine-stained boxes immediately filled my head. Were there silk sheets in the truck too? What about a new Christening gown? And then I wondered if the UPS man had a very merry Christmas indeed.

miracle on 34th

There is this street in Baltimore ... you really have to see it to believe it. We drove throught this year to look at the lights. This isn't your typical light display. No, it's not even what I was expecting. There is nothing classy or elegant in this display. This is the tacky competition. This is Hamden, hon. You have to see it to believe it. Check it out for yourself.

Holiday Hangover

It seems like I just couldn't get in the Christmas spirit this year (despite the good intentions and the amount of liquor consumed). I usually pride myself on being a good (even great) gift giver, but I had to return 3 gifts this year before the holidays even started, and my in-laws actually purchased the gift I had intended for them about 3 weeks prior to Christmas. Can we make Amazon wish lists mandatory?

We went to a traditional protestant service this year and missed midnight mass. I realized that it has been a long time since I have heard a "Come To Jesus" sermon -- and I really missed the homily we otherwise would have heard. No wonder so many people don't want to go to church. It grates when it's supposed to soothe. We only sang 2 songs I knew (Christmas Carols) and then there was one I had never heard of before. Somehow I thought we would do more singing.

When we got home, our final gift exchange was thwarted by two cases of Strep Throat -- my aunt and my thre-year-old cousin -- and a long work day for my other cousin. Of the five who were coming to exchange gifts, only one, my grandmother, was able to make it. Disappointing, but how can you fault them for being sick? We are extremely grateful they did not come to spread their germs.

I did finish a couple of books over the past week -- I have become a voracious reader to try and avoid having to talk to people and spreading my cynicism over the holidays. When my now defunct book club read The sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I somehow missed it. So I finally read it last week. I liked it. It was fun and a good reminder that "kids" don't just have "kid" problems -- they are as real to them as mine are to me. I didn't love the book so much as to want to read the 2nd one, however.

I also read Trading Up by Candice Bushnell (author of Sex and the City). I expected to feel really connected to the main character -- as I absolutely fell in love with the women of Sex and the City. Not so with this book. I liked it, but the story seemed to be so New York that if you don't live there, or have never been there, something is lost on you. It had too many hard edges for me. If anyone wants to read it, you are welcome to keep my copy.

Here's to the New Year, and getting back to the normalcy of life.

Happy Holidays Haikus

Traditionally my husband and I send a haiku for our Christmas greetings. Early in our marriage I heard this editorial on NPR, around this time of the year, which bemoaned the length and breadth of the traditional holiday letter which even in its enormity never really seemed to say much. The author posed the question: why not a holiday haiku, or limerick, or cinqain? And I thought we should take her up on it.

For 5 years we have written a haiku that tries to sum up the best and the worst of the year. This year, we decided that with three of us in the family, it wouldn't be enough just to dedicate 17 syllables. Fear not, we did not digress to the holiday letter. We simply expanded to three haikus -- one for each of us.

I hereby present the Harrison Haikus for 2005 (Merry Christmas):

Last winter's work yields
long hours at Purdue and
return to Paris.

Mon Ami becomes
"designs" with books and collage;
business is booming.

A sycamore tree
grows stronger at Split Rock Way
taller, smarter, too.

The Curious Incident...

I just finished reading The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time. I have to say that this character, Christopher, is one of the most wonderful heroes I have ever encountered. I loved him the way I love Atticus Finch. He was quiet and honest and disarming. This book is a way of looking at the world that was at once alien to me and all too familiar. I highly recommend this book. The truth of human nature and how we perceive our world is beautifully done. A++