July 14, 1995
Dear Everyone:
“Jeannie”, after a
mere five years in her townhouse, has recently discovered that her oven
is of the self-cleaning variety.
Furthermore, she as also discovered that there is a drawer under
the oven, which contains the broiler pan.
Obviously, she doesn’t cook much, not to mention broiling, so she
hasn’t needed to clean the oven until now.
As she put it: “I’m
still on my first jar of paprika.”
As for the newly discovered drawer, no doubt it will soon serve
as an additional “junk” drawer, as mine does already.
Just the place for large mixing bowls.
“Junk”, by
definition, is anything you don’t have an immediate use for, but which
you might need some time in the future.
A fan, which you don’t need in the winter; a heater, which you
don’t need in the summer; that funny, little brown rubber thing that has
no apparent use until, one day, you discover that one of the little
rubber feet is missing from your sewing machine.
Small junk generally
lands in a drawer, or a part of a closet.
Larger junk has to go somewhere else:
The attic, the garage, the second bedroom.
Right now, my second bedroom is taken over by large cardboard
boxes; the leftover keyboard from when I got the ergonomic one; the
extra mouse; software disks; books I’ve bought, but haven’t read yet;
books I’ve read, but haven’t found space on the shelves for, yet;
paperwork waiting to be filed.
I have an excellent
filing system, I just never seem to find the time to file bills and
things after they’ve been paid.
I find that, barring an emergency, once every 4-6 months is often
enough. Don’t tell anyone in
RACS.
“Jeannie’s” second
bedroom, also known as “the Cats’ Room”, because the cats choose to
sleep there much of the time, is currently filled with “clean” clothes,
waiting to be ironed.
“Jeannie” doesn’t have any more time for ironing than I have for filing.
You might not believe that a stack of clothes could reach waist
height, but I can attest to it.
So can the cats, who see this as an opportunity to play King of
the Mountain, hence the reference to “clean” clothes.
They start out clean until the cats get to them.
And then there’s
“Marshall”: “Clean the
bathroom? Nonsense!
That’s what the security deposit is for.”
Movie reviews...
Finally saw
Crimson Tide,
which is a curious blend of suspense and boredom.
At least we didn’t fall asleep, the way Mother did.
I found myself wondering about the environmental system in a
submarine (why is one man sweating, while another is wearing a sweater?)
and making a note to avoid ever being in one to begin with.
First
Knight, an unfortunate
title. “Jeannie” says it
makes her think of proms and first dates.
Actually, it’s a refreshing look at the
Arthurian Legend.
While it’s hard to make a movie about this subject with a
straight face, this one pulls it off, even if they do mix their
centuries a little.
Richard Gere
plays Lancelot, as
an older-and-wiser itinerant swordsman.
He proclaims that he is fearless because he has nothing to live
for. That’s before he meets
up with doe-eyed
Guinevere, Julia
Ormond, in a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t role.
She, of course, is already pledged to King Arthur, played by
Sean Connery,
who is old enough to be her grandfather.
Never mind, Gere’s old enough to be her father.
Ben Cross plays the
scum sucking villain, Malagant (no mention of
Mordred in this
version), who keeps trying to grab Lady G.
On average, she gets absconded with more often than Constance in
The Three
Musketeers.
There’s a very
effective battle scene done entirely by moonlight.
Jerry
Goldsmith provides stirring, if completely forgettable, music.
And it manages to have almost a happy ending.
Definitely worth a matinee price.
FYI: This will be my last Letter until
August, as I will be on Vacation the next two weeks.
Love, as always,
Pete
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