August 23, 2019
Dear Everyone:
“There’s no place like home!!!”
We got back from New York last Monday.
One of the great things about Getting Away From It All is how
much you appreciate what you have when you get back to it.
Of course, we had a wonderful time while we were away.
We saw three plays at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF):
Much Ado About Nothing
Cyrano
Into the Woods
Yes, only one of them was actually written by Shakespeare.
Technically, Cyrano was written by one of the Bard’s
contemporaries, so that makes it “OK”.
As for the musical, sometimes the Acting Company just wants to do
something different for a change.
And that’s OK, too.
We had a great time at “Alice’s” place.
The weather was unusually mild, as everyone kept telling us, with
lows in the 60’s and highs in the mid-80’s.
On the nights that we attended plays, performed in a large tent,
there was no rain.
On other nights, we were treated to thunderstorms worthy of Macbeth.
Great flashes of lightning, followed by gigantic peals of
thunder, and accompanied by torrential rain.
All very theatrical.
Lots of fun to watch from inside the house, without the need for getting
wet.
However, neither of the dogs appreciated the meteorological displays.
“Frankie” had brought her dog, Tammy Lynn, with her.
“Alice’s” dog, Emelia (named for Iago’s wife in Othello),
loved having another dog to play with, as well as all the visitors.
But they both tried to burrow through the furniture when the
skies lit up and the thunder roared.
Luckily, the fun only lasted a short while.
Apart from all that, we mostly just hung out and relaxed.
I crocheted a few cotton sun hats for the Senior Center to sell
at the next bazaar.
“Jeannie” knitted a scarf, or maybe a shawl, something she hasn’t had
time to do in a while.
We had all four of us girls, plus two nieces.
Quite a Hen Party. No
wonder “Kelly” took Emilia to his father’s place for a few days.
In other news…
Before leaving for New York, “Jeannie” and I decided to see a movie.
“Jeannie’s” neighbor wanted to see what she called, “Brad Pitt,
No Shirt”. So we saw Once
Upon a Time in Hollywood.
This is a kind of fairy tale, with actual people tossed in for flavor.
It has absolutely nothing to do with anything real.
It goes something like this:
Once upon a time in Hollywood, Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio,
was an American television actor in the late 1960’s.
The “Cowboy Gravy Train” had carried him as far as it could.
Up until then, on TV, cowboys were kings.
Maverick, The Legend of Wyatt Earp, Sugarfoot,
Bat Masterson, Cheyenne, Bonanza, The Big Valley,
Wagon Train, The Rifleman, etc., etc., etc.
All had run their course and ridden off into the sunset, replaced
by doctors and nurses, cop shows and private investigators, witches and
genies, and a plethora of sitcoms as the taste of the fickle American
public finally got tired of cowboys.
Which left Dalton in a bit of a pickle.
Being a TV cowboy was all he knew.
Actual acting was beyond his ken.
Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt, was Dalton’s “personal” stunt double
and general handyman. A
veteran of the Vietnam War, Booth was content to float along on Dalton’s
coattails for as long as it worked.
And yes, he did indeed take his shirt off at one point to fix a
TV antenna on the roof.
Still worth the price of admission.
He also stumbled upon the Charles Manson “family” living in their
dreamworld on the Spahn Movie Ranch outside of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Dalton discovered that the house next door to him was
being rented by director Roman Polanski, with his wife, Sharon Tate.
Dalton hoped to strike up a friendship that might bloom into a
new acting career.
Instead his manager talked him into going to Europe to film a “spaghetti
western”, or two or three, taking Booth with him.
Eventually they returned with Dalton’s new Italian wife.
Just in time to tangle with Manson’s tribe on their way to murder
Polanski, Tate and their various friends.
The climactic scene between Dalton, Booth, Booth’s bulldog, Brandy, far
too many brandies and miscellaneous other recreational substances, an
LSD-laced cigarette, a flame-thrower and Manson’s murderer wannabes is
hysterical.
It’s the perfect movie to watch primarily for the air-conditioning.
And popcorn. And Brad
Pitt, no shirt.
Love, as always,
Pete
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