10. September 5th was one of the most heartwrenching days Gina and I have had together because we had to put our oldest cat, Guinnevere, down. She was about 17. It was the third time in the last two years we've had to bring her to the emergency room, worried that it might be the end. This time, it was clear that she was suffering and that her quality of life was not what it was before. Fifteen years ago, she was a sweet thing that hung around our apartment before we moved into our house, so we brought her to the new place. She had been neglected or abused--or maybe she just had scraps with other cats in the old neighborhood. Guinnie had a small chunk missing from her right ear, and she didn't like brooms--or the vacuum cleaner. So for her first few years with us, she would swipe at the vacuum cleaner while we were using it. Guinnie didn't make a lot of sound, but the most wonderful thing happened after she had her babies in March 2003: She yacked at them quite often, as if she were teaching them something. She didn't talk or make noise--aside from the occasional hissing--before or since. We are going to miss her a lot.
9. As the voting primaries neared over the summer, we had a visit from a candidate for County Commissioner who was great to talk to. I didn't know much about him, to tell you the truth, but we've since learned that he's an important voice in our community, though new to the political arena. We had a good laugh because I asked him if he believed in science. "Yes, I do," he chuckled, as we made a light-hearted connection with a screen door between us.
8. Pacific Northwesterners remember the tale of ice skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan all too well; it was the major story in my new region when I arrived here almost 25 years ago. The movie based on these two competitive skaters and the dirty deed done behind the scenes by lowlifes associated with Harding. I, Tonya (LuckyChap Entertainment, 2017) operates from the angle that Harding (portrayed by Margot Robbie; Allison Janney plays her obsessive stage mother) didn't know that there was a plot to break Kerrigan's knee in a surprise attack in Detroit. If that's true, I can stomach the overall sinister quality of the movie a bit easier. The saddest and most ridiculous contrast in the film is that over the closing credits, there is footage of the real Tonya Harding, skating with such joy and power, well ahead of all the savagery that was about to go down. It's a stunning feeling, seeing nothing but Harding's youthful positivity and the sheer beauty of her skating--and it's soon to be a lie.
7. The Dave Clark Five isn't among the most brilliant bands of all time, but who could not like them? I rented the PBS documentary, The Dave Clark Five and Beyond: Glad All Over (2014) and had fairly high hopes for finding out what they were like onstage. The film is a crock and poorly put together, as there is a paltry one and a half songs where the band is actually performing live. The rest is video clips of the band miming their hits; many of the same songs are repeated ad nauseum. The alternative is to stick to their finest recordings, like "Can't You See That She's Mine" (a crafty rip of the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There," which was a crafty rip of Chuck Berry's "I'm Talkin' 'Bout You"), or "Try Too Hard."
6. I recently overheard an instructor in the study area at my library teaching English to a young man, and there was at least one odd point the otherwise well-educated instructor made. He actually told his student to never use "my pleasure," explaining, "that's a phrase that someone might have used in the 1920s. What you want to say is 'thank you'." Huh? "My pleasure" is something that means "you're welcome," not "thank you." And we have someone at our library who says it after she's helped a patron who is truly grateful for the help. Bless that library worker!
5. I'm 63 and still can't keep my shoes tied. Maybe I'm cursed because I hate feet and can't stand to see almost anyone's bare feet, especially men's. I had a pair of work shoes that lasted something like ten years, made by Rockport. So in 2016, Gina got me a new pair, same brand. Only now, the company is using cheaper materials and I would advise against anyone purchasing them. They've lasted just two years tops and are headed for the trash heap. Never again, Rockport.
4. Gina and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in June by catching Shawn Colvin at Olympia's Capitol Theater on an extremely warm night. Her voice was a little rough at a few points but it was quite a show, filled with highlights. Colvin encored with two songs performed on a piano that had been sitting there all evening; one was Tom Waits' wonderful "Ol' '55." She sang her biggest hit, "Sunny Came Home," and mentioned playing the song on the 2016 tour she did with Steve Earle. Steve told Shawn that it was her best breakup song because it was "a murder ballad," kind of like an ancient country tune. That didn't register with me until I remembered that in the song, Sunny seemingly burns the house down. As she's done for the past few years, Colvin played her tune "Polaroids" and mixed it with similarly structured covers, saying, "I thought I'd written a great song until I realized that it sounded like 'Put a Little Love In Your Heart'." But rather than stopping with that confession, she also added snippets of Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter" (which was part of the version she did onstage in 2011) and Katy Perry's "Roar" to illustrate other things one can do with those chords. Now that was funny. So how hot was it in the theater? A little uncomfortable for us. Colvin didn't need the bottle of water that was sitting onstage as much as she needed and asked for a stage hand to bring her a towel.
3. We don't have have cable television--and don't want it--but we do have access to Netflix, and viewed Jerry Before Seinfeld, the chronicle of Seinfeld's early days in New York City, when he was a weekly attraction at the Comic Strip venue. Even better is the series (two seasons) "Atypical," a comedy-drama about Sam (played by Keir Gilchrist), a teenager on the Autism Spectrum. His sister, Casey (Brigette Lundy-Paine) protects her brother but begins to loosen her grip as he matures and she deals with her own issues. And those are just the two best actors. "Atypical" could use better directing but it's quite strong, full of harsh realities and offbeat moments. We older people may forget how image was everything when we were younger, as is the case with Sam's friend Zahid (Nik Dodani), who works with him at a computer store. On his break, Zahid says he's putting on his "poo shoes." What on earth are poo shoes? Well, he explains, "I put on different shoes when I'm in a bathroom stall, so no one will know it's me in there."
2. King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller (BMG--various artists) proved to be disappointing for me, with only Mandy Barnett's "Lock, Stock and Teardrops" and "One Dying and a-Burying" by the Dead South standing out in my early listens. Although there's some notable banter from Miller himself on the album, you'll want to revisit Miller's original recordings instead. These 2018 takes are all competent, though several of them are basically performed by rote.
1. The documentary Won't You Be My Neighbor? (Focus Features, 2018) is outstanding! Before you see Tom Hanks playing Fred Rogers onscreen in 2019, get more of the real story via Morgan Neville's moving assemblage of footage and background details in this seismic piece of work. In an age where kids probably get plopped in front of computers instead of innovative television like "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," the film transcends nostalgia and details the deep soul of the man who truly understood and cared about developing youngsters. Rogers echoed his faith (he was an ordained minister) without hitting anyone over the head with it--and did you know that he was a registered Republican? There is plenty of love, laughs, heartache and poignant moments throughout. Highly recommended.