Florida, Oddly Enough

 

Pew from the Grand Ole Opry at the Nashville airport

Pretty St Louis

Photo of a photo of my ex-husband's family's farm in Ohio

Over the past week I have traveled, read a couple of books, and watched one movie, The Out of Towners. The books were, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Eleanor, the Queen, and half of The Tale of Hilltop Farm, a sweet Beatrix Potter mystery. They were pleasant distractions while I traveled and provided interesting topics to think about. It was strange, though, watching the excellent performances by Sandy Dennis and Jack Lemmon. A movie like The Out of Towners couldn’t be made anymore. Middle class troubles, where did they go? Food on planes? Apoplectic men have had their day. Happy go lucky pop jazz soundtracks, they would be very out of touch. The world has changed so much that a mere 4 years ago, you might  watch this movie and reminisce, perhaps fondly, but now, you’ll be dumbstruck at how the world has changed and how so little of the past is relevant to our current daily lives. Strange. I think the movie that best sums up the current time, for me, is Only Lovers Left Alive. There is an undercurrent in that film that I can't put my finger on, can you? Actually, I don’t want to put my thumb on it, never mind. Ignorance is bliss. Still, there are some comforts. The best times are those when you are in the company of the people you love. Even if the struggles are daunting and the times are precarious, being with your people is a comfort, maybe the only real one we've ever had.