Films for Mother's Day

The original Mother's Day double feature, which I think was 1992, is Mildred Pierce, with Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth, and Madame X with Lana Turner and a young and beautiful Keir Dullea. But of course there are some wonderful old movies besides these to enjoy on Mother's Day.

Imitation of Life - "LOVE?! But you've always had THAT!"

Now, Voyager - "No member of the Vale family has ever had a nervous breakdown."

Psycho - "Mother's not herself today." I will never see this movie because I enjoy showering too much.

A Summer Place - "I want you to take off every stitch you've got on and let him examine you."

The Manchurian Candidate - one of Angela Lansbury's greatest performances

Carrie - never seen it, never will.

And of course Mommie Dearest.

Out in Society, May, 2018

I have a reputation of swanning about with the bon ton all the time, dashing from the Colony Bar to the Stork Club to El Morocco to drink, dish, and "Dahling!" with other elegantes in flawless evening clothes. Um . . . no. But my candle flame is flaring one last time before it's extinguished by preparations for Reunions. This is what the last few days have been like after work:

• Wednesday: Professional networking night. As said before, encounters with old friends and new, a chance to do some business with a vendor, and then dinner afterward with one of my best friends at ye Ynchovies.
• Thursday: Brokelahomo at the Ramrod Center for the Performing Arts. One can just hear the late Bill Sampson saying "The the-ah-tuh! The the-ah-tuh!"
• Friday: Drinks at the home of my French Food-Loving Friend, followed by dinner at ye Yquitayne on Trimount Street. FFLF introduced me to the martinez cocktail (gin, red vermouth, and marschino), rather elegant and packs a punch. And may I say, the salmon rillette  . . . fascinatingly savory! If I couldn't live the rest of my life eating only ham biscuits with grainy mustard and tobacco honey from Back Bay Beats, I'd spend it eating only salmon rillette with French bread. Ye Yquitayne was hoppin' and the tables were narrow, so at least THAT part of my social life is quite New York.
• Today, I was horrified to have double-booked myself for luncheon, and ended up having two:
  • Luncheon One: You don't hear me use the phrase "old college friends" very much because I really didn't make many friends when I was in college. Some I keep in touch with tenuously on ye Fycebykke, but Paul and Christine and I exchange Christmas cards, and maybe an email a year. Today they happened to be in town, and we rendezvoused at Carrye Nytion for an earlier-than-planned luncheon; I chose the location partially because that site used to be Goodspeed's rare bookstore - and I first met Paul when he was clerking at ye Bystyn Bykke Annexe on Beacon Street near the St. Mary's T stop. I was an usher in their wedding way back in 1987! We sat at a spacious table for three with large leather wing chairs, and Chris played chairwoman of the board. It was fantastic to catch up in person after so long. Oddly enough, we all ended up getting the special burger. And, as it happened, their next appointment was in Cambridge so they drove me to . . .
  • Luncheon Two: a pre-birthday luncheon for my best friend with another of our circle at Henrietta's Table. I was only five minutes late (thank goodness!), and besides the conversation enjoyed an aperol spritz with scallops and asparagus. We all ordered the strawberry shortcake, and Mademoiselle kindly arranged for a candle for the birthday boy. Among other things we discussed the upcoming royal wedding, Windsor-Mountbatten scandal old and new, the film roles of Scarlett Johannson, and Running with Scissors.

Next Tuesday is the Birthday Boy's birthday dinner, but after that, I'm going to have to fold my social tent until mid-June.

Friday Midday, May 11

1) So, Brokelahomo last night. I've now come to expect that the plot of a Gold Dust Orphans show won't necessarily follow the original material that inspired its title. For instance, last Christmas's Whatever Happened to Baby Jesus? was really the plot of Summer Stock with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly with only the barest veneer of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Brokelahomo was much more Johnny Guitar, but the Brokeback Mountain subplot came through, and what I really wanted most came at the end: a full-throated all-cast parody of the title song from Oklahoma! with a bit of roaring harmony in the din.

1a) Protip: Never order a cocktail in a stem glass at the Ramrod Center for the Performing Arts. They just aren't conducive to the theatre setup, and you'll end up sloshing about a third of it on the floor.

2) Up like a stone at 6:30. No devotional, but pretending that reading Herbs and the Earth on the T fills that function this week.

3) I've had to put on my therapist hat for two people so far today, but that's no small part of what I'm here for.

Thursday Morning, May 10

1) Networking event last night, notable for a few friends old and new, a strawberry lavender eclair, and actually getting to transact some business (one of my Pops contacts staffs a table).

1a) Just say no to adhesive nametags. For me they inevitably curl at the edges and then drop to the floor. I noticed at least one person who brought his own nametag, which looked sharp.

2) Dinner afterward with a close friend Anchovies, the Last Affordable Restaurant in the South End. Hadn't been there in ages, maybe a year.

3) This afternoon I emcee the awards convocation, and the staff prepared a magnificent binder for me with a tabbed page for each awardee. I feel so well cared for!

3a) And then tonight Brokelahomo with the Gold Dust Orphans at Ramrod Center for the Performing Arts.

VOLUME!

1) "Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, then when you sung the songs of Satan." - John Wesley, from his Directions for Singing in Worship

2) "Sing out, Louise!" - I don't really have to tell you who said this, do i?

3) "How loud do I want it? I want it so loud that all that's left of this church is a heap of smoking rubble smudged with the moisture of happy tears." - Me

Tuesday Midday, May 9

1) File under #celebrateeverything: This morning I had to collect some documents on campus, so altered my commute to take the bus from Mass. Ave. Station. Not only were my wait times < 3 minutes for train and bus, I got seats without being unduly crowded and Mass. Ave. was not gridlocked so I was 15 minutes early. #win

1a) Bonus: waiting in line for a breakfast sandwich I was startled and delighted to run into Miss B_____, a sweet friend lo these 34 years, whose path rarely crosses mine these days.

2) From the world of Alumni Relations, an unusual request. The brother of a recently deceased alumnus called asking for a photo of the deceased. Alas, nothing in the yearbooks.

3) It is really and truly a heavenly day today.

Tuesday Night, May 8

1) As Orson Welles memorably said in Jane Eyre, "ENOUGH!"

2) This has been a day for Beston's Herbs and the Earth.

3) A young Interlochen friend is now in Paris and has seen the Orangerie, which brings back happy memories of my visit there in 2008.

Friday Evening, the REAL May 4

1) Spin the GTS Wheel and you get "And very wise of you to wear pink, my dear."

2) Crisis averted.

2a) I'd huff down an entire bag of Cheetos if I had one here.

3) So, May the Fourth, Star Wars Day. I cannot think about Star Wars without thinking of my childhood friend Ian (may he rest in peace), with whom I saw either the first or the second (or both) movies in the front row of the Paramount Theatre in Lake Charles. And these three nasty pipsqueak girls were too loud or something, and we ssssshed them and somehow the usher got involved. And one of those girls said "Those boys are eating cow maneuvers!"

Thursday Night, May 4

1) Thinking about all the victims of Bernie Madoff tonight, and wondering how they're doing.

2) It was a comfort food night tonight, and even though I haven't ordered it in months, tonight I ordered the buffalo chicken mac and cheese. And Rick Berlin always gives me grief about it. I said when it arrived "A welcome sight!" And he came back with "A familiar sight."

3) The Three Prettiest Weeks of the Year got cut short this year. The star magnolia blossoms are wilting and shedding almost before my eyes, replaced by green leaves too soon.

Wednesday Morning, May 2

1) I cannot write well if I feel rushed. I get panicky and second-guessy and I freeze. So trying to work on a column this morning was not a good idea.

2) Yesterday being May Day, of course I remembered to wear a bow tie with flowers.

2a) But the most important tradition is my friend David posting Julie Andrews singing "The Lusty Month of May" from Camelot.

3) One of the meanings of the flower lily-of-the-valley is "the return of happiness."

Sunday, April 29

1) Awake quite naturally just before 7 AM. Parlor coffee and devotional; now, at evening, I vaguely remember an appropriate connection between Ezekiel 16 and the daily reading from C.S. Lewis. I'll have to go back.

2) Left just before 8 AM for a brisk walk through the arboretum. If I can get from my door to the summit of Peters HIll in half an hour, I'm making good time. Gray and sprinkling weather, this was the Time of Flowering Trees. The ornamental cherry trees and the forsythia (yes, I know forsythia is not a tree) were in beautiful form.

3) Today I kept to my usual plan, which is to include both Peters and Bussey Hills, but I left via the Blackwell Footpath onto South Street so I could do some shopping at the co-op. For the first time I encountered a turkey (!) on the path! We both kept our distances.

4) I was home just before 10 AM, and actually managed to complete a column before 11 AM (granted, it was supposed to be last Wednesday's column), so the day was good.

5) A light lunch, Acts of Domesticity, a NAP for an hour, more Acts of Domesticity, and then late errands on Centre Street. The day was no longer gray!

6) Late in the day, got on ye Twyttyr and started to learn about the WH Correspondents Dinner. Wish I hadn't.

Saturday Shopping, April 28

1) In words from the late Judith Keith's Nothing to Wear, "I have two closets full of nothing to wear!" And with my gray loafers giving out in the rain last night, it was time to run through Downtown Crossing like Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble crying "CHARGE it! CHARGE it!"

2) Dialogue with the Sassy Lady Cashier:

SLC: "Ooh, Happy Socks! You bettah be happy when you wear those."

Me: "Yes! I'm going to a party tonight, and they asked us all to wear something floral for spring (groundbreaking)." [Hands over blue-and-white floral shirt.]

SLC: "That's niiiiiice! What you gonna wear for bottoms?"

Me: "I dunno. Maybe I just won't do anything and scandalize them all."

SLC: [pause - gives me the eye] "I wanna party with you."

3) In the shoe store, a text from my Atlanta cousins - who just happened to be in my mother's kitchen! We ended up having an uproarious phone chat (with me in a space where I would not impede anyone's shopping).

Saturday Morning, April 28

1) Coffee and social media in the study, feeling as though I'm comfortably wrapped up in cotton wool. As Lady June Carbery said in White Mischief, "I couldn't move a limb," but with an array of activities for the weekend - domestic, personal, social, professional - I need to get my act together about 90 minutes ago.

2) This morning one of my best friends reposted one of the great, comic dance club hits of the 1990s, "Diva," and in my heart I've been laughing like a drain ever since. Brought me right back to Provincetown before 2000 and the story of how he and another friend heard this blasted over the speakers of a couple twinks at Herring Cove (which Simply Isn't Done). But the words - so self-oriented, so ridiculous - had them laughing and laughing. And it just might get me through today.

2a) With the years, the line "You bettah squeeze yo' ass into them pants, girl!" has taken on added poignancy. #ohmammyyouvejustgottamakeit18andhalfinchesagain

3) J.B. West's Upstairs at the White House.

Friday Night, April 27 - Old Headshot Day

1) No idea how Old Headshot Day became a thing overnight on ye Intyrnytte, but the best I can offer is this from the early 1990s. I remember taking the bus out to the urban wilds of Chelsea for this photo shoot, bringing my tuxedo. But the photographer had this faaabulous smoking jacket - how could I not wear that?!

1a) I look at this photo now over 25 years later and cannot imagine returning to being cleanshaven.

2) After work, walked through the rain from the office to Eastyrnne Styndyrd in Kenmore Squayah to meet a friend for drinks. I am sorry to report that my favorite gray loafers, which everyone likes and which match my light gray slacks exactly, are no longer waterproof. Time to go shopping.

3) What folly meet in Kenmore Squayah on a Friday that is also a home game ye Ryd Soxxe! Had I but known . . . but of course we don't have these problems at the opera. They cleared a high top for us pretty quickly, and commenced and evening of manhattans, rigatoni, and talk about Venice.

3a) Final round down the street at ye Hawthryne, marginally less crowded, but much cushier with those deep green-gray velvelt chairs.

Wednesday Night, April 25

1) This evening at a small birthday party for a friend, two interesting experiences:

1a) Vivid memories of my first (and so far only) vacation in Hollywood long ago in 1994 with two friends, and hanging around in the hot tub at hotel where we were staying (the one that's not the Mondrian but the other one*), being joined by a man and two women, one of whom was trying to sell us some Renoir etchings.

1b) For the first time in many a year, achieving almost instant rapport with a stranger, a remarkable woman, a relative of the host. Over birthday cake we talked about Follies, Yankee vs. Greek culture, life experiences - all at a rapid pace. I found myself charmed - and because of the angle at which I was sitting, sometimes blinded by the chandelier across the room.

2) Today's essential forgotten accessory: a raincoat. Had I known it'd be chucking down all day and night, I'd've done more for myself than carry an umbrella. Wasn't it supposed to be lovely all week?!

3) Trying to formulate a column of observations on the successful state dinner, but I just can't find some essential references in J.B. West's Upstairs at the White House, so I'll hope for better fortune tomorrow.

*In the words of the late Karen Richards, "Where were we going that night, Lloyd and I? The things you remember, and the things you don't."

Wednesday Afternoon, April 25

1) Greased my road to hell with hollandaise sauce this morning, breakfasting with someone from Interlochen at the Pahkah House. I just love me some eggs Benedict.

2) Surely there's been a Calendar Girls drag act with April Showers, May Flowers, and June Bug, with a calamitous guest appearance by Augusta Wynde, yes?

3) I want you to ask yourself how many days of the year you get to use the word "impregnable," and whether you think it's too little, too much, or just about right.

Tuesday Morning, April 24

1) So encouraged by the news of details for tonight's state dinner for the President of France. It looks like Mrs. Trump has planned something lovely, and I'm particularly impressed that she did it without a professional event planner, which has been the trend.

1a) Also a little amused that the china she chose was the Clinton china, since it's clearly the goldest.

1b) And I'm also pleased that the Washington National Opera is performing. Nothing against pop entertainers (the Eisenhowers often had Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians entertain at state dinners) but for a state dinner, I think classical music is, um, statelier.

2) I got home late after last night's webinar (which went well), only to complete a short-notice project with a deadline, and then fall like concrete into bed.

3) Alumni relations is often like therapy, and I calcluate I spent two hours 18 minutes total on the phone yesterday as therapist for four different people.

Monday Midday, April 23

1) There are two versions of last weekend, the complaining version and the non-complaining version:

• Complaining Version: After planning my entire weekend schedule around an early Saturday afternoon haircut, the barber shop calls a mere 90 minutes before cut time to cancel because the barber was overbooked. Scheduled a Sunday morning appointment with the other barber I know at that shop, and showed up promptly only to find out he was "significantly delayed" and be fobbed off on a total stranger who thinned almost my entire head with a straight razor (I hate that). And did I mention that this barber shop makes you confirm by email, text, and phone and hammers over your head that you have to pay the full cost if you cancel less than four hours yourself? This cut so substantially into my writing time that I got nothing done and left me in a foul mood for hours each day.
• Non-Complaining Version: Glorious sparkling weather for two days officially began the three weeks of the year my house looks its prettiest; the star magnolia in the front burst into flower. After spending midday Saturday in town, a heavy one-hour nap led to rearranging and reshelving four or five shelves of books before dinner with my best friend and a lot of heartfelt talk on a wide range of subjects. Sunday I went with the flow and enjoyed both the housewarming brunch of my new (childless) second-floor neighbors (lots of soccer-playing young people, mimosas,  bacon biscuits, and the very rare opportunity to see our star magnolia from above), and especially a fund-raiser musicale in a beautiful private home in Cambridge in the afternoon. Champagne, sunlight, old friends rarely seen, music that was both beautiful and new to me, and lemon poppyseed cake. What's not to love? Continued domesticity at home left no more dishes to wash but more floors to scrub. They'll have to wait, as the pages of Edward VII: The Prince of Wales and the Women He Loved was too compelling to put down.

1a) Frankly, I like the second version better.

2) A bit atwitter about a creative opportunity a friend alerted me to this morning.

3) Co-hosting a webinar with my boss tonight for next year's volunteers. Looking forward to some good questions.

Friday Night, April 20

1) Unexpected sighting of the day: an Emmy statuette in the lobby of an MIT laboratory.

2) Cutting through the bewildering number of new or updated privacy policies that seem to be popping out everywhere is the news that SmugMug has acquired Flickr from Yahoo/Verizon. Flickr was my original social media, and it went downhill first after Yahoo acquired it, and then after Marissa Mayer took over Yahoo. I was not happy when Verizon acquired Yahoo (which has now combined Yahoo and AOL into something called Oath, with an abhorrent privacy policy), so I'm cautiously optimistic about this acquisition.

2a) When you think about how AOL and Yahoo were the pillars of the Internet in the 1990s, and now they are limping along as subsidiaries of a corporate giant . . .

3) There are some people out there who are just losing their sh*t over the President hosting a state dinner for the President of France at Mount Vernon, saying that it sullies the legacy of Jackie Kennedy, etc. etc. etc. PEOPLE! The site must have been chosen to acknowledge the visit(s) that the Marquis de Lafayette paid there to George Washington. It's entirely appropriate to host a state dinner there.

Friday Midday, April 20

1) Coffee and the news while curled up in the study after almost ten total hours of sleep. And today continues to be a great day. Sunshine, good phone meetings, and a 50th reunion class just about to break 200 registrants.

2) As you may recall, we've been working since Christmas to reduce the amount of junk mail Mother has been getting at home. She called all excited a bit ago that today's mail only included three pieces of mail! Often it's 18 or more. I am rejoicing with her and hoping that these junk mills have finally gotten her off their lists.

3) For the last few days my internal soundtrack has been Kane's theme song.