The Movie: Freaks, 1932 (Al Boasberg, Willis Goldbeck, Leon Gordon and Edgar Allan Woolf, screenwriters, from the novel by Tod Robbins; Tod Browning, dir.)
Who says it: The sideshow freaks
The context: This is the movie's climactic scene, when the freaks offer the trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) redemption for her betrayal of the midget Hans (Harry Earles) -- at a terrible price.
How to use it: To welcome a newcomer in a really creepy way.
Yesterday's leg: 315 miles, .75 tanks of gas
Stops: Clifton Forge, VA (hometown of Peggy's college roommate, Krystal Dean); rest stop west of Charlottesville; Mechanicsville, VA
Dizzy and I stayed overnight with my sister Peggy and her family -- husband Scott, 16-month-old boys Henry (my godson) and Matthew, dog Ella and three cats (Agatha, Ollie and Charlie). Dizzy immediately terrorized two of the three cats, and we haven't seen any of them since.
This morning Peggy is decorating the house for Halloween; the Lavinders take Halloween very seriously, and I'm sorry I'll miss their party. One of the twins will be a fireman, one will be a devil, depending on how each one's behaving when the costumes go on.
Yesterday's drive took me through the New River Gorge, where leaves were at peak color. I was listening to the audio book of Krakatoa, by Simon Winchester. The first section of the book is a history of geology, which was especially interesting as I drove over the Appalachians. In Virginia, we're so proud of these mountains, and the tallest of them would only be a foothill in the Rockies.
Today we finish the drive to the Atlantic, and the first stage of the journey will be over.
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