Thursday, December 30, 2004

“Live! Life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

The Movie: Auntie Mame, 1958 (Betty Comden and Adolph Green, screenwriters, from the book by Patrick Dennis; Morton Da Costa, dir.)
Who says it: Rosalind Russell as Mame Dennis, international bon vivant and would-be author
The context: Mame has been dictating a book to her secretary, Agnes Gooch (Peggy Cass), but Agnes isn’t getting the point.
How to use it: When you need an extra dose of enthusiasm.

Yesterday's trip: 214 miles, .5 tank of gas
Stops: Mechanicsville, VA; Washington, DC

Dizzy and I are back at Ashton & Joseph's, after stopping in Mechanicsville to hang out with my sister Peggy and her boys. The weather was unseasonably warm, so we put the boys in their red wagon and went for a long walk. Neighbors of Peggy's have created a Christmas Fantasyland in their yard, at the end of a cul-de-sac; every spare inch of lawn is covered with a Christmas decoration of some kind, and it all lights up. I respect that level of commitment, although I might not want to live across the street from it.

Milo and Lucy were delighted to see Dizzy. I think Dizzy is a little confused about all the traveling, though he seems happy to see everybody. He's comatose next to me right now, and seems to be chasing something in his sleep.

My friend Carla, in Singapore, sent an e-mail last night (this morning, her time). Since Singapore is east of Sumatra, they didn't even feel the earthquake, which happened off the west coast of Sumatra -- but they know some people who are now missing. It is possible, even likely, that we'll never have an exact toll of the dead from this disaster; if an entire family is wiped out, or an entire town, who would be left to remember their names?

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