More this and that

 The trouble with hosting … you clean the house like crazy before the guests arrive, you cook like crazy to ensure you have more than enough food, and you clean like crazy again after they’re gone.  But the house is back in order and the refrigerator is full of leftovers.  

And, as I said, the house was filled with light and laughter and love. Exactly what we wanted,  So all that effort paid off.   Definitely worth it.

But I still don’t know what my son-in-law does for a living.  I mean, I know it has something to do with software and data, but … he changed jobs this summer, from something he thought was boring to something he finds more challenging.  I know who he works for and what their product does, but the details of his job … I’m still trying to figure that out.  

Yesterday Drew and I watched George C. Scott’s version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.  We’ve both seen that version, as well as many other versions, multiple times, and I have read the original work.  I cried at the end, when Scrooge redeems himself.  Afterwards I said to Drew,”You know you’re experiencing good storytelling and good moviemaking when a movie you’ve seen a dozen times can still evoke an emotional response.”

I’ve always found Dickens to be an interesting man and a fascinating storyteller.  Politically he was liberal, even progressive, in his thoughts on elected representatives and their need to serve their constituency, as well as in his concern for the working class, the poor, and the institutions that serve them. Did you know he was invited to stand for Parliament three times? (He declined.) A love of humanity and support of social justice is evident throughout his works.  That’s why the Scrooge story is so easily adapted to other times and places.  Its  themes of love, compassion and caring for humanity are universal.  So Henry Winkler played Scrooge in An American Christmas Carol, set in New England during the Depression.  Bill Murray played him as a TV executive in 1980’s NYC in Scrooged.   I can’t help but wonder how the story would be adapted to present day. It has not lost its relevance.

Deep thoughts on a Monday morning, huh?  So before I veer off into a political rant, let’s change the subject.

Last night was one of those nights where I thought we’d moved to the airport.  We are 21 miles from JFK, 24 miles from La Guardia, 29 miles from MacArthur and a mere 8 miles from a regional airport named  Republic.  Long Island skies are full of planes!  (Right after 9/11, when all air traffic was grounded, the skies felt empty …lonely …)  My house is under a flight path, not sure for which airport, but sometimes the jets are directly over my head.

I should update you on the weather.  We had several days of rain last week.  Not enough to completely end the drought, but we aren’t under a fire watch anymore.  And now it’s very cold — more like mid January than early December.  But at least we didn’t get snow — upstate  New York got buried.

And this little guy keeps coming to visit.