April Prompt -- Day 28

"Where you want to be" 

The corner of Clark and Addison. Within the Friendly Confines of  Wrigley Field. Watching my Boys in Cubbie Blue!

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sunday Stealing

 Sunday Stealing: Facebook Favorites

    Your favorite songs All My Loving (The Lads from Liverpool), Tears Dry on Their Own (Amy Winehouse), September (Earth Wind & Fire)

    Your favorite bands The Beatles ... and, um ... more Beatles

    Your favorite actors or actresses 

It changes. Currently I'm going through my Cary Grant period. He was both debonair and fearless. I like a handsome man who is willing to be silly, and does silly so well!

via GIPHY

Lucille Ball, too. Gorgeous and goofy. And, always, all in.

via GIPHY

    Your favorite books The best books I've read recently have all been biographies. The one that has stayed with me is Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larsen. Her life was a tragedy, but the influence she had on her siblings was lasting. Because of that, this largely unknown woman has had an impact on millions of lives over generations. In no small part, because of her, we have The Special Olympics and the Americans with Disability Act.Your life wasn't for nothing, dear Rosie.

    Books you dislike There's a series about a Key West food critic who solves mysteries that almost caused me physical pain. The heroine is SUCH a ninny!

    Your favorite movies I recently saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid again on the big screen and found it even better than I remembered. Funnier, more touching, and too cool.


via GIPHY

    Your favorite TV shows Friends and This Is Us spring to mind.

    Your favorite foods/drinks Burger, fries and Coke

    Your favorite animal I suppose I must say these two. Though I consider them less "animals" and more "roommates."

    Your favorite scents Cinnamon

    Your hobbies/ things you do in your free time Fart around on the Internet, read, watch movies

    Your pet peeves Space hogs. Unless you paid for two seats on the train, you shouldn't take two seats on the train. You're rude, and you're stealing. Shame on you!

    Things you collect Books

    Things you like to swap Nothing comes to mind

    Places you've been Here and there, hither and yon, around

    Places you'd like to visit There are places I'd like to return to. Colonial Williamsburg, Boston, Hot Springs, Graceland, The TCM Film Festival ...

    The songs you dislike Blurred Lines. Whenever people talk about how positive and upbeat Pharrell Williams is, I'd like to remind them that he wrote this piece of shit and appears in the video.

    The movies you dislike I really didn't like Wolf of Wall Street.

    The TV shows you dislike I don't like sci fi

   Classes you liked in school American History, English

    Classes you disliked in school Math, science

    Crafts you would like to learn Is cooking a craft? Maybe I should learn to cook.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Every Time You Go Away (1985)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is about separation. Who is the last person you said goodbye (or maybe just "so long") to? You know, I don't recall. Sorry.

2) This week's featured artist, Paul Young, was a gifted athlete during his school days and briefly played professional football (aka soccer). Sam enjoys playing tennis, though her serve doesn't give Serena Williams anything to worry about. What's something you enjoy doing, even if you don't excel? I am a terrible singer, and yet every morning I sing in the shower.

3) Mr. Young and his wife Stacy were married for 31 years, until her death in 2018. What do you think is the key to a happy marriage? I have no earthly clue.


4) Paul Young's performance of this hit song was one of the highlights of the July 1985 Live Aid Concert. This international benefit raised more than $100 million to alleviate hunger in Ethiopia. Tell us about a charity you support. Planned Parenthood. I want all babies to be wanted, and all mothers to be healthy.

5) This song was written by Daryl Hall, of Hall and Oates. What's your favorite Hall and Oates song? "She's Gone."

 

6) In 1985, when this song was popular, the New Coke was unsuccessfully introduced. What's the last beverage you drank? Milk

7) In 1985, the New York Stock Exchange had to close because of Hurricane Gloria. Has a hurricane shared your name? (Find a list of recent/upcoming storm names here.) I don't see myself there.

8) 1985 was the year that the Titanic wreckage was discovered. There have been at least 11 movies and TV shows about the fatal voyage. Have you seen any of them? I've seen Leo and Kate as Jack and Rose, of course. And I've seen parts of a Barbara Stanwyck/Clifton Webb version in glorious black and white.

9) Random question: Would you rather own and run a coffee shop or a shoe store? Why? I admit neither one of these options stirs my soul. I suppose a coffee shop. I really hate the smell of coffee, but I guess that means I wouldn't be tempted to drink the merchandise. My niece majored in culinary arts, so she could help me. 

April Prompt -- Day 27

"A recent compliment" 

"Thank you for doing all this." On Tuesday, a coworker appreciated my 1) staying late to make sure our admin had her gift on her chair on the next morning (Administrative Professionals Day) and 2) taking it upon myself to get to the source of some friction on our project. 

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Playing hooky

I called in sick today, pleading migraine. I worry about the karma of this move, since I was pretty much fine. Just bored and a little annoyed by my boss.

Very little was accomplished. Legs were shaved. Cats were cuddled. Farmville 2 crops were tended. At about 3:00, I was reasonably sure no one from the office would call me and I took myself to lunch.

I had a massive bowl of the best clam chowder in town and tried their drink of the day: vanilla vodka

Must remember to order this again.

and Coke. Separately, vodka and Coke are two of my favorite things, so why not try them together? It was good, tasting a bit like a black cow with a kick.

I enjoyed checking out who else is at the bar on a Friday afternoon at 3:00. There was:

•  A trio of older men who appear to meet here regularly. They were watching a rerun of last night's Cub game, and it all seemed new to them.

• A man in a blazer and khakis who had his laptop under his arm as he bellied up to the bar. The bartender knew him, so I guess this isn't the first time he's done this. I've heard of "work from home" days, even "work from Starbucks" days, but not "work from pub" days. Oh well, I was a delinquent myself today so I have no room to judge. Is it common for bars to have wifi?

•. A table of tourists having a late lunch. They were animated and happy.

Then I went grocery shopping. Then I took a nap. I wonder how many days like this I could string together before I got bored ...

 Image courtesy of gt_pann at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

April Prompt -- Day 26

"Organized or messy?" 

Let's see now: I arrived home from Hollywood on April 15 and my suitcase is still in the living room. It's empty. But I haven't gotten around to re-rearranging the closet in the den to make room for it. So what does that tell you?

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

April Prompt -- Day 25

"Happiness is ..." 

I'm very lucky that I can take pleasure in the little things. It's a gift I inherited from my mom. My day can turn when I notice how blue the sky is, or if Anthony Rizzo gets a clutch hit, or Connie begins purring in my arms, or I hear Sir Paul on the radio.

Life is full of happiness.

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

She's back in my inbox

My oldest friend is back online, and back in touch! It's been about a year since she fell off the radar. She lost her job, then lost her car and her apartment and moved in with her cousin. Her health problems and depression escalated and she withdrew. Never logging onto social media, seldom checking her email, not often answering her phone.*

I've been worried about her, of course, but I have given her space. She moved to California to be with her cousin, she adores her cousin, and I thought she just wanted to be with Sharon. Too bad that wasn't the case. She's been stuck inside her own head. She told me she was becoming agoraphobic.

Anyway she has a new doctor who added Rexulti to her prescription cocktail and it has made a big difference. Her sense of humor -- one of our bonds -- has returned. She's begun writing (fan fiction, just for herself). Is back on email and Facebook and I am always happy to see her name on my screen.

She still has lots of health problems -- primarily bladder issues -- and in addition to meds she's doing talk therapy with a PhD. But she seems to feel that she's making progress, and that is exciting.

I have missed her. I am glad she is back.

*It's an "Obama Phone," a flip phone, so if I want to send her a photo, I have to do it via email.

April Prompt -- Day 24

"A motto to live by" 

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.
Nora Ephron

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

April Prompt -- Day 23

"Something that is always easy for you" 

Loving critters. I have a natural affinity for things with fur.

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

He's huge!

Today brought an unexpected Napoleon sighting! Caleb and the now very, very BIG kitty were on their familiar corner at Michigan and Lake. They are, unfortunately, homeless again. The "apartment" they'd been living in -- really, the attic space over a garage -- had mold and it was disruptive to wife Randi's breathing. She's had such health problems that they decided it would be better to sleep outdoors in their tent until they can find another place.

There's good news here. Caleb is still working, still driving a forklift at a grocery warehouse. Since he's been moved back to nights, he's decided to augment their income by panhandling. I didn't see Randi because she was picking up new socks and underwear at Macy's (which is just up the street). This is great because she's battled cancer, and I was afraid that her absence meant she was sick again.

I'm always surprised by how comfortable Caleb is with working the corner. His sign says he needs money for a place to stay and that's true, so he's not taking the money under false pretenses. Napoleon has been to vet recently, and the cat's health is always paramount in their lives, and, of course, that costs money.  Caleb honestly needs help and isn't ashamed to ask for it.

She's skipping the salon!

I saw Joanna Saturday night for the first time in ages. I knew that she's been crazy busy. Self-employed, she lost her longest-standing and most lucrative client and has been scrambling for a replacement. I also knew her kid brother is dying of cancer and is in hospice somewhere down south, which naturally has been weighing on her.

I was surprised when I saw her. Her normally lustrous dark brown hair was stringy and the gray was visible at 20 paces. It's the first time I've ever seen her without an armful of bangles or a decorative clip in her hair. She suddenly looked like what she is -- a 60-something woman who is tired and weighed down by the circumstances of her life.

After our movie group movie (Lost Weekend), we went to the tapas restaurant next door. All she had was water. She said she was stuffed from the Passover Seder she'd just attended at her neighbor's apartment I didn't believe her and offered to buy her a drink. She said after watching Ray Milland's portrayal of an alcoholic, she's never drinking again. Color me unconvinced. She just didn't have the money.

She spoke enthusiastically about the project she's working on with my a former coworker of mine. I brought them together, and I'm pleased and proud it's working out. Especially now that I know how much it means to Joanna. They haven't paid her yet -- that's not how it works; freelancers bill when the project is done and then have to wait weeks (sometimes up to two months!) to be paid -- but she is really depending on the money they will give her. She confessed that she had to dip into her life insurance policy to pay her rent, and has negotiated a two-month extension with her landlord. Her rent was going to be raised on May 1, but she convinced him to wait until July 1. She sold her brand-new pressure cooker (still in the box) to a neighbor for $80. The neighbor gave her a $100 bill and told her not to bother with the change. She said without that $20, she wasn't sure she'd be able to put gas in her car.

No wonder she's not getting her done! 

This is not the first time she's been here. She previously told me that, years ago, she filed for bankruptcy while still living in New Orleans. At that time, she viewed it as just a bump in the road. She was confident that she could bounce back from it. But now, she worries that she'll never be able to retire.

That was Saturday. Sunday was Easter, the day of rebirth.

I hope she had a good holiday. I hope she believes that she can turn it around professionally, that she believes in the good things in her life.

I want to help. But I don't have a lot of extra cash right now, and when I do I've been sending it to Henry and Reg. Still, I want her to feel supported.

I put a $20 Walgreens gift card in an envelope with a note: telling her to hang onto it because we all have those moments when our budget won't budge but we still suddenly need fabric softener, or trouser socks, or something else incidental, and you can always find that stuff at Walgreens.

I tried to word it as though it's no big deal, that we all find ourselves where she is now. I hope she takes it in the spirit its meant.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

April Prompt -- Day 22

"Your last important decision" 

To finally redo my bathroom, back in October 2018. It was years in the making, but I think it was a good investment. And it was a Russian nesting doll of decisions -- once I decided to do it, I had to decide how to finance it, and choose a contractor, and select tile and finishes ... I didn't enjoy it, but I'm glad I did it.

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At the Movies -- Part 3

Last week I went to the TCM Classic Film Festival and had a freaking awesome time. A wallow for movie lovers, like me. It was about the camaraderie of meeting fellow buffs in line, of watching classics I love with others who love them, too, and on the BIG screen.

SUNDAY.  One of the first movies announced by TCM for the festival was Holiday (1938). It's not an especially popular film, yet it's perhaps my favorite movie of all time, and so I took its early inclusion as a sign from God and Robert Osborne that I was meant to go to the festival this year.

Kate plays Linda Seton. She's rich, sheltered, and confused. The alienated black sheep of a prominent New York family. She wants to do good in the world, but is confused about how. She just knows that she's not content with the way her family and their friends worship the almighty buck.

Her kid sister, Julia, brings home a most fascinating chap. Johnny Case (Cary Grant). Julia and Johnny met and fell madly, instantly in love on the slopes in Lake Placid. Now that they're back from vacation, Julia and Johnny have to deal with the reality of their lives. Julia is a Park Avenue heiress who (unlike Linda) loves her life of privilege. Johnny is a self-made success, who believes that money is the means to an end.

Now that he has some money socked away, Johnny wants to take time off -- like a year or three -- to spend it. He wants a "holiday," to travel and meet people, learn the meaning of life.

Julia is appalled, but Linda thinks this is fantastic! Loving her sister as she does, Linda wants the wedding to take place. She believes Johnny is just what the Seton family needs. Julia wants Johnny, because he's clever and good looking, but she wants to change him into a Seton.

Oh, yeah. And Linda is falling in love with him. This causes her much pain, because he belongs to her dear Julia.

Despite its star power, this is a "little" movie. Dialog driven, it takes place mostly in the Seton home. I loved seeing it with people who appreciated it like I did. I watched one of the final scenes through tears, and I wasn't the only one sniffling. That's the wonderful thing about the TCMFF -- we lose ourselves in these films.

Magnificent Obsession (1954) in the same theater. I just love Douglas Sirk movies. There's a school of criticism that maintains Sirk was making sharp-eyed observations about the bourgeois values of the post-war middle class. Yeah, yeah, whatever. For me, they are freaking fabulous soap operas, filled with unbelievably attractive people who suffer unbelievably dramatic hardships and prevail to live unbelievably happily ever after. These movies make me happy, same as Elvis movies do. And I wasn't missing an opportunity to see one on the big screen.

The barebones of the plot: a wealthy playboy learns the value of doing good and turns his life around. In glorious technicolor! My favorite scene has brain surgeon Rock Hudson scrubbing for an emergency operation ... shirtless. What? Don't all brain surgeons spritz their bare chests before grabbing the bone saw? I wasn't the only one in the theater laughing out loud, but our laughter was affectionate, not derisive. We were all there because we love these movies.

It was introduced by Barbara Rush, who was the movie's ingenue back in 1954. I was tickled to see her. She was in TV's Peyton Place and she starred in the first professional theatrical production I ever saw -- Same Time, Next Year at the Blackstone Theater here in Chicago -- back when I was still in high school. She's frail, but quite glamorous.

The Complicated Legacy of Gone with the Wind.  The only TCMFF panel I attended, but it was so provocative and intriguing. A quartet of film historians and authors discussed two inarguable points: GWTW is un-PC to the point of being offensive, and yet it's a great and highly watchable movie. As women, how do we process Scarlett, Mammy and Melanie? As people of color, how do we handle the romanticized depiction of slavery and Reconstruction? It lasted an hour and it could have gone on an hour more.

Gone with the Wind (1939). Back to the BIG screen for the biggest movie of all time. The first movie ever shown on TCM. It was so very fitting that this was the last movie I saw at my first TCMFF.

Sunday Stealing

ASK ANYTHING

1. What Did You Have For Lunch? Saturday, I had breakfast for lunch. Two eggs, over easy, bacon, hashbrowns and wheat toast.

2.  Do You Dance In The Car? No car.

3.  Favourite Animal? These two. (Though I consider them more roommates than animals.)

4.  Do You Watch The Olympics? Nope
 
5.  What Time Do You Usually Go To Bed? Sometimes 8:00. Sometimes 1:00 AM. Or anytime in between. Depends on how I'm feeling.
 
6.  Are You Wearing Makeup Right Now? Remnants of yesterday's makeup.
 
7.  Do You Prefer To Swim In A Pool Or The Ocean? Now why aren't lakes even included in my choices?
 
8.  What Was The Last Thing You Ate? A bowl of cold cereal.
 
9.  Bottled Water Or Tap Water? I don't care.

10. What Makes You Happy? Seeing the W fly high!

11. Did You Like Swinging As A Child? Do You Still Get Excited When You See A Swing Set? Yes and yes.
 
12. Do You Work Better With Or Without Music? With music. Too much quiet freaks me out.
 
13. Do You Make Your Bed In The Morning? No.
 
14. Do You Like Your Music Loud? Yes.

15.Do You Fear Thunder / Lightning? No.

April Prompt -- Day 21

"How do you show people you care?" 

I believe it's little things, done consistently. For example, every time I spend the night out of town, I send postcards to my cousin, my aunt, my niece* and a handful of my friends. My oldest friend had a medical procedure scheduled for this week, so I sent her a little get well gift: a little Lego of her favorite hockey player ($7.50). I've sent Easter greetings to Henry with a Walgreen's gift card inside to help with his prescriptions.

It's just my way of letting people know they're on my mind.

*My nephew doesn't check his mailbox.

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Mighty Clouds of Joy (1974)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song celebrates serenity. Are you feeling peaceful this morning? No. I'm off to a dentist appointment and I really, really hope it goes well. I'm not a dentalphobe, but I can't afford even a filling right now.

2) The lyrics include allusions to sun and clouds. How does the world look where you are? Is it sunny or cloudy? The sun isn't up yet, but the weatherman predicts sunny skies.

3) This week's featured artist, BJ Thomas, is in the Grammy Hall of Fame for another hit record that uses weather as a metaphor, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head." Make up a Hall of Fame that you believe you should be inducted into. (For example, Crazy Sam has inducted herself into The Meme Mistress Hall of Fame for her service to Saturday 9.) I believe I qualify as a Hall of Fame Cub Fan.


4) When Crazy Sam hears this song, she always sings along ... loud. Is there a song you simply cannot resist singing along with? So many! How about this one? "He walks away, the sun goes down. He takes the day but I'm grown ..."


5) BJ Thomas has performed this song at The Grand Ole Opry. The Opry has been broadcast on the radio every week since 1925, nearly 95 years ago! Of course, back in the 1920s, radio was the only broadcast media. Today we have other choices. Is listening to the radio part of your daily routine? I sing along with my shower radio every morning.

 
6) Though their dress code is lenient, country music fans who attend the Opry for a live show are warned: "Just remember, there's one rule we take very seriously here at the Grand Ole Opry -- you must wear something." Easter Sunday is a day many of us dress up. What will you be wearing today? But today is Easter Saturday, so I'm just wearing jeans/tshirt. I'll wear a nicer blouse to church tomorrow.


7) Easter is recognized as the start of the spring season. What are you looking forward to this spring? Baseball!

8) Lilies are popular at Easter. Do you have a favorite flower? Carnations. They come in so many colors and smell so good.

9) Which would rather find in your Easter basket: yellow marshmallow chicks (aka Peeps) or a plastic egg filled with pennies? Pennies. Lots of pennies. I will put them toward a nice, chocolate bunny.

April Prompt -- Day 20

"What would you like to know about the future?" 

What's going on with the condo deconversion? Am I selling my unit as part of the building sale? Am I moving? Or should I upgrade my unit by replacing the windows and ceiling fans (and, later, the carpet).

For more about the April Challenge, click here.

Image courtesy of Youngkeit at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At the Moves -- Part Two

Last week I went to the TCM Classic Film Festival and had a freaking awesome time. A wallow for movie lovers, like me. It was about the camaraderie of meeting fellow buffs in line, of watching classics I love with others who love them, too, and on the BIG screen.

SATURDAY. I made my pilgrimage to The TCL IMAX Chinese Theater. It's the granddaddy of movie palaces, with more than 900 seats and the biggest screen I have ever seen. And it's steeped in Hollywood history. This is the theater that hosts the Oscars each year. This is the one with the iconic hand/footprints in its forecourt.

This is where I saw From Here to Eternity (1953). A grand black and white epic that is just literally awesome on the big screen. This movie is iconic for the oceanside clinch between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. But their love story isn't what grips me. It's the one between overly earnest Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt and Lorene, the "hostess" at the New Congress Club.

Prewitt is a ridiculously handsome Montgomery Clift and Lorene is a decidedly unwholesome Donna Reed. She very nearly steals the picture with her Oscar-winning performance. But for Frank Sinatra, who also won an Oscar for his comic, heartbreaking supporting role as Maggio.

I sat behind two young (late teens? early 20s?) women who clearly knew nothing about the movie before it started. They were sitting alongisde their parents, who told them it was about soldiers stationed at Pearl Harbor in December, 1941 ("and you know what that means"), but beyond that, it was all new to them. One of the girls started to really cry when Maggio meets his unfortunate, inevitable end. I was jealous of them, experiencing this for the first time and in such a great theater. And I thought, "Good for you, Francis. You deserved that Oscar."

The movie was introduced by Donna Reed's daughter, Mary. She talked about her mother's role in this movie and, with great pride, about how Donna Reed supported the war effort in the 1940s. Hearing from her enhanced the movie.

Then I went to the Chinese Multiplex for Father Goose (1964). This movie is not high art, but it's dear to me all the same. When I was a kid, I watched it on TV with my dad, and it made him laugh out loud. My father was not an especially happy man, and sharing this joy with him is an indelible memory.

It's one of Cary Grant's favorite films. He plays Walter Ecklund, a scruffy loner who loves his whisky and his boat. He ends up on a secluded South Seas island, watching for Japanese ships and reporting back to the British Navy. For reasons too complicated to go into, he suddenly has to share his primitive island with a straight-laced French school teacher and seven little girls. It's funny and silly and romantic.

It was delightful to watch it with a theater full of Baby Boomers who remember it as fondly as I do. It was introduced by three of the seven little girls, who are now all older than I am!

Back to the big screen for one of the highlights of TCM Film Festival: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Introduced by Burt Bacharach!

I Say a Little Prayer for You ... Alfie ... Do You Know the Way to San Jose ... Arthur's Theme (The Best that You Can Do) ... I'll Never Fall in Love Again ... This Guy's in Love with You ... He wrote 'em all. And, of course, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head. What a thrill to see him and hear him talk about his work! He's 90 now, but he moves well and is sharp as a tack. And quite willing to let the chips fall where they may.

And then, of course, the movie! It was written by one of my all-time favorite authors, William Goldman. And then there are Newman and Redford, the two coolest guys to ever appear on screen. Period. They made me laugh, they kept me intrigued and exhilarated, and then, at the end, they broke my heart. And you haven't lived until you've seen those two glorious sets of blue eyes on that big, BIG screen!

My seatmate was TCM's Alicia Malone. She couldn't have been sweeter. At first I didn't want to bother her because she wasn't working this event, she was just there as a fan. But we talked about Leonardo diCaprio/Robert Redford and our cats. I missed Reynaldo so much and she missed her Fur Monster. We scrolled through our phones, sharing kitty pix like two crazy cat ladies.

I have so much more to post about this vacation, but I must back away from the keyboard for a moment. 

At the Movies -- Part One

Last week I went to the TCM Classic Film Festival and had a freaking awesome time. A wallow for movie lovers, like me. It was about the camaraderie of meeting fellow buffs in line, of watching classics I love with others who love them, too, and on the BIG screen.

I'll split my Thursday-Sunday movie going up over multiple posts.

THURSDAY NIGHT. My first movie of the festival was Ocean's 11 (1960). I saw it poolside at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt, and it was introduced by Angie Dickinson. Since the film is about a New Year's Eve heist, we were given Happy New Year fedoras and tiaras.

Angie is 87 years old, has a little trouble walking, and is quite outspoken. She reminisced about her career, wished aloud she'd been considered more of an actress than a sex symbol, and understands that she's best remembered as Pepper Anderson on Police Woman (1974-78). She admitted she and Sinatra were lovers, off and on, for years but would say little more about it. (Good for you, Angie!) And frankly, she really doesn't much care for this movie.

Oh well, I did. Poolside is not the best venue for seeing a film. It's glamorous, sure, but the screen is not that big and it did wobble a bit in the chilly night wind. But Ocean's 11 is not high art, more about glitz than substance, so it was fitting.


FRIDAY. The first full day of the Festival kicked off at 9:00 and I was there, ready. Funny how I cannot make 9:00 AM at the office, but for a movie? I'm right on time!

I had planned on seeing a movie I'd never even heard of before: Merrily We Go to Hell, a Prohibition-era comedy about an heiress and a newspaperman. The title is a popular toast of the time, which is noteworthy because in 1932, no one was supposed to be drinking. I was intrigued because it was directed by one of Hollywood's pioneering women, Dorothy Arzner, who I know more by reputation than by her work.

But here's the thing. When I got to the theater, I was drawn inexorably to The Clock (1945). Because it's Judy. Garland was my gateway drug to the classics, so it just seemed fitting that I spend my first morning with her.

It's one of Judy's few non-singing roles. She is luminous. Her skin is perfect, her eyes are huge. It turns out I was sitting in front of the niece of Dottie Ponedel, Judy's makeup artist and close friend. That's the thing about the TCMFF -- everyone around you is a movie fan and so you instantly have loads in common.

The film was introduced by comedian Mario Cantone, who you probably know from Sex and the City. I don't know why: he didn't have much affinity for the film. Dottie's niece would have done a better job.

Anyway, here's the bare bones of the plot: Soldier Joe (Robert Walker) is on leave in New York. For just 48 hours. While he's sitting in Penn Station, trying to figure out where he should go first, Alice (Judy) rushes by, trips and breaks her heel. Being an officer and a gentleman, he helps her repair it and then she repays his kindness by being his tour guide. After all, he's in uniform and there's a war on and it's the only decent thing to do.

Naturally, they click. Even though they only have 48 hours, live in completely different worlds, and there's a war on. At the end of their romantic afternoon, they part. But Joe can't let her go and chases her bus. They agree to meet under the clock at The Astor Hotel for a proper date. They fall in love and, improbably, marry. Though I'm told these whirlwind, wartime City Hall weddings were not unusual in the 1940s.

This movie was directed by Vincente Minnelli. He and Judy rekindled their affair during filming, got married, and gave the world Liza.

Then it was off to the Egyptian Theater for Sleeping Beauty (1959). How had I never seen this before? It's beautiful! Two of the original animators were there to introduce it, which was thrilling. Jane Baer and Floyd Norman worked on it, literally, for years. It was nice to hear how inclusive it was at Disney Studios. It was about all about talent, and all races and creeds were welcome ... if you could draw.

They talked about how thrilling it was at Disney Studios in the late 1950s. Not only were they working on an animated feature film, "Walt" (they called him "Walt") was launching Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club was in production.

There's a sequence where Fauna bakes a cake that took forever, and Ms. Baer is still justifiably proud of it. The candles! She finally got the candles just right!

Back to the Chinese Multiplex for Vanity Street (1932). I'm just learning to appreciate pre-code movies, and this one was new to me. It's about a hungry, homeless girl in NYC during The Depression. She picks up a brick and tosses it through a drugstore window, hoping to get arrested. Because at least in jail, they feed you. The detective who responds to the call can see that she's not a criminal, just a blonde in trouble, and he gives her the key to his apartment. To sleep on his sofa. He's gruff and world-weary, but decent and wouldn't press his advantage.

He uses his connections to get her a job in the chorus of a nightclub revue. While she's saving money to get out of poverty and rent her own place, she falls in love with him. He rebuffs her. She moves out and into a bad crowd -- drinking, partying, and staying out all night with men not as honorable as the cop. One of those men ends up dead and she's a murder suspect.

It was pre-code sleazy (not much is worn beneath those slinky dresses) but it had a lot of heart. And the performance at the center -- Charles Bickford as the cop -- was sterling. Bickford's career spanned 50 years and I've often seen him in more mainstream movies: A Star Is Born, The Days of Wine and Roses and The Farmer's Daughter. He always played fathers or elder statesmen. It was interesting to see him young and powerful.

I ended the night with a haunting little low-budget thriller called Open Secret (1948). Barely an hour long, and mostly forgotten (one of the reasons why TCM is so important!) it's a powerful indictment of anti-Semitism.

Paul and Nancy are honeymooning with a drive across country and stop to visit the groom's WWII army buddy. Ed tells the landlady to let them in and make themselves at home until he gets back ... only he never does. Paul and Nancy stick around for awhile -- Paul wants to thank Ed and Nancy has yet to meet him -- and at first they enjoy the bucolic little town. And then they begin notice things. Ugly things. The suspense builds as they figure out what the local "patriotic organization" is really up to: running Jews out of town, and murdering the ones who won't go. "They" are taking our jobs, "they" are responsible for international unrest.

It's an unfortunately timely movie, as we are encouraged to believe in the brown menace storming our border on the south. And it shows that special effects are not essential to a good movie. All that's needed is a powerful story and good actors.

Stay tuned for Part Two.