An Elf Spinning Out of Control

 It is a couple of weeks after Christmas, yet here I am watching another Christmas movie. Fred Clause. I've never seen it before. It came out in 2007. It stars Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. It's a cute movie with a message of course.

When Fred Clause first arrives at the North Pole and Santa's village, you see the beautiful little town all lit up, snow, Christmas trees and oodles of elves dressed in green suits and pointy shoes. Man, does that bring back some memories!

When I was in the 4th or 5th grade at B.B. Harris Elementary School in Duluth, Georgia, we the students were to put on a Christmas play. We practiced our lines (those that had lines) and we practiced our songs, (O'Christmas Tree comes to mind) and we practiced our "dance". The dance consisted of us elves twirling and running around the perimeter of the whole "set" area.

Several weeks before the play, teacher asked for all the elves to bring in a plain white pillow case and white tights, which she died a Christmas shade of green. We added belts and hats (probably made from felt) and there we were, cute little elves!

The night of the play, I was dropped off in front of the school. No, my parents didn't go park the car. They went back home or someplace. My mother never attended anything like this. Looking back, I am quite amazed I was allowed to be a part of plays, choirs, etc. But I was allowed, I just never had a parent - or anyone - to watch me. Or watch over me. I think now how that probably wouldn't even be an option...dropping a 9 or 10 year old child off in front of the school to find herself into the building and to the right place inside the building. But hey, it was 1970. Times were different.

But anyways! The show must go on! And it did. Our play went along as planned and we were cute. We sang and we danced. Well, as luck (or fate) would have it, THIS elf was running and twirling and at one point this twirling elf must have hit the glossy wooden floor just right, because I spun out! Yep! Just like a car on an icy highway! I hit the floor and slid and twirled and finally came to a rest just outside the path of all the other elves who came after me. If I had been on ice, it would have melted from the heat coming off my red cheeks. I was so embarrassed. A parent (not mine, of course) asked me if I were ok. I said yes and got up and joined the overly joyous elf parade again, but with much less enthusiasm and much trepidation.

My children have been in quite a few plays, choirs, sports, and other activities over the years. And I am grateful to say a parent (mostly me) has attended at least 98% of them. 

 

My own drawing.

Moonstruck

 

 It was the fall of 1987. Me and a friend decided to go out for drinks at a bar near my office. I had been single now for five + years. The bar was just a small place on Beaver Ruin Rd in Norcross. There was music and dancing and I think most of the people there were regulars. It wasn't crowded and seemed the people there knew each other.

We met a guy, nice enough, sitting at the bar. He had a camera. (No cell phones back then!)  Did we take pictures? I don't remember. I remember he went to the restroom and said, will you hold my camera? I guess that was a way of getting us to stay until he returned. Not long after that we did duck out though.

But somehow, he ended up calling me. We exchanged numbers??? He called me at work, so maybe I gave him my number at work or I told him where I worked and he called and they patched him through to me. I don't know. But he called and asked if I would like to go out to eat and see a movie. I was single, he seemed okay, so I said yes.

I don't recall where we ate. But I know we went by his house and I went as far as the entrance to his house. His house was very neat and he made a point to talk about all the antiques he had in his home and how he loved antiques.

Being at the movies with him was ok. He was nice and polite. I actually had a good time because of the movie.

The movie was Moonstruck. Starring Cher and Nicholas Cage. I was only 27 but for some reason I connected with Cher's character. She was a sad figure. Older than she should have been. Brooding. But sassy. And why do girls like those moody, nasty boys???? Nicholas cage was a jerk in this movie. But you know...it got romantic. A girl likes those romantic movies! But it was also funny and I enjoyed just laughing.

In the next few days I think I heard from John once. He called me at work again. I guess maybe I was a little cool towards him. Like, he may have asked me out again and I said maybe. Well, in the next day or so there was a call on a random phone line we had in our office. Like in a cubicle no one sat in. I answered the call and a person asked me if I were the girl who went out with John last week. Yes. Well, this person proceeded to tell me he was gay. Okay.

Well, at this point in my life I didn't have a ton of experience with gay people. The person on the phone said didn't he show you all his antiques? I was a bit naive and didn't know what that had to do with anything. But I didn't think I should go out with him again. If he were gay what in the world was he doing asking me out?

Things to ponder. Hmmmmmmmm.

But dang! I loved that movie. It is still to this day one of my all time favorite movies! And has one of my most memorable scenes...where she slaps his face and says "Snap outofit!"