We had our weekly TIGR meeting today, which I called in for, but was somewhat detached during. There was more “complaining” than “sharing,” and I get tired of that fast.
At book club, though Janet canceled at the last minute, we discussed our latest book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I brought some printouts including a little about the author, about how he came to write the book, a write-up about the “real Eddie,” a Reading Group Guide with discussion questions, a teacher’s guide with questions (and answers!), and an amusing critical review of the book.
I loved the tone of the review, which had this paragraph near the beginning:
“Since it may have seemed too blatantly manipulative to follow Tuesdays With Morrie with a more obvious sequel — Wednesdays With Marty, say, or Thursdays With Tony — here Albom trades memoir for fantasy. The book again introduces an old man on the verge of death, but The Five People You Meet in Heaven finds the author channeling his own inner Morrie, as he shows both his octogenarian protagonist and the reader just how much dying can teach us about living.”
and ends with this one:
“Enough. A little of this goes a long way, though Albom’s short chapters, paragraphs and sentences never challenge the most limited attention span. Eddie gets smarter. The reader gets warmer. The writer gets richer. Fridays With Freddy, anyone?”
I had a haircut with Thomas at 5:00. I really like the way he cuts my hair. I wish he wasn’t so difficult to schedule with. For $3.00 more than Cost Cutters, I much prefer his work.
While there I made the comment, which I thought was a compliment, that Dee, who has the booth next to Thomas’s, looks like Martha Stewart. She gave a look, that made me stammer, “A much younger Martha Stewart, and before she was destined for the pen.”
“I hope you mean I look like her because of the haircut.” Yeah, whatever. I happen to think she’s an attractive, classy lady. Oh well.
At home, I took a quick shower, and waited for Robert by playing Zuma. At 6:30 I got a call that he, Rodney, and Jeff were at Rockola waiting for me. He had left a message on my work phone, and two on my cell phone, which I had put on vibrate during my haircut so hadn’t heard.
I was at Rockola in five minutes, and they had already ordered, including a club sandwich for me. Jeff drank water.
We traded our passes in for tickets, and went in. I was surprised at how empty the place was. It never did get packed. I wonder if they just gave out fewer passes this time, of if people had heard what the movie was about and had declined to attend. It was a much much more “gay” movie, bi actually, than I had anticipated.
Rhonda (and Mary) came in at about 7:20, and introduced Robert to them. Rhonda and I were our regular irreverent selves, talking about “CP time.”
I really loved the music in this movie.
Movie synopsis: De-Lovely is an original musical portrait of American composer Coler Porter, filled with his unforgettable songs. In the film, Porter is looking back on his life as if it was one of his spectacular stage shows, with the people and events of his life becoming the actors and action onstage. Through elaborate production numbers and popular hits like “Anything Goes,” “It’s De-Lovely,” and “Night and Day,” Porter’s elegant, excessive past comes to light – including his deeply complicated relationship with his wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter.