Family History

I think Missoula is reconnecting to it's roots. Used to be the city's personality was that of the modern, liberal, hip city in Montana, a well deserved reputation, but now several businesses display large historic black and white photo's from early in the century. Maybe it's a way to impress the tourists with the Western History thing. Anyway, while stopping off for dinner at MacKenzie River Pizza we sit in a booth with a photo of the brick streeted downtown showing the cable cars. Funny the Wilma Theatre looks exaclty the same today as in the photo. So when we're getting set to leave I spy the photo over the next booth which is dated "1930's" with the caption "The Circus Comes to Town". As I look at the parade converging on Higgins Avenue, it occurs to me that it may not just be Missoula history I'm looking at, but my own family's history as well. My ex-husband Bob's grandmother actually came to Missoula with the circus and stayed behind when they loaded up and moved on to the next town. Very little is known about her except that she met her husband and had Jeanie, Bob's mom, in September 1939. So my children's great grandmother may actually be somewhere in the photo with the circus. While I had heard this family tale of great grandma's history and had no reason not to believe, somehow seeing the picture solidified it in my being, a Wow it's really True moment.

Dating Etiquette

Dis me once, shame on you....dis me twice...well you don't get a 2nd chance. When I arrived Wednesday back at work, fresh from the freakish world of smalltownitis somewhere in Western Montana I receive an e-mail from a fellow I've been e-mailing. Gee I'm off work till saturday, if you're coming over my way let me know and we can get together. So okay, I'm game, I like the ride to Bozo and there are a few other things I can do, like check out Munich, still not playing here, and I had a day off coming so I e-mail back, I'll come over friday here's my # call me and we'll make plans. So, expecting that he wouldn't have e-mailed if in fact he wasn't interested in meeting up, I check my e-mail before leaving work at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and still no word. Sooo, sure enough Friday at 11:00 a.m. I get the call, gee I wasn't near a computer, I was out doing "guy stuff" and I just got your e-mail. HOW LAME! If you weren't going to check your e-mail, why did you bother telling me you had free time off to get together? It's things like this that dampen my faith in civilized society. So we have a nice little chat after I state I have made other plans when I didn't hear back, and then agree that when he has time off from work later in the spring maybe we can work something out. NOT! After thinking about whether a person who doesn't even know you deserves another chance after blowing you off, the answer is a resounding NO. If someone doesn't even give you the consideration of actually checking their e-mail when you have a pending get together, what do you think their behavior will be later down the line? Not good I suspect. So back to square one.

Brokeback, Bang Bang

In a word, Brokeback Mountain is heartbreaking. To find your true love and yet not be able to spend your life with them because of circumstances beyond your control is the ultimate sorrow. Jack and Ennis spend their lives therefore playing a role in life that is not suited to them instead of realizing their true nature. The film itself is beautifully shot and the liberal use of close-ups is very effective. Just the outdoor shots of the rugged mountains and sky are wondrous. Reminded me a lot of my first year in the west, the beautiful scenery, the wild animals, the cowboy bars – just like the movie version. I also fell in love in Wyoming and having that surrounding environment somehow magnified the experience. Both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal do terrific jobs. It’s certainly the most subdued, low key Heath we’ve seen and the most vivid portrayal of a character by Jake to date. The lingering feeling when it’s over though remains pain, the pain of separation, the pain of a society that won’t accept all of it’s citizens and the pain of the surrounding loved ones whose lives get caught up in the situation.

Switching gears, the 2nd feature I viewed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, is very entertaining. I’ll see pretty much anything with Robert Downey Jr. and teaming him up with Val Kilmer is a real winner. The snappy dialogue between the two of them and Downey’s commentary are smart and funny. Good writing overcomes almost any obstacle in a movie. Downey as a small time hood turned actor in need of private eye training for a part and Kilmer as the gay PI join forces and end up solving an intertwining set of murders in the vein of the old fashioned spy novel. A must see for any Downey/Kilmer fans.