Movies for AARP era making a comeback?

I went to two movies in the last nine days. In itself, this is a feat because, by my count, I had been to one in the last four months.

As surprising as that stat may be, here is an even better one: both movies were very good and were aimed (at least in part) at people in my age bracket.

Last Chance Harvey is a romantic comedy set in London. Dustin Hoffman seems like an odd choice to play the lead. He's now 71 years old but, in this movie, he can pass for 50-55 easily.

He's a struggling, divorced jingles writer who attends his daughter's wedding. Once he gets there, he finds out his daughter wants her stepdad (played by James Brolin) to give her away. Although Kathy Baker (his ex-wife) and Brolin don't have a lot of scenes, they chew up the scenery wonderfully.

In the midst of this, Emma Thompson enters the fray. She plays a single woman roughly her exact age (49) who has a very boring job who wants to love and be loved and spends a lot of time with her mother, a character in her own right.

Without giving away the plot, these old pros speak like people in their age bracket are supposed to - softly. Hoffman and Thompson are a delight to watch because they are exact opposites in style. Hoffman uses silence and pauses between words. When Thompson speaks, she does so quickly (as the Brits are wont to do). But she also can give a look of resignation and contentment that speaks louder than anything that could have been said.

Dating (or merely) mixing at this age is a tricky business. One suspects a 20-something viewer will be bored early. And the final lines ring like something that is probably said by anybody in that age bracket who just met someone they really are fond of.

Frost/Nixon is a virtual opposite of a movie from Last Chance Harvey except for one thing: it, too, is heavy on dialogue. You damn near have to be an AARPer to remember Richard Nixon. As a teen, I was always baffled as to how he got as far as he did in politics. The movie is about the David Frost interviews with Nixon in 1977. At the time, they were unsettling to many because they set a standard for checkbook journalism. Nixon had been out of office for three years and almost out of mind.

The drama necessarily delves into the background and back dealings to make the interviews possible. But it is Frank Langella's performance as Nixon that is compelling. Folks who think they know more than me (i.e. critics) seem unanimous in saying it is a better play than it is a movie. That may be so but those of us who were around in the Nixon era remember how hard it was to get the man to admit he did anything wrong (just like a lot of us AARPers do now) and it wasn't hard to recall those feelings again.

Watching Langella finally give in and say what he really felt was terrific stuff. As I get older, I find it harder to keep my tongue at times. Hindsight is, at times, a terrible burden. In this movie, however, you see the younger, cockier Frost (played by Michael Sheen) get held at bay for a long time by the cool old pro. As we get older, however, our nerves and resolve aren't what they used to be. Finally, Langella gives Frost what he (and his backers) were looking for. It is one thing to admit mistakes when you are young - you have time to correct them. When you are older, you may not get another chance. You can hear the pain in the voice of the man who once was the powerful man in the country admit he lied to us ... because he could.

This is hard, intelligent stuff and it isn't the type of moviewatching that usually brings in big bucks. Still, it is nice to see some directors remembered to include us older folks in on something we are either interested in or can relate to.

After all, not everybody can afford (or even wants to) eat steak at a restaurant. Some folks just like a nice ol' hamburger.

Something to be proud of

There are good and bad things about getting older. One characteristic that can go either way is the ability to take most things in stride. We've seen it all before somewhere.

Except for days like yesterday. This was something we had never seen before. Frankly, there were hundreds of thousands of people who didn't believe it ever would happen. Sadly, there were also thousands who believe it never should have ... and their reasoning had little to do with political persuasion.

Watching the inaugural yesterday was satisfying and gratifying.

It was satisfying because, for the first time in a long while, you got the feeling the majority of the country really wants the new president to do well.

It was gratifying because something that has long been spoken as an ideal came to pass. I read where a young African-American woman was asked why she brought her five-year old daughter to watch the festivities yesterday. She answered, "Because now she will know all things are possible."

It was an eloquent but simple answer.

There is no way to know how this president will do. The problems are many and the solutions are not simple.

But a democracy needs to have hope to flourish. We need to be able to have the ability to remain positive in the time of crisis. The naysayers and nitpickers will have their chance to object and complain about the new president's proposed solutions to the various crises the country will face. And there will be occasions when their objections have merit and should be seriously considered.

But yesterday was not their day. Some tried but they looked silly doing so. Deep down inside, I think they knew it.

No, yesterday was a day we needed. It was a day when you realized you can really disagree with someone and not be considered a traitor or an enemy of the state. It was a day when the sun shone brightly and a badly scarred country relaxed a bit. It was a say that never had occurred before and never will again. There is only one first date and this was it.

I emailed a female friend of mine that I thought the day will also come in her lifetime when we will elect a female president, thus knocking down another invisible barrier. It will happen because this truly is a country where anything is possible.

Bit that's another dream for another day. For now, we have yesterday, a day that should have made every American proud.

The memory will never go away. It was nice while it lasted.

However, now it's time to get to work.

Going Out on Top

I attended a great funeral yesterday.

Okay, I know how that sounds. But it really was a wonderful event.

Ron Vannelli was a helluva guy. I didn't know him all that well but I liked him a lot. I went to school with his son Greg and know most of his other kids as well. He was a hockey guy through and through, a proud dad of several good players and a terrific referee in his day.

More importantly, he was a good guy away from the game, too. He liked people and liked being with people. He was a guy who was always the life of the party ... even when there was no party.

Ron had been pretty sick in recent years with a rare disease I wouldn't even try to pronounce. It kept him in a wheelchair but, by all reports, he never lost his indomitable spirit (a trait he handed down to his kids and grandkids).

When a man like that leaves us, he deserves a good farewell.

And he got it yesterday. It was SRO at St. Andrew's tiny church yesterday. The priest gave a solid, solemn performance. The songs were basically traditional stuff at funeral. But the pianists and singer were in good form, grabbing your attention without blowing your head off.

Two of his sons coach a local high school hockey team. We exited as their players held their sticks high. Very interesting and nifty stuff.

The real stars of the day, however, were the orators - his son Mark, his nephew Roger and one of the 28 grandkids, Robbie. There were some stories told that clearly meant something only to the family members and tales that everybody could acknowledge. But all of them were told with love and smiles and lots of talk about how much Ron lved his family. On one of the coldest days we have known around here in years, St. Andrew's was a very warm place.

Afterwards, we all repaired to a local saloon/eatery for a terrific brunch filled with laughter and more storytelling.

A friend of mine who was sitting next to me in church noted that, as we get older, we are now attending more of these sort of events than ever. "I went to four in 10 days at one point last year," he said.

True enough.

But it seems to me the whole idea of a wake and (if there is one) a funeral is to honor and represent the life of the deceased. As tough as it is to say goodbye to a friend of a family member, it is easier to do so with a smile and a fond memory.

Now, whenever Ron's name comes up in conversation, I know I will instantly feel happy inside.

I went home and told my wife this is how I want to check out -- with people smiling, telling tales about or on me, having a good meal and, if they want one, a drink or two.

I am sure there were a few tears somewhere yesterday and I don't mean to make light of those who do so. But I would like to think most folks went home last night and couldn't wait to tell someone what a wonderful experience it was.

I can't think of a better tribute to somebody.

Baby, it's cold outside

Although we are generally a hearty bunch in Minnesota, our patience is being tested this week. Look at the picture below.


That was Tuesday morning, when it was a brisk -18 in the morning. It warmed up to -5 later in the day. Today is supposed to be acceptable during the day but the temp is scheduled to drop to -20 tonight. Under those circumstances, it seems to me Pete, the Happy Dog, has the right idea here. He found this place in the front window and stayed put for several hours. Since room is limited, I think I will simply have another hot chocolate and stay put in the basement. Ill be back when it warms up to ... zero.

How a 33-year old memory is helping my hunt for jobs

Since last October, I have been part of an ever increasing group of characters known as job hunters. It is a frustrating experience ... partly when you find out that ability is one of the least concerns of some employers.

You find yourself taking a serious look at your skills and saying, "Well, I know what I like to do. But what is it that I am capable of doing?"

At the moment, I have four resumes on the computer. They all have the same basic information but each of them also has a twist to them, an accentuation directed in a different area. Before applying, you find yourself reading the job description carefully and changing the wording on the resume each time in an attempt to make it a perfect fit. When it doesn't work, all you can do is sigh and try again.

Don't misunderstand. I am luckier than many folks in this situation. I have a very understanding spouse and family, a little savings I can tap into and have managed to get some part-time work. Unlike some other folks, I also qualify for unemployment benefits.

Life could be a helluva lot worse.

For some reason, this situation reminded me of something that happened in 1976 while I was a college student. Spring Fling was coming up and a few of us in the dorm were moaning we didn't have dates for the event. Joe Sweeney, an old friend, told me he knew the perfect girl for me to call. She was someone he had taken some classes with. He was fairly sure she wasn't seeing anyone and he thought we would be a good match together.

So I called this girl who didn't know me from Adam at 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night and invited to the biggest social event of the year ... that was happening three days later.

Things didn't start out so well. It turned out that Joe had gotten his names mixed up. He did know Pat (that were her name) very well. It was her sister (I think her name was Kathy) who was his classmate. Pat had met Joe once and barely remembered him.

As it developed, we ended not going to the dance that Saturday because her parents were coming from Detroit Lakes to visit her. But good things do occasionally come to those who stick their neck out a long way. Pat and I did go out a few times. Nothing romantic became of it but we did become friends the rest of our time in college.

For reasons I can't exactly pinpoint, this remembrance fills me with hope something good is around the corner for me. There is only one problem I can see. Who do I know that I can call looking for a job who is awake after 10 p.m. on a weeknight?

Bring back Sonny Eliot

When I was a wee lad, there was a guy in Detroit named Sonny Eliot who did the weathercast on WWJ-TV. Sonny was a local personality, a guy who cracked bad jokes and made funny sounds during a 3-4 minute segment on the news. In the end, he mixed in a few temps and told us what the next day might be like.

Funny thing was, he was usually right in telling us if it would rain or snow the next day would entail.

Today's weather folks are different. They have some type of seal they get (perhaps from a cereal box) and they can show up impressive videos. They can discuss El Ninos with great enthusiasm.

But they can't seem to tell us how much snow we are going to get and when we will get it.

For two days around the Twin Cities, they issued dire warnings to batten down the hatches. Snow and sleet were coming and there would be a lot of it. Their years of with the seal said so.

Didn't happen. We got about an inch of snow and the roads were fine to travel. Today, they are busy falling all over themselves explaining why they were really correct in their prediction and that Doppler Radar really is a good thing/

Me? I say bring back Sonny Eliot, who probably called the weather bureau about an hour before he went on the air and asked what was up for the next day or so. In the end, he might have been wrong about the forecast as well. But he would have made us smile in the process.