Possumblog

Today would have been a very nice day...

...to stay home and sleep.

BUT NOW THAT I'M HERE, I might as well lull YOU to sleep with more boisterous, rowdy tales of a riotous suburban weekend!

Let's see--Friday afternoon I picked up the napkins for the anniversary party, while Reba took the two older girls over to the church building for a night of loving fellowship amongst the teen girls, then after Reba got back, she packed some clothes for Rebecca, who got invited to spend the night (and no, Oldest didn't, which, of course, meant hours of drama upon her return), but before that, we went back out to Target to do a little bit of birthday shopping for Catherine, who picked out a couple of video games and some movies, then we went to eat supper at Arby's, and then we went home and started doing some laundry.

At 9:30, it got time for me to go pick up Oldest and take Middle Girl's sleeping essentials (pillow, sleeping bag, pajamas, change of clothes, etc.), so I roused myself from an Arby's induced stupor and made the drive over to the building, gathered up Oldest who was in quite a state, swapped the luggage with the mom who was taking Rebecca home, then drove home in silence.

Got home, and I collapsed, while Mom and Oldest stayed up to have a long talk about why jealousy makes you no friends. Neither does being a know-it-all, a buttinski, or any combination of prideful, mean, hateful, rude, insensitive, tactless, etc., etc. Seems she made quite a show. And can't figure out why some people avoid her.

Up early Saturday, to the din of Boy watching television. Couldn't drag myself out of bed to make him be quiet, so after some great effort on my part, I finally got up and got some clothes on. Oh, and look--it's almost time to go get Rebecca. The first of two trips to the lovely wilds of St. Clair county that day.

Grabbed some leftovers out of the refrigerator and headed out. Got there at the prescribed time, she was still in her pajamas. ::sigh:: Waited, talked to Hostess Mom for a while and tried not to doze off, finally gathered up Middle Girl and her stuff, headed home, heard more about the unhinged antics of a certain other child of mine exhibited the night before. Sighed heavily.

Stopped by Dairy Queen on the return trip to pick up a cake for Cat, then to home. Laundry, then time to head BACK to the church building for the contractor meeting at 1:00. The main meeting didn't take that long, but one of our committee members was about to split a seam to talk to one group of guys, and I felt compelled to stay around after the big meeting to make sure he didn't go off on a tangent and say something he shouldn't. It's been very difficult for me to keep everyone herded in one direction over the past year, and some are worse than others, I suppose because they aren't used to following someone else's lead. But now's not the time to mess ourselves up on this.

Back home, laundry still being done, and the added bonus of a certain wife of mine seeming to be in the foulest, blackest mood imaginable, and none of the kids ready to GO SEE THE MOVIE!

Catherine wanted to go see something for her birthday, so I told them to get ready so we could go, and I called and found out what was playing. I wanted to go to something early so we could get back so they could get ready for church on Sunday.

Heh. Right.

ANYway, it looked like about the only thing that was playing close to the same time that we'd actually be able to make it to the theater was The Pink Panther.

MOVIE REVIEW TIME!

Well, remembering fondly the Pink Panther movies of my youth, I was quite ready to be thoroughly disappointed. I really do like Steve Martin very much, but the idea of him as Inspector Clouseau just seems like a very bad bit of casting. Of course, when you're the guy who helped write the screenplay, I suppose there is some latitude granted in casting.

Overall, though, it really wasn't so bad. Martin is a very physical comedian, but in the Jim Carrey mode, not in the Buster Keaton mode. However, Clouseau really calls for underplaying the wild gesticulation and rubber-face things--he thinks he's suave and debonair and in control, and there's a good way and a bad way of doing physical comedy with that in mind. The young Chevy Chase had it. The old Steve Martin doesn't. Then again, the young one wouldn't have, either. Clouseau is not Navin Johnson, you know.

Anyway, aside from that bit of visual distraction, and the incomprehensible appearance of Kevin Kline, and the fact that Cato does not even merit a mention (his work being taken over by a policeman that Dreyfus assigns to shadow Clouseau), and the fact that the plot is even stupider than any of the Blake Edwards Panthers, it was still not so bad. I think it was the scenery and cinematography, which in both cases was wonderfully well done. Speaking of scenery, the lovely musical star Bouncy Knolls was in this movie--she's very attractive, although her acting ability ranks right up there with a squash.

The movie is basically a strung-together series of sight gags, and the kids, most especially Jonathan, thought they were funny. I did, too, although there were a couple of silly scenes of double-entendre visuals--one where Clouseau is helping the secretary off a credenza and winds up with her crotch in his face, and another one later where he is helping to dislodge an egg from her throat by using a variation of the Heimlich maneuver he seemed to have learned from watching badly done online video--that were really unneccesary. They were silly and over the top enough to where kids would just think the grown-ups were goofy, but for adults, it was a bit much if you've got your kids with you.

In the end, Clouseau does manage to redeem himself, and make things right, and in a twist from the usual Pink Panther movies, finds love. And of all the scenes, those are actually the best. There is actually a tenderness and sweetness that isn't masked by spastic arm movements and trouble speaking English.

Overally, an okay movie, but don't worry if you don't get to see it. I give it 2 1/2 curly possum tails out of 5.

THEN, on back home?

NOOoooo. To Wal-Mart. Where we spent the next three hours. Got home late, kids tired, ME tired, and ready to collapse. Which I did, sometime later.

And then got up early Sunday. Shower, dress, get everyone else up, get everyone fed, get everyone in the van, and then have to wait while Reba changes clothes completely in order to put on a slip that doesn't hang down below the hem of her skirt. ::sigh::

ON to church, made it with 15 seconds to spare, class, preaching, then across the county to go eat lunch with Ashley's grandparents, then across the county SOUTHWARD this time to go see my mom at her church, the ulterior motive being to let Reba see the reception room where the anniversary party is going to be.

Because I am a moron, I decided to go get my mom at her house so she could ride with us. And by making Catherine move to the back, I guaranteed that there would be a) fights, b) crying, c) tumult, d) more crying, e) intense embarrassment. ::sigh:: Yes, I sigh a lot.

On to the building, looked around, then went and sat down in the auditorium and met all the people whose seats we'd stolen. People are very territorial about their pews, you know. Good thing my mom was there to run interference for us.

Afterwards, down the hill and across the highway to eat at the lovely and swanky Backyard Burger place. My mom found out that they'd give you a discount if you brought your church bulletin. This created quite a disturbance, in that there were seven of us, and the deal was that if you ordered a combo, you got a free sandwich. NOT another free combo. But, my mother, bless her, was quite certain that it was another combo, and was prepared to create a scene. By the time we got everything sorted out, the line was backed out the door. (The place was deserted when we first arrived.)

Ate, then took her home, then we headed home. Folded some clothes, then collapsed.

I am very tired today, for some reason.

Posted by Terry Oglesby at February 20, 2006 09:21 AM