A Time. A Place.
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 10:32PM I am a movie-goer drawn in not for the visual aspect but to listen to the words. When I learned from a friend that her friend's son was responsible for editing a 5 to 7 minute video on the effect of movies on people's lives for the Oscar website, I decided to give it a shot. I called my friend Clarice and asked her to have lunch and then tape me using her I-Phone. We met at the Old Homestead where I said to the hostess, a 5'10" stunner, draped in a form fitting turquoise stretch dress that stopped at the top of her thigh, perfect attire for a bordello, "We're not famous or powerful or rich. What do you have?" She escorted us to a booth that had four place settings and I thanked her for giving us all this space for we were going to spread out.
Then I told Clarice something that astounded,"There had been a Subway Sandwich Shop at 1 World Trade Center for the last eighteen months. It went up every floor during the construction. It intended to stay though it lost money but when it reached the 90th floor where it indents, there was no extra footage. Most workers didn't eat there anyway. They preferred to go all the way down and get something off the grill." Then we ordered three small sirloin, filet and Kobe beef burgers, a Caesar salad and a glass of red wine, the $22 lunch special.
"I can tell you something else. I took the tour of the Ground Zero Museum Workshop" Clarice added. "The reason why so little glass was found was because it had turned into sand due to the extreme heat and twenty thousand children had lost a parent. By the way, your video has to be about 50 seconds. I was on the subway talking to myself for 60 seconds and I tried sending it and it wouldn't go."
With me in shock that even Cyberspace had its limitations, we did four takes sending them to my email where I said more or less, "I go to the movies because it gives me something to do. It's fodder for my imagination. I could become someone I am not and say things I would never be caught saying at locations where I've never been. My first movie of memory was Lana Turner in 'Imitation of Life.' I had just read in Photoplay magazine that she had once shaved off her eyebrows and they had never grown back so that was all I was looking at wondering if they were fur because I think that's what the article said. The next movie I remember was a British one, 'Make Mine Mink' with Terry Thomas who had two front teeth that didn't meet and all I remember doing was laughing. Then there was the French film 'Diabolique' with Simone Signoret and it scared me to death."
Since Clarice never heard of 'Make Mine Mink' I explained the plot. It was about an inept gang of thieves who adhered to a plan, to steal mink coats from the rich, fence them and give all proceeds to the poor. Then she put on a YouTube clip where we saw a female gang member holding up and pointing to what looked like a mink shawl and saying to Terry Thomas, the ring leader, "My first spontaneous gesture" while an associate sitting there said it was hers and it was wool and she had stolen it from her while they were in a restaurant. Then Sylvia switched to a clip called "Marriage Is A Beautiful Thing" from "The Awful Truth." There Irene Dunne's father, talking to her on the telephone, keeps repeating "marriage is a beautiful thing" to counter her desire to divorce Cary Grant while his own wife is screaming "come in for dinner" and he's shouting "shut your big trap."
At that moment the man and woman to our right got up and started to leave. I said, "Thanks for listening" for they had, turning their heads several times in our direction while we were chatting. He said,"We couldn't help it.You two were having so much fun" and she rejoined, "We could feel your energy way over here." They happened to be photographers who specialized in shooting musicians , he originating from Capetown and she from Minneapolis and now living here and calling themselves New Yorkers. We exchanged business cards with Clarice deferring, claiming she was not as open as me as we both listened to the couple's last words "We'll befriend you on FaceBook" and then I noticed another young woman two tables away reading a book.
"Was I too loud?" I asked and she said "Yes." Then I retorted, "It's your fault for mistaking this place for the library." Then she made a disclaimer, "I was kidding and I was also only pretending to read. I was really listening." So I told her our names and she said she was "Hester" which I said was unusual. "My parents are Mongolian and emigrated from China to Canada where my mother got heavy into Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter."
Clarice then stood up, "We've been here for four hours. I have to go to the bank before it closes."
So I got up and sat down across from Hester. "What are you doing?" She answered, "What do you suggest? I go to vet school in Edinburgh. I'm from Canada." I offered, "How about walking around the Village with me until 6:15 when I have to go to a lecture on Jackson Pollack at the New School on West 12th Street."
Passing 9th Avenue, turning left onto Bleecker, I was confused, "Aren't their vet schools up north?" She clarified, "Scotland has a six year program to Canada's eight. I wanted to get out faster. I graduated high school at sixteen and went straight to Scotland. I flunked every one of my courses. I tried memorizing everything. I didn't know what was most important. I had to pass seven exams this summer to get back in at eighteen so I could shovel animal poop, which is part of the program but my father resents paying for it."
"Since you like animals see the play 'War Horse.' Her eyes brightened. "I am, tonight." Then I advised, "It's a children's story. Go for the visuals. You'll believe that lighting does create a World War l battlefield. You'll believe those puppets are actual horses. You'll feel their suffering."
I never said one thing about words, knowing all things and people have their time and their place.
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Reader Comments (10)
What a story! So many threads to pull together - and you embracing the opportunity to meet new people who are interesting, creative and who all have their own little" movie" .....
Jane - only you and you alone have these incredible experiences - because you are so open and willing to not only share what you are about but have the ability to listen to people and hone in on their lives and secrets. I imagine you could work for a detective agency and solve every mystery that came their way.....
So much going on in this story.....cannot wait to hear the follow up.....I was mesmerized reading it.....and so many unanswered questions.....Nothing is about words and yet, everything is about words....
Love.....
Jane,
Thank you for brightening a somewhat down day for me. Memories of Terry Thomas in not only Make Mine Mink but the many comedies with the likes of Peter Sellers, Ian Carmichael and Sir Richard Attenborough among others in addition to your witty prose lifted the gloom around here.
Awesome post Jane!
I wish I were back in NYC - I've fallen in love with the city!
Such a story was like a journey through the 'touring glass'. With coffee and I-phone we travel through time, up a ninety two story Caesar salad, straight into a cyberspace wall. In an elegant prose of movie scenes to which we can escape. If only posthypnotic amnesia wouldn't set in every time I watch a movie I wished to myself, but you gave such an enjoyable stroll along a few simple blocks that traversed the imagination infinitely beyond " knowing all things and people have their time and their place".
thank you
Jane, as you might expect I was most enamored with the details of the $22 lunch special. Such a deal! I will try it next time I'm in "The City".
BTW- great story too.
This is a day I would love to live!!!! I found this piece truly captivating. Tip
Loved it. The glass turning to sand ...interesting. I can just hear your voice talking to the hostess and your fellow diners. I'd have eavesdropped too. I went to Jackson Pollocks studio in the Hamptons last September....just after seeing you :) xx
Whether a movie or a small vignette of real life, words continue to captivate us all.
Thanks for getting our attention with the written word.
At the end of the day, a movie with good visuals would only be wasted if there's no good script, writing and acting to back it up.
Jane you have a way of entertaining us with your writings. This one brings back several memories. What a joy to read.