I stepped from Plank to Plank
A slow and cautious way
The Stars about my Head I felt
About my feet the Sea.

I knew not but the next
Would be my final inch -
This gave me that precarious Gait
Some call Experience.

Emily Dickinson, c. 1864

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Getting long in the tooth

My front porch in the fall
The beautiful flowers I've had on my front porch all summer long are beginning to get, as they say, "long in the tooth." (I just looked up where the phrase originated: it comes from judging a horse's age by looking at its teeth, which continue to grow as they age.) Other than the pretty chrysanthemums, which bloom gloriously in the fall, all my other flowers are beginning to fade. Soon it will be time to put them all to bed.

The leaves from the trees are also beginning to fall, but there are plenty more just beginning to turn and drift to the ground. To me, it's a delightful time of the year. And it always amazes me that while we in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying fall, those in the Southern Hemisphere are moving from spring into summer. The Aussies are getting ready for the heat, while we are bundling up for the winter to come. It's all because of the tilt of the planet that gives us our seasons. You can read about it here, at one of my favorite websites timeanddate.com.

For some reason, I'm having a hard time focusing on the task at hand this morning. I've already spent some time looking up the origin of that phrase, then quotes about it, and each one of those events have caused me to go off on yet another tangent. I did find a quote from Angela Lansbury that I like:
I have never directed. But I think I could. I have thought about it. I'm a bit long in the tooth to start.
She's 93, so yeah, I guess she might be right about that. She has been around for a long time. Now I wonder how she's doing. That took me on yet another tangent, and I found this article that has seven surprising facts about her. I didn't know she has three citizenships: England (her place of birth), Ireland (her mother's homeland), and the United States (her adopted country). You can read the article yourself and enjoy learning more about this long-in-the-tooth celebrity. I have loved her since the days she was on "Murder, She Wrote." She also holds the record for the most Emmy nominations (18) without a win. And she's still working, an inspiration for those of us who are much younger than she is and feeling long in the tooth ourselves.

I wonder why it is that some people manage to stay active and involved in life for so long, and others don't. I'm sure part of it is genetics, and working to stay fit and active, but there must be other reasons, too. I'm resisting going on yet another internet search to find out! I'll never finish this post unless I find some focus. Falling into google searches is a habit I hope I never get over, though. I've learned some amazing facts and really enjoy the challenge of it all. Deciding what phrase to use is key, and that means starting and stopping and going down rabbit holes at times, but it's still a lot of fun.

It also makes me reminisce about what I did before we had all these research possibilities. When I was a girl, my sister Norma Jean and I would spend hours reading new (to us) words in the large dictionary we had at home. We also had a huge set of Encyclopedia Britannica volumes that I would spend time reading at random. Because of changing times, those books would now be useless except as collectors' items. (I am resisting another urge to go find out.)

Last week my friend Judy and I went to see A Star Is Born, a new movie with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. I loved it, although I would have been in bad shape if I had left my ear plugs at home. The music was way too loud, but I guess that's normal for movies these days. The main theater in Bellingham, owned by Regal, is notorious for blasting your eardrums. Some people love it, I guess, either that or they are already deaf. But once I plugged my ears, I was able to get lost in the movie and really enjoyed it. It is the fourth iteration of the same story. Maybe I'll try to see them all (made in 1937, 1954, and 1976) and see which one I like the best. This latest one, however, is getting rave reviews. Here's one:
While praising the direction, acting, and writing, Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune argues that a A Star is Born's formula has always been very seductive to audiences, even when it has been written poorly, and Cooper's few missteps include being a bit of a scene hog.
Bradley Cooper is a good actor, and I have to agree that he might have spent too much screen time on himself, but Lady Gaga again wowed me with her talent. This person can not only sing, but she can act as well. She deserves all the accolades she gets from her performance in this movie. And when I think that this is the same person who at first only seemed out to shock people (think about the meat dress, for instance), I have been continually amazed at how incredibly talented she is. By the way, in case you were wondering, her real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. The movie is well worth your time, in my opinion.

 Well, I think I did it. I managed to stay focused enough to get this post written before it became too long in the tooth. I'm feeling a little anxious to get going this morning and get off to the coffee shop. I could spend many more hours sitting here following lead after lead, but I'm going to stop right here and change my focus to the task of getting out of bed and finding my way into the new day. I do hope that whatever you decide to do with your day, it will be rewarding and enjoyable. And don't forget to hug someone today. Until we meet again next week, I wish you all good things. Be well.

16 comments:

Mona McGinnis said...

"Going down the rabbit hole" while blogging reminds me of what we call "the Lampert twirl" in our family, where we go from one activity to another without finishing anything. And yet, I love a puttering day that allows for that. I enjoyed the latest rendition of A Star is Born. I've only seen the Kris Kristofferson/Barbara Streisand movie before and, like you, feel motivated to seek out the first two. I enjoyed seeing Willie Nelson's son play a role in the movie (he was in the backup band). And I liked Lady Gaga's synopsis of the movie being about the impact of addiction. I'm just about finished the first cup of coffee, then on with the day.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I have only seen the 1976 version. It probably would be fun to watch all the versions. Hollywood is stuck...they keep doing remakes of old movies:(

Rian said...

I love Angela Lansbury and Murder She Wrote... so I will check out that article. As for google, I love that too! Think it must be an age thing - but to have all that info at one's fingertips is simply amazing.
But I won't "hug" anyone today. Don't want to spread this croupy crud.

Linda Reeder said...

I don't know which snippet of information to comment on, and since I am starting waaaay to slowly this morning, I'll say Good Day before I get trapped in the Google machine myself. :-)

Gigi said...

I remember doing the same thing with our encyclopedia set! Every time I opened it, I learned something new. It's the same with Google now.

Have a great week, my friend.

Elephant's Child said...

Add me to the list of people who perused encyclopedias. With enjoyment.
I hope your week is full of love, laughter - and discoveries.

CrazyCris said...

Happy to hear you went to see A Star is Born and enjoyed it! I almost went back today to see it again with some friends, but decided to spend the afternoon at my parents and have a "movie nap" with my dad after a paella lunch. I took over several DVDs for him to choose from, with my heart set on one of them... and lo and behold he chose the same one! So had a lovely afternoon escaping from shrieking eels and ROUS and trying to storm a castle... (hoping you'll recognize the film ;) )

I don't get lost in Google searches myself... but I did used to get lost in our Encyclopedia Britannica when I was a teenager! I remember looking for information for school projects, and finding myself an hour later engrossed in one article after another without even having started on the school work!

Last rambling thought (trying to match yours), I really miss Autumns! It's the one season I wish I lived elsewhere... somewhere with trees that change colors! The Mediterranean is beautiful, and the winter technicolor sunsets are starting to give us previews, but I miss technicolor trees!

Red said...

Mentioning the encyclopedia brings back good memories. The encyclopedia was the main set of books at home. Like you , I spent a lot of time with the encyclopedia. I do spend time googling.

Trish MacGregor said...

DJan - just wanted to let you know your comments are coming through. I just approved your comment about whether they were. Will leave a separate comment about this great movie!

Trish MacGregor said...

I LOVED this movie. Lady Gaga was fantastic, Bradley Cooper is always good and ever so easy on the eyes!

Marie Smith said...

I love the information age! Every question is so easily answered.

I loved that movie too! Gaga was great. She became the title!

Rita said...

I read the encyclopedia and dictionary from A to Z and cover to cover when I was a kid. I can fall down the google rabbit hole so easily and I thoroughly enjoy it. Having all this information at your fingertips is just the most amazing thing to me.

I've seen all the rest of The Star Is Born versions so I will have to see this one, too. It's one of those classic stories, I guess. I've enjoyed all the versions so far and expect this one to be pretty good, too. I've been impressed with Lady Gaga and am looking forward to seeing her acting chops. ;)

Your flowers still look good. Mine froze and died about a month ago now. New season upon us. :)

gigihawaii said...

I see you changed the comment settings and I now can comment using Name/URL. Thanks. I remember studying Webster's Dictionary when I was in high school. I entered a spelling bee at the high school and lost when I was told to spell "gauge." I spelled it as guage. Lol.

Arkansas Patti said...

I too adore Google and use it joyfully. I really regret my Dad didn't live long enough to enjoy it. He had a thirst for knowing and I carry that gene. There is such a great education waiting for us at our eager fingertips. I have to remind myself that there is also one out the front door.

Glenda Beall said...

I really liked the earlier version of A Star is Born with Barbara Streisand. I liked the music better. Guess that is because I am not a fan of most of today's music. I also don't care for the use of the F-word every other word out of his mouth. I just don't believe people really talk like that. It took away from the movie. I am not a prude and when it is really pertinent to the story, fine.
We are finally getting autumn here with a little bit of color. A month late. The weather is nice, too.
Like you, I get caught up in Google searches and can waste so much time! But it is fun.

John's Island said...

Hi DJan, Sometimes when I’m traveling, or just when in a weird mood, I’ll put the blogosphere on the back burner. Then, when I return, there are a few blogs it’s always good to get back to … one of those is Eye on the Edge. I don’t know how you do it but every week you give us another interesting outlook on how life is going. Having followed you for years now, one thing I know for sure … It is uncanny how much philosophy of life we share. And in this post an example … We both have favorited timeanddate.com. And you mentioned the tilt of the earth. Isn’t it amazing what a difference that little tilt makes? Without it … no seasons? no leaves turning colors? no birds migrating? Wow, I better not get started! :-) Thanks, as always, for sharing and for your kind comments on John’s Island!