Into the Spring Of Things

The clouds had disappeared into the horizon by the time I was having breakfast. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, windless and in the mid-upper 50s. It was about what it should be this time of year. I rode my bike to the bank, then around the neighborhood, looking for yard sales. One sale on East Bettlewood was indoors. There was a line to get in when I rode past; I didn't have the time to wait! Checked out one at West Cedar; didn't find anything interesting.

I stopped at Doria's Deli and bought a roast beef hoagie, then rode home. I had a quick lunch before changing into my work uniform and heading out. My ride to and from work was perfectly pleasant. It was so nice, I wore my red sweater and nothing else and felt fine.

Work was on-and-off busy all day, though never quite as bad as earlier in the week. I got in and out on time with no relief, and there were no major problems beyond a few mildly annoying people.

Good thing. I had my own grocery shopping to do. I skipped shopping tonight because I worked late. I didn't have quite as much to get tonight. I mainly needed to restock my fruit - got grapefruit (3 for $1.99), oranges, strawberries, and bananas. Was out of yogurt and almost out of milk; needed tomato sauce and tomato paste after using them on a recipe on Tuesday.

When I got home, I put everything away, had leftovers for dinner, and watched the first half of The Sting. This is a rare Oscar-winning comedy...and a rare movie to completely deserve its Oscar. A young con-artist in 1936 Illinois (Robert Redford) is devastated when his long-time partner is killed by a gangster and his men. He heads to Chicago to meet up with his buddy's old friend (Paul Newman) to settle the score. They decide to pull the biggest swindle of their entire lives on the nasty mob boss...but with a cop (Charles Durning) on their tail, will they be able to make the biggest "sting" of all?

While other movies have shown con-artists at work, none top the sheer artistry on display here...or the sheer talent. This is a great movie to check out if you're a fan of classic character actors. In addition to Newman, Redford, and Durning, we have Eileen Brennan (as Newman's girlfriend), Harold Gould, Ray Walston, Robert Shaw (as the crime lord), and The Bowery Boys' Billy Benedict (in a cameo early on as a card dealer).

The best known-aspect of this film today may be what I purchased on LP last weekend - the score. Ragtime music may be an odd choice for a movie set in the 30s, but it so vividly captured the film's mood that the soundtrack was not only a hit in it's own right, but brought the long-forgotten composer Scott Joplin back into the limelight and made his "The Entertainer" a Top 40 hit over 60 years after it was composed.