Rainy Day Swashbuckler

I slept in longer than I should have this morning, but I did manage to make that call to the claims office. They gave me the address and said they'd send me the information that day. It turns out I already had the claims office's address that the Foot & Ankle Center wanted...right in the front cover of the thick book the Claims Office sends all union members. Boy, do I feel silly. I called the Foot & Ankle Center and gave them the address right before I left.

I put off calling for a ride too long. It poured all morning. I was hoping it would let up, but the rain was still coming down hard by quarter of noon. I didn't have the time to call anyone. I just rode to work and got wet.

Work was on and off busy all day. Weather or no weather, tomorrow marks exactly a week until Thanksgiving, the biggest feasting holiday of the year. Many people were buying their canned goods, baking necessities, frozen vegetables, and 49 cent turkeys. (For the second year in a row, the Acme just has the turkeys really cheap instead of making people save for weeks and weeks in order to get one free one. I like this. It makes more sense, especially for people like me who don't buy enough in a month and a half to earn a turkey, or who need more than one.)

Thankfully, I was able to shut down with no relief. By 5PM, the rain had changed from big, fat drops to a soft, sprinkle-y shower. I still got a little wet riding home, but it was nothing like earlier.

When I got in, I changed into dry clothes and got dinner and some movies going. First on the list was finishing Captain Blood, which I started last night. This was Errol Flynn's first major movie in the US, and he's wonderful as the doctor turned pirate after he and his fellow unjustly arrested prisoners flee Jamaica for the buccaneer's life. Blood, however, can't forget the pretty plantation owner's daughter (Olivia DeHaviland) who bought him when he was a slave. When his men capture her ship coming back from England, he decides to return the favor.

This reminds me of why I love swashbucklers. Errol Flynn seizes the screen and has a great deal of fun doing so. As with musicals, this is another screen genre Warner Bros had been reluctant to revive after the Depression began. Historical action films were expensive and often pompous, bogged down in breeches and pretty speeches. How to make all the wigs and fancy gowns work in a studio known for gangsters and tough chorus girls? Give it a topical angle and bring in actors who can look tough and still work in a historical context. Dashing Flynn was such a sensation as the roguish doctor who turns pirate, he practically made a specialty out of swashbucklers and historic westerns for the next fifteen years.

Switched to something a little quieter as I had a delicious dinner of chicken burgers, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and Cranberry Flummery (the Raspberry Flummery recipe from Felicity's Cooking Studio made with cranberries - boy, was it yummy, perfectly sweet and tart). The version of The Nutcracker features Mikhail Baryshnikov as the Nutcracker Prince. It's dreamy and delightful, probably the closest I will get to seeing a real, large-scale production of this popular ballet during the season at the moment.