The Holiday Rush

Started this morning with Pear Pancakes and Brunch With the Beatles. The spotlight was on the album Rubber Soul today as the boys began to experiment more in the studio. Songs from this album include "Michelle," "Nowhere Man," "If I Needed Someone," "Girl," "In My Life," "Drive My Car," and "Think For Yourself." "We Can Work It Out" and "Paperback Writer" were written around this time but ultimately released as non-album singles. I tried calling Mom during the show, but I first got a busy signal, then got her while my sister Anny and her son Skylar were visiting. I'd call later.

I dawdled too long over reading this morning and didn't get out to raking the side path until a half-hour before I left. I thought Miss Ellie's nephew was going to do it, but I guess not. It's still covered in piles and piles of leaves past my ankles. I couldn't put it off any longer. The piles were so high, I didn't finish it before had to leave for work!

Work was a total pain in the rear. Everyone must have decided to put off their shopping until today. We had very long lines all afternoon and not enough help. At one point, someone spilled a bottle of juice while I was trying to deal with a woman who didn't speak English well. It was just crazy. Thank goodness a manager came in for me, because the girl who was originally my relief couldn't come in.

When I got home, I finished the raking in the dark. After that was done, I went upstairs, worked on a batch of cookies for my friends Linda and James, made salad, roasted broccoli, and cubed steak for dinner, and ran McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Robert Altman, who also did Nashville, made this classic western tale, and it's full of his special touches, from overlapping dialogue to emphasis on a group of characters. The title people are McCabe, a cowardly gambler (Warren Beatty) and Mr. Miller, a tough madam (Julie Christie), who start a bordello and saloon in a small mining town in the Pacific Northwest. When it becomes wildly successful, it attracts the attention of local landowners who want to buy it. After a drunk McCabe turns them down, they send hit men after him, leading to a final gunfight around the bordello while the local church burns.

I was surprised at how much I loved it. Actually, it makes a nice compliment to Johnny Guitar, another non-traditional western with strong female characters. This isn't the west you see in B-pics and John Wayne's earlier films. McCabe's northwest is gritty, dark, and filled with people who want to either make money or get laid. Beatty and Christie are wonderful as the gambler who just wants to make a living and the smart madam who wants to turn the bordello into something special. This isn't for people who prefer traditional good guys in white-bad guys in black stories, but if you enjoy unusual westerns, Altman's style, or Beatty or Christie, this is absolutely worth looking into.

Called Mom after I finished the cookies. She spent the day with her daughter and grandson, then watching the Eagles-Dolphins game. For once, there was plenty to cheer about - the Eagles slaughtered the Dolphins 26-10.

She had a great suggestion for a way to make the holidays easier for my sisters and brother and me next year. Instead of buying each other and Anny and Rose's sons and our parents and their significant others presents, we should have a Secret Santa. We'd set a limit as to how much we should all spend, then pick names out of a hat or something similar. I think it's a brilliant idea. None of us have much money, and two of us have kids and three of us have sweethearts to shop for, too.

Apparently, Rose and Keefe are all for it. Neither of them are really crazy about shopping. Anny's the one who needs to be convinced. She not only loves shopping, but enjoys doing it for as many people as she can.