Miss Redmer and the Very Soggy Day

I awoke to a heavy shower, though not as bad as I figured it would be. However, the shower hadn't let up by 10:30. There was no way I was going to be able to ride to work in this weather. I ended up calling Dad for a ride. Thankfully, he'd just gotten in yesterday and was more than happy to help out. He's driven in worse weather before. He spent 30 years dealing with Florida hurricanes.

Put on The Secret of NIMH this morning while I looked over my accounts on PNC's site. Since I'm currently in the midst of reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,I thought I'd watch its film version. This is one time where they change a lot and I don't mind at all, as both versions, with or without magic, are equally enjoyable. In brief, Mrs. Frisby (Brisby in Secret to avoid legal problems) goes first to the majestic Great Owl, then to the very civilized rats who live in a rosebush to help move her family's home. The rats have a devastating secret of their own...one that also concerns Mrs. Frisby and her late husband, Johnathan.

Don Bluth's first solo feature-length film is one of the most beautiful and haunting animated films of the 80s. I'm a huge fan of Jerry Goldsmith's gorgeous score, including the ballad "Flying Dreams." As much as I love the Watership Down-esque-realism in the book, I also enjoy the sword-and-sorcery fantasy in the movie (that last duel between Justin and Jenner is a stunner). If you're a Bluth fan or a fan of animation, the movie is required viewing; if you love realistic animal stories, the book won a Newberry Medal. I do recommend both book and film for older kids, though. They deal with some dark subject matter, including death, violence, and relatively graphic depictions of animal testing.

I spent the rest of the morning dusting. I had time to do the living area table and the music section of the living area. I call it the living "area" because it's so big, it's separated into three parts. I'll dust the entertainment (TV and DVD) section tomorrow or Sunday.

It was still just showering when Dad got me to work. The showers started picking up around 5ish until they were coming down in noisy, thundering torrents. Despite the weather, the store was on-and-off busy. It's still the beginning of the month, and people still need to shop, rain or no rain. I did returns during the down times.

The thunderstorms continued when Dad took me home. Good thing he spent 30  years living in Florida and knows how to handle monsoons. When I got in and got my wet clothes off, I made an omelet for dinner while watching the Looney Tunes prime-time special Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over. While this Chuck Jones-directed show is supposed to have a mild spring/early summer theme, it's really a showcase for Jones' characters. The first short depicts a very young Bugs as he dodges young Elmer's pop gun. The second takes Bugs into outer space to be a companion for Marvin the Martian's "pet" Hugo. The third is your standard Wile E Coyote and Road Runner chase through the desert.

And the rain is still going at press time, though I haven't heard the thunder in a while. It's supposed to be gone or close to gone by tomorrow. I sure hope so. I wasn't planning on doing any yard sales anyway, but I do want to get to the farm market.