Southern Wild Child

Started off this morning with Let Freedom Ring as I ate oatmeal and grapefruit for breakfast. This 1939 vehicle for a solo Nelson Eddy goes the "Scarlet Pimpernel out west" route. Eddy is lawyer Steve Logan, who comes home to discover his father's (Lionel Barrymore) land is under attack by a crooked railroad tycoon (Edward Arnold) and his henchman (Victor MacLaglen). Logan convinces everyone that he's on the tycoon's side; naturally, it's all just a cover for his guise as "The Wasp." He kidnaps the town newspaper owner and his printing press and writes newspapers about the railroad's dirty dealings and how they should allow their men to vote for the people of their choice. Matters come to a head at the local Election Day party, where Steve finds himself having to take a stand, before his issue is put to bed for good.

Ran two classic Daffy Duck Looney Tunes shorts that revolved around western and swashbuckler spoofs. "Drip Along Daffy" pokes fun at the singing cowboy B-westerns of the 40s and 50s, with Daffy as the title character and Porky as his Smiley Burnette sidekick. Porky gets a rare villainous role in "The Scarlet Pumpernickel," which has Daffy as a daring highway-duck, Porky as an evil duke, and Sylvester as his right-hand cat.

Headed to work as soon as the cartoons were over. It was a beautiful, sunny day, probably into the upper 20s-lower 30s - not crazy-warm, but warmer than it has been. We were quiet again for much of the morning, but this time, when the rush hour hit, it hit hard. One of the college boys had an emergency and left early; I ended up staying an extra hour.

When I finally got home, I ran Beasts Of the Southern Wild while making the last of the leftover tuna casserole for dinner, then working on crocheting a dish rag. This odd but touching tale takes us to the Louisiana bayou and a small community on the delta cut off from the rest of the world by levees, known to residents as "The Bathtub." Tough little Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) lives with her daddy (Dwight Henry), who either encourages her to fight or ignores her. When their home is flooded after a huge hurricane, they float around in a home-made boat to see if they can find the survivors. Not only is Hushpuppy's daddy dying, but there may be some strange prehistoric animals coming their way as well. Hushpuppy is determined to stay with her daddy and her beloved home, no matter how badly Mother Nature ravages it.

This unusual blend of fantasy and reality was a 2012 Oscar-nominee. Wallis and Henry were nominated as well, despite never having acted before. Having grown up by the water, I can understand the importance of it to Hushpuppy and her community (we used to eat the crabs from the swamps outside of Wildwood by breaking the shells open, too), and why she doesn't want to leave her daddy, even when he's not the world's greatest parent. A little much for young kids; for pre-teens and up, this is a really well-done tale of how one little girl survives the toughest of storms, both inside and outside herself.