Diary of an adult runaway: Woohoo!

You know what today is? Yes, okay, March 1st, great. Today, according to weather.com, is 11 FULL HOURS OF SUNSHINE!!!!!! Except, of course, it's rainy and overcast, so... but at least we know there's the potential. Of course, some cerisiers (cherry trees) have been in blossom since late January, which is pretty but somewhat worrisome. (And here would be a good time to say "Congrats, Al Gore!")

Can I just say how much I'm hearting Rob Lowe in Brothers & Sisters? (I'm really glad he turned down the role of McDreamy, because this is a far more interesting character.) So much so that I went on a nostalgia trip, and came back with this (just for you, Keris!):

OMG! I remember swooning over this when I was 16. I think I'm going to have to go back and watch* The Outsiders and Class and Youngblood. Oh, and Square Dance.

*I think it's probably also high time that I reread S.E. Hinton's magnificent books, even though it breaks my heart to know Sodapop died. I loved that character long before Rob played him. It's also high time to read something that actually captures my imagination~none of the new releases I've tried to get into in the past few weeks have done that. And vale, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who wrote one of my all-time favorites, Robert Kennedy And His Times.

I read something in his obituary, that's resonating with me because I've been thinking a lot about this subject lately:

In a 2000 Los Angeles Times story, Schlesinger, then 83, said his "only regret is the amount of time I spent addressing small — though they seemed large at the time — controversies, when I should have been writing books. "I got diverted from writing by the compulsion to respond to passing circumstances. I've written hundreds of thousands of words for newspapers and magazines that I could have poured into books, and I would have been more satisfied with my life. I feel a great frustration. I should have written more books."

Thank you for what you did write, Mr. Schlesinger, and how you made history so real and personal for me. The last page of Robert Kennedy and His Times never fails to make me cry. Okay, let's be honest: sob.

The train arrived in Washington. Night had fallen. Mourners with twinkling candles followed the coffin into Arlington Cemetery. "There was," wrote a grieving Lady Bird Johnson, "a great white moon riding high in the sky." But the cemetery itself was dark and shadowed. The pallbearers, not sure where to place the coffin, walked on uncertainly in the night. Averill Harriman finally said to Stephen Smith, "Steve, do you know where you're going?" Smith said, "Well, I'm not sure." Then Smith said, "I distinctly heard a voice coming out of the coffin saying, "Damn it. If you fellows put me down, I'll show you the way."

I have some Paris photos to upload, I really do, but I keep remembering that I need to do it just as I'm walking out the door each morning. I even have a video of my daily trip around the Arc de Triomphe and as soon as I work out how to upload it, I'll post it. In the meantime, here's something that gave me a giggle this morning:

Labels: Arthur Schlesinger, global warming, Rob Lowe, Robert Kennedy and His Times, spring is on its way, The Daily Show

Posted by Gabrielle on Thursday, March 01, 2007 at 3/01/2007 09:20:00 AM | Permalink

Aloha!

I'm Gabrielle

And I currently live in Paris, France

A great book can send me into a state of bliss, as can just about any Macintosh product or Elvis record, especially "Elvis: That's the way it is". I have a theory about people who don't like cats and/or chocolate, and I've never been proven wrong. I think Robert Redford is a genius and George Clooney isn't too far behind. Must have in my kitchen: everything needed to make a kick-ass margarita!

Website | Profile