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December 27, 2018:

THE DAY AFTER THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS DAY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, here we are, the day after the day after Christmas day.  I am happy to say I laid low and avoided drama and I can only pray that that continues to be the case through the weekend. The most amazing about yesterday was getting eleven hours of sleep.  I went out like a light when I finally went to bed and did not arise until two-thirty in the afternoon.  Well, that meant that I’d entirely missed not only the morning but also most of the day.

I got up, answered a few e-mails, and then Grant came by because I wanted him to take some of the many desserts home with him.  But he ended up taking nothing at all.  Then I picked up one package and no mail, then came right back home.  I ate the rest of the tuna pasta salad – it wasn’t all that much, but it was filling and good, then I had some more of the Darling Daughter’s Cherry Loaf, which was great.  Dear reader Jane requested an actual photograph of it, so here it is.

Isn’t that a lovelier than lovely Cherry Loaf?  After that, I listened to some music, did a few things on the computer, but by then the day after the day after Christmas day was done and it was evening.  I invited Leslie and daughter Alexa over – rather I ordered them to come over – to take all the desserts out of here, which they did, so now there are no temptations here.  I had more Cherry Loaf, and then at some point I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched the first half of a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Lisbon, a film produced by R.A Milland, directed by R. Milland, and starring Ray Milland, if you hadn’t already guessed.  It also stars Miss Maureen O’Hara.  Now, I have a rather fun history with this film, Lisbon.  I saw it on its opening day on August 15, 1956 (not August 17 as stated on the imdb because some idiot thought movies opened on Friday back then – they did not, they opened on Wednesday) at the Wiltern Theater, near my father’s restaurant.  As was my wont, I’d had the chef make me a turkey sandwich to take with me and I was at the theater at eleven-thirty for the first show at noon. I was eight.  I settled in in my left side tenth row aisle seat in the center section.  In those days the air quality in Los Angeles, California was rather horrifying in terms of smog – the city skies were frequently an ugly brown.  And I was terribly allergic to smog and that air “quality.”  I’d been having the occasional sneezes from it that morning, but nothing terrible, but I had a handkerchief with me just in case.  I ate my sandwich whilst watching the coming attractions and cartoon, then settled in for the movie.

I was thrilled it was in Cinemascope, although it wasn’t called that here – it was called Naturama, which even then I thought was quite stupid, not to mention the name of the color – Trucolor.  I was a Techinicolor person and didn’t even like seeing Color by DeLuxe in those days. The main titles came on and I was quite taken with the theme by someone named Nelson Riddle – it would turn out to be a bigger hit than the film.  It had nice color and looked good on their huge screen.  I enjoyed the first ten minutes of it, and then I sneezed.  I sneezed again.  And then I could not stop sneezing, over and over and over again.  Thankfully there probably weren’t more than ten of us in that cavernous, gorgeous movie palace and even more thankfully there wasn’t anyone seated near me.  I whipped out the hankie and blew my nose and blew my nose and blew my nose.  This continued for about fifteen minutes, this sneeze and blow routine.  By that time, the hankie was sopping wet and quite disgusting.  You must understand that I remember this as if it happened yesterday.

I finally had to get up and go downstairs to their gorgeous, cavernous men’s room. I blew my nose with toilet paper, sneezed, blew, and then loaded up all pockets with wads of toilet paper and went back to the auditorium. I continued sneezing, used up all the toilet paper, went back down and got more, but I was a hopeless mess by this point – my nose was so red it looked like a ripe tomato, and it hurt like the dickens from all that blowing and moisture.  I had no idea what the HELL was going on in the film, so I finally called my father at the restaurant after about an hour of the allergy attack, and he came and got me, and I have never seen any of Lisbon since, save for maybe the main titles.

So, it was fascinating seeing the first hour or so.  It’s really not very good or even very interesting, although I love anything that Claude Rains is in.  But I remembered several things from the first ten minutes, especially the memorable moment when Claude Rains gets his cat a special breakfast – you could not do that scene today, let me tell you that.  It made me laugh out loud, actually. But mostly we get an awful lot of yakking, endless yakking.  I always enjoy Mr. Milland and he’s fine, and Ms. O’Hara is as lovely as she always was. I’ll finish it up tonight.

After that, I listened to more music, got the Kritzerland musical director all the material for the January show, which I can already see will most likely be sold out (I’m about to put up the Facebook page and send out my eBlast).

Today, I’ll be up by ten and then I’m having a late breakfast or early lunch with dear reader Jeanne, so that will be fun.  After that, I’ll come right back home, hopefully pick up some packages, hope for some needed and necessary miracles, hopefully lay low and avoid drama, and then relax.

Tomorrow will be more of the same (especially the laying low part), and then I’m supping with Sami and her mom (a belated birthday dinner for mom and me), and then we resume performances of A Carol Christmas, the final three.  I’m anticipating full houses for all three shows and am fairly certain I’ll have to stand in the back for all three shows. If there’s an open seat, I’ll sit with Sami and her mom.  The Wechters will also be there, and we’ll go out for a bite after the show.  So, I’ll either eat light at dinner, or light after the show.  We shall see which way that wind blows.  Saturday, she of the Evil Eye comes and I’ll just relax until it’s time for the show. Sunday we have our final performance, a matinee, which will be followed by a cast partay.  Monday we have our Annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Bash right here at haineshisway.com, and then we have a brand new year and I begin a brand new novel.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten, have a meal with dear reader Jeanne, hopefully pick up packages and/or mail, hope for miracles, lay low and hopefully avoid drama, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite motion pictures starring Mr. Ray Milland?  Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a nice day after the day after Christmas Day.

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