June 7, 2004 - Gray Weekend

I thought maybe on Saturday we could go visit Longwood Gardens, get some great flower pictures, walk around on the grounds and enjoy ourselves.

Then maybe Sunday we could take my dog, Una, to a state park for a fun walk together.

But when I looked at the forecast, I saw Saturday was supposed to be rainy. So I thought, "Well, maybe we can do one of those things on Sunday." Of course, that turned out not to be the case, because Sunday was overcast, chilly and drizzling on and off.

So instead on Saturday I took some extra work. There was plenty to be had because of President Reagan's death. I have to admit, I felt sad, both for President Reagan's family and for the D-Day veterans who who been expecting a wealth of press attention to mark the 60th anniversary of the landings on Normandy Beach. Instead, they got a much smaller amount of coverage than did President Reagan.

I also feel sorry for the reporters who had no doubt done extensive D-Day pieces ahead of time. While they still get paid for their work, no one gets to see it. That's got to be a disappointment. Although I suppose the cable networks might still decide to save some of those pieces and air them next year on the anniversary of D-Day.

Saturday, after I did the extra work, we went out to dinner at the New Orleans Cafe in Media. Great, great food there. A little pricey, but it's worth it. I got the pistachio chicken.

We wanted to see the new Harry Potter film and had bought tickets before going to dinner. But the showing we wanted to see, at 7 p.m., was sold out. We bought tickets for the 9:30 showing instead. After dinner, we went back home and spent some time with Una before going back out.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was immensely popular, but a number of other popular movies were showing at the same time. They had everybody waiting in the same line, which snaked outside into the rain. Very inconvenient and frustrating. They grabbed people for the different theaters as they were ready to seat them. Very badly organized.

But eventually, we were seated and the movie started. In this movie, they actually worked in the Weasley twins, older brothers to Ron Weasley, but only because they played an important role for the plot. Those who have read the books like the Weasley twins for their colorful antics.

The new actor who played Dumbledore, Michael Gambon, had difficult shoes to fill. He couldn't quite match the subtle, multilayered performance of Richard Harris, who played the role in the first two movies before passing away.

I'd have to say this movie was one of the most fun yet, because the resolution involves such a creative plot twist that it's a lot of fun to watch.

Now I had heard, as many of you probably did, that this same cast would not be acting in the fourth movie, but I just checked the Internet Movie Database, and they said David Radcliffe is now shooting the next one, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. So we'll see.

The actor who plays Draco Malfoy, Tom Felton, is now truly beginning to look a little evil, whereas he was such a cute little boy it was hard to see him that way.

Sunday was just as dreary as Saturday. We spent a quiet day at home. We went out and got some groceries for dinner, some subs for lunch, a six-pack of Smirnoff Ice and rented a couple movies.

Then we had a leisurely day. The Gryphon cooked me a delicious cauliflower dish with a little fish in it. Absolutely fantastic. We drank our Smirnoff and watched Matchstick Men.

That movie was a lot of fun. It's a con movie, and a good one, which is to say that the audience is conned, too. All the actors do a great job, and of course, because it's a Ridley Scott movie it has an interesting visual feel. One of these days, that man is going to get the Oscar he deserves.

We started to watch The Triplets of Belleville, which was nominated for the Best Animated Film Oscar as well as a Best Song Oscar, but the movie is in French and because it doesn't have a lot of dialogue, they didn't bother to translate most of it. The problem was that we were already tired, so a quiet film like that put us to sleep. Fortunately, it's not due for a week, so we have time to watch the rest of it.

Of course, Una has no idea what kind of weekend I had planned for her, and I know she appreciated Sunday, when we hung out at home with her. She was sad this morning to see The Gryphon leave, as she always is. Never enough time for her.

Don't worry, Una, there are many sunny days ahead. And many rainy, lazy Sundays, too.

Moral:
Even rainy days are fun with the right company.