Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Sunday was actually Father's Day, which ended up being a fairly quiet day.

It started out with me attempting to sleep in, which I should have learned by now the universe will not permit.

My dad was off at church, and we weren't expecting him back until mid-afternoon, when he finished his rounds.

So naturally, my mom woke me up with a phone call, to let me know she'd stayed home from church and invite me over to spend some time with her. I always try to see both parents when I'm home, even if it's for Father's Day, so I told her that the Gryphon and I would come over.

We spent a good deal of time, once we got over there, talking about the Weight Watchers program Mom started at my urging. I gave her some books for Mother's Day. She has already lost 7.5 pounds and says her clothes are fitting looser. I thought I could tell.

This is probably a good time to mention that one of the first things I did that weekend was step on the scale in my dad's office, which I trust more than the one at the gym I normally use. It confirmed that I'm down to 169 pounds, which is officially the least I've weighed in about 10 years and represents a weight loss of slightly more than 50 pounds.

Dad was impressed with this weight loss and throughout the weekend kept repeating, "169 pounds! Wow!" Although he didn't mention this, I think perhaps I finally weigh less than him.

Mom suggested the possibility of having Dad over for dinner that night and using the new Weight Watchers cookbook. I told her that was fine with me but she ought to check with Dad, since it was supposed to be his day.

She called him, and he said it was fine. But he's usually pretty laid back about such things, he and my mom having stayed friends after their divorce more than a decade ago.

After Mom had a sensible lunch, we followed her out to the vegetable garden. I helped her with some weeding. Dad joined us when he got there, happily spraying Round Up on the poison ivy in the yard.

My dog, Una, along with my mom's dogs, Sunnie and Murray, hung out in the back yard pen. Una was even fairly calm about it this time, until we went inside, at which point she attempted to dig her way out. We brought her inside and gave her fresh water, which she drank gratefully.

Before dinner, the Gryphon and I gave him his present: a card and a gift certificate to the local Benjamin Franklin's, which has a lot of home and garden items. We told him he can use it for his apartment improvements. He was pleased.

The Weight Watchers meal was actually quite delicious: linguini with turkey meatballs and vegetables on top, including tomatoes and zucchini. We had snow peas from Mom's garden on the side, and low fat ice cream for dessert.

Since my sister also recently started the Weight Watchers program, I have faith that this year, holidays with the Wilson family will be far less deadly to my diet.

After a leisurely dinner, we returned to my dad's briefly so the Gryphon could help him move a table. Just as we were heading out, we took a call from my brother, who was wishing Dad a happy Father's Day but also wanted to chat with me.

We actually hit the road with enough time to spare to catch a late showing of The Terminal. Funny story: we spent much of the drive home talking about Spielberg and didn't realize he'd directed that movie. We were talking about the fact that his movies often deal with an average guy, a little guy, finding the capacity for heroism within himself. This is a theme that works across his many movies, whether the space movies, the World War II movies or others.

In this movie, an average guy, Viktor Navorski, played by Tom Hanks, is trapped in an airline terminal due to a bureaucratic boggle. A revolution takes place in his country while he's in the air, and when he lands, his passport is no longer valid. Therefore, he can neither enter the country nor go home.

So he stays in the terminal, living in a portion of the terminal that is being remodeled, and befriends the workers of the terminal and romances an airline stewardess (Catherine Zeta-Jones), all the time butting heads against the head security officer (Stanley Tucci) who would rather get him off his hands, trying to trick him into doing something illegal so he can arrest him.

The movie, I understand, is based loosely on the story of a real man, Merhan Karimi Nasseri, who has been in a similar limbo in the Paris Airport since 1988. A man without papers, a man without country, he has become beloved of the workers at the terminal.

The Terminal is Spielberg at its best, with lovely attention to detail. And while Viktor's ending is happier than Merhan's, Spielberg steers away from a complete Hollywood ending, opting instead for resolution.

In a summer full of blockbusters, this quieter movie will be this year's Castaway, destined for both box office and praise.

More from this Father's Day Weekend:

June 21, 2004 - American Dad

Tales from another Father's Day:

June 16, 2003 - Painting Party

Copyright 2004 by Alyce Wilson

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