No doubt on Friday: A brutal week at the office gave way to a decent Friday. I finished this month's column for National Catholic Register, and had a first draft of my weekly Catholic Exchange column done. It was the first weekend in eight weeks that I didn't have to be in the car for three or more hours. Our company for the week had left Thursday.
And I was wearing a new Pierre Cardin 100% rayon leisure shirt, a size too big and more comfortable than a wino on the Bowery.
With so many stars aligned, I left for the drinking club at 4:45. I settled in at the bar, prepared for a few tall ones. Then my wife, folks, and two friends rolled in at 5:00. I thought they were coming at 6:00, but no matter. I left my stool, requested the Elvis Sirius station before walking away, then hung out at a table, overlooking the lake. Three tall Killian Reds later, the stress from the week had disappeared. Around 7:15, my wife and I stepped onto the deck for a few minutes, then came home and watched Yours, Mine, and Ours with the kids.
Let me review it succinctly: It's a miserable piece of junk. Don't rent it, don't watch it, don't smell it, don't rent it, don't think about it, don't sweat on it, don't nightmare about it.
It's about a blended family. . . of 18. Eight from one family, ten from another. The wife is a liberal, the husband is a conservative. The husband's family toes the military-like line and all come from one marriage; the wife's family is free-spirited and a mix of natural born and adopted. Lots of chaos. Hoodoggy! Lots of chaos! The entire movie is chaos! Lots of emotion, too! Like a piece of writing with lots of exclamation marks!
One bright side: neither the husband nor wife's single status was the result of divorce (even the Brady Bunch left open the possibility that Mrs. Brady was a divorcee). That was a pleasant surprise. And everything works out well in the end. But it's still a miserable piece of predictable junk.
On the bright side: My neighbor across the street turns into a woman today. She's fifteen and Mexican. Her family has invited my family (all nine of us) to her party. It should be interesting. I guess the fifteenth birthday is a huge deal for Mexican girls. Friends have been dropping off party supplies and food at their house for days. She and her male escort have been practicing special dances in their driveway for six months. The celebration is scheduled to last twelve hours: Mass and church activities from 1:00 to 4:00, eating from 4:00 to 6:00, dancing from 6:00 to 1:00. We'll only attend part of the eating and dancing part. They told us it's acceptable to come for just part of the day.
Things are going well at TDE. Visitors have been climbing, despite my week of lame vacation posting earlier this month. I re-signed with Technorati about a month ago, and I suspect that's driving the additional traffic here somehow, but heck if I know.
Until next week, may your drink stay cool as the summer heat fades away.
