Saturday Night At The Movies-Get Low With Robert Duvall

If you are a fan of Robert Duvall and/or Bill Murray, then you will enjoy this movie.  This movie, set in the 1930s, is about a mysterious recluse, Felix Bush played by Robert Duvall, who has lived in the hills of Tennessee for 40 years. After hearing from the Reverend Gus Horton played by Gerald McRaney that a friend of his "just got old" and died. Feeling his own mortality, he decides to have a living funeral and goes to visit Reverend Horton to ask him about a funeral.  Since the Reverend Horton does not know Felix Bush except through gossip and tales from the town people, he is unable to tell him what he would say in his eulogy and Felix walks out.  A young man, Buddy Robinson played by Lucas Black, happens to be in the church at the time and overhears the conversation and goes to his boss, the owner of Quinn Funeral Home, (Bill Quinn) played dryly and with understated wit by Bill Murray, who's business is bad because no one is dying and tells him he knows someone who is looking for a funeral.

Felix has a story to tell that revolves around Mattie Darrow, played by Sissy Spacek and wants to ask for forgiveness for a secret that he has been carrying around with him for 40 years and wants to do this while still alive but he's not certain he can.  He goes to see the Reverend Charlie Jackson, played by Bill Cobb, who he shared his secret with years ago to ask him if he would talk for him.  Reverend Jackson refuses which changes Felix's mind altogether about the funeral because he can't find anyone to speak for him.

There is plenty of dry dialogue from Robert Duvall as only he can do and humor from Bill Murray but in the end what Felix Bush tells everyone left me feeling my own mortality.  This starts out slow and you may think it isn't going anywhere
but it gains momentum and gives you something to think about.  I would rate this movie a 7 out of 10.

What Kind of House is This?

Again, while I was trekking along on my morning walk I was struck by the architecture of this home and no, your eyes aren't blurry.  The little room that juts out over the entryway IS at an angle. When the windows are open, they tilt and swing at an angle DOWN.  When I look at this house I have the tendency to want to turn my head sideways. LOL

Now I am wondering if when you enter this room you walk or  should I say run down hill? What do you think?

The Beautiful Colors of Spring

I walk usually 7.5-8 miles per day (not all at once usually 4.5 miles in the morning and 3.5 in the evening) and while I walk I love to look at all the gorgeous colors of spring.  Here in Houston, spring has already arrived and everyday I find myself almost tripping on uneven concrete while taking in the beautiful bouquets in people's gardens and around apartment complexes.  Well, really I do trip if you want the truth.

It always amazes me how all the different colors mesh so seamlessly like they just popped up that way.  Try to use this color combination in a home redo and you would be cross-eyed but outside among all the other shades of greens, and browns these colors bring in the first hints of spring's arrival.

Now who wouldn't want to walk down this heavenly aisle?  Simply breathtaking I'd say.

And to all of you who are just starting to get a "spring peek" with tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, hang in there if you are like me you will be so taken by all the gorgeous colors and spring like weather you too will be tripping while you walk.

Enjoy!

Are We Havin' Fun Yet?

Take a look at these laughing kids.  They are my grandkids and are they ever having a great time.  This picture captures the spirit of being a kid again.  How many of us haven't wished or wanted to go back to the days when we didn't have a care in the world.  When we could be anybody we wanted if only for a little while.  A cowgirl (Annie Oakley) shootin' her six gun (her pretend finger gun) and riding a two x four between her legs for a horse, wading in creek beds, fishin' under bridges with cane poles feet dangling down using hot dogs for bait, ridin' your bike down the road with "no hands" havin' the sun shining in your eyes (no kiddie sunglasses for this kid) wind blowing on your face.  I could name more but you get the picture.  Oh what a sense of freedom those things brought to me when I was a young, growing up.

I believe those things have been replaced now with staying indoors, playing XBox,  watching movies and playing games on IPhones.   Not much sun and certainly no wind blowin' on the faces of kids today. I've had to ask myself why being a kid isn't fun anymore. Maybe it is but I just can't see it.  What could possibly be any better or even replace the freedom of being outdoors running, climbing trees and hanging upside down, playing in haylofts and making jump ropes out of clover?

Guess it is just another sign of me not keeping in touch with all the new modern technology.  Heck, I'm technically challenged most if not all the time anyway and figuring out the new shorthand for texting still has me so baffled that I can't begin to understand it (lmao, for example) let alone learn it.  But, I still say that kids are the ones losing out.  Whenever I tell my grandkids the things we did as kids they look at me like I'm from a different planet. They can't believe that THAT is all we did all day?  Where's the challenge in that?  Didn't you get bored?  The challenge was THAT we didn't have to have a challenge to play the way we did.  The name of the game we played was PLAY and it involved anyone who wanted to join us and getting bored wasn't in our vocabulary because someone always had an idea and once you had an idea we made it up as we went along, literally.

So, if the picture above reminds you of "havin' some fun" when you were a kid and brings you a little smile, and some reminiscing then it has made my day!  Giddy Up!