"In case you haven't noticed the white people are melting out here" (memorable quote from Fools Rush In)

Chelsea begged me to tell this story. It is her favorite and although she is 32 years old, whenever I recount the events that happened on that steamy afternoon, she laughs hysterically and with tears dripping from her eyes asks me to repeat them again, and again and again. And of course, with each repetition it gets a little bit more embellished. But today I offer up the facts, exactly as they occured.

Back in The Woodlands, TX, when I was a hard-working ever-running realtor I would occasionally take a break from the phones and pagers and incessant demands and tell my assistant, Leslie, that I was ducking out for a matinee. This would provide me with two hours of uninterrupted peace. Leslie would field my calls while I would take refuge from the glaring bright sun, triple-digit temperature and 95% humidity and step inside the cool, dark air-conditioned stadium seating of Tinseltown...The Woodlands megaplex theater. I rarely cared what the movie was. Often I'd take a nap. The magic of Tinseltown, for me, was downtime where no one could find me. I'd walk in, self-indulgently order a hot dog, a bag of buttered popcorn, and an icy diet coke, put mustard, relish, and onions on the hot dog, grab napkins and a straw, and head off to my oasis in the desert.

One particularly hot, humid and BRIGHT SUNNY weekday afternoon I checked the newspaper (back when we checked newspapers instead of iphones or the internet) to see what was playing and when. Ah ha! "Marvin's Room" was starting at 2:00 pm. I told Leslie that I was off, figuring I had about 15 minutes to spare, which gave me enough time to park, buy my food, and bypass the trailers. And since I didn't particularly care what I was seeing, well, if I was a few minutes late, so be it.

I got there, followed my plan, and carefully balanced my food as I made my way to the door that opened up to my nirvana. It was very cold and very dark inside. In fact it was extra dark because it had been extra bright outside and my eyes still hadn't adjusted. I could see two people sitting quite close to the screen but other than that I had the rest of the theater to myself. Still juggling my junk food I climbed up the stairs, higher and higher into the cave, realizing that the movie had already started. I found a row and started sidestepping to the left, watching the screen and stepping oh so carefully. Step. Step. Finally I positioned myself in the middle of the row and started to sit down.

BUT THERE WAS A PERSON THERE! Well, I couldn't really see a person, only the big wide smile and very white teeth of a Black man who happened to be the only person in all of those rows and in the only seat that I'd decided on. I was so shocked--as was he, to have this dumb stupid middle-aged woman carrying a tray of food approach him and sit on his lap.

I mumbled something lame like "I'm sorry" and hurriedly moved over to the right and down a row. Regaining my composure I sighed, "Ahhhh, peace at last". I put the coke in the right cup holder, my popcorn in the left cup holder, and started to unwrap my hot dog. Just as I was going in for the second bite, the credits started rolling and the houselights came up. What the heck? The only other three people in the theater stood up and left including my former seat partner who took a closer look at me and scratched his head.

Meanwhile I did my own head scratching. I looked at my watch. It was 2:25. I looked around the now empty theater, stood up, again balancing all my food and walked out to find the manager to ascertain what was going on. She told me that the newspaper was wrong but to make it up to me she'd comp me another ticket. Since I had all my food I still wanted to see a movie and sleep. She suggested the only other movie that was about to begin. And that's how I saw, yup, "Fools Rush In".

(ps--I can hear Chelsea laughing now just knowing I'm going to post this)

Blue Hydrangea

Like in old cans of paint the last green hue,

these leaves are sere and rough and dull-complected

behind the blossom clusters in which blue

is not so much displayed as it's reflected;


They do reflect it imprecise and teary,

as though they'd rather have it go away,

and just like faded, once blue stationery,

they're tinged with yellow, violet and gray;


As in an often laundered children's smock,

cast off, its usefulness now all but over,

one senses running down a small life's clock.


Yet suddenly the blue revives, it seems,

and in among these clusters one discovers

a tender blue rejoicing in the green.

English translation by Bernhard Frank of Ranier Maria Rilke's poem

In The Wee Small Hours

A sweet baby sleeping, a cool breeze blowing, tomorrow's dinner marinating, Diana Krall singing, a fragrant candle burning, the evening sun setting, and a daughter soon returning. This moment of quiet solitude and bliss is rare and worth remembering.