On and on we go...

The movie with everybody in it

I can't say I wasn't warned about the new Avengers movie: Infinity War.
I had been told that somebody dies and I hoped it wasn't the one guy I care about.
What I hadn't been told is that the dying is a constant.
People get stabbed (through and through), people get scrunched, people get smashed and people die, again and again.
It's really a horrible movie, one that I regret seeing.
Right off the bat, I was bored with the noise, the brutality, the agony and the dying.
On the way in to the theater, I overheard a lady saying, "I'm never seeing one of those again!"

Call me cranky

 

Did she mean our movie? Surely not.
I'd heard nothing but rave reviews on this show, even from my eldest son who saw it twice in a row.
I'd been told that no one could talk about it much because it would give too much away.
I'm beginning to suspect no one wants to admit the truth.
It's awful...and lots of characters die, usually in a painful, twisted way.
I muddled through the chaos and the death and the mayhem by making grocery lists in my head.
Then I made shopping lists and packing lists.
And I checked my watch.
People were dying and the time was only slowly marching by.
At the end, we all waited to see if there was an Easter egg that would shed some light on the senselessness.
That too was an endless wait.
I've never seen a longer crawl.
And when  it finally gave way to a meaningless crash and phone call, I didn't find any satisfaction.
It was still a stupid, pointless, depressing film.
Anyone good for a march to the theater to get our money back?

Social Insecurity

Let me say right out, Social Security has been good to us.
We've been paid benefits that have made our financial life a working program.
Social Security has been up to speed on every aspect of our working lives and even ahead of the game in several instances.
So there's really no reason that now, as we approach the day when we'll be depending on Medicare, I'm really nervous.
I fear making a big mistake, missing a critical deadline or committing an unintentional felony.
There's been so much hype about signing up before time runs out that I'm paranoid. Marc's insurance has allowed us to extend past our 65th birthdays so it feels like we're living dangerously.
(Also our insurance is so good that I fear we'll really, really miss it.)
Now he's retiring and everything may change.
I've taken a number of steps to try and prepare for stepping off the shore into the river so you'd think I could relax.
I have a lady who says we can pretty much stay in the same zone with our insurance needs - same doctors, hospital system, etc., but I've yet to get an actual cost.
I've learned a bit about Part B and took the forms over to the Social Security office this morning to register.
Now I suppose I wait a bit.
But it feels like waiting to see the principal after trouble in class.
When I stood in line at the officer and waited for my number to be called, my heart rate jumped.
When I handed the guy at Window 3 my papers, I felt anxiety.
When he smiled and said, "Oh good. You have all the information ready," I was pleasantly surprised.
Now I suppose I just put in a little more time and I'll be good to go.
Somebody will call me and tell me what happens next, the bottom line.
Is there really any reason to be afraid?

'Hamilton' makes me check the history books

Marc didn't miss a beat when his co-worker offered him a pair of tickets to "Hamilton" months ago.
He called me up and minutes later $350 was on its way to the co-worker's bank account.
We've been interested in the show since it hit Broadway and especially since our granddaughter in California put it on her "don't miss" list.
Marc has been streaming the music into his headphones for weeks.
Another granddaughter has been drumming the rap songs onto our kitchen table for a while now.
So yesterday was the big day.
Marc took a day off work. We took the TRAX and headed off into the rain and snow to see the show.

Hamilton and King George

It was astounding.
The energy, the beat and the cleverly interwoven tale of the guy I've only known as the face of our ten-dollar bill was fascinating.
The songs are engaging.
The choreography is of the kind that makes the audience gasp and pay strict attention so as not to miss anything.
"What'd I Miss?" is a catchy tune that makes you want to hear it over and over but then so is "My Shot" and "The Schuyler Sisters" and "Washington on Your Side."
The King of England is so very funny in his reactions to this upstart America trying to go it alone.
We loved the story and the characters.
It's lively and bold (in a couple of places, very bold) and it's illuminating.
Alexander Hamilton did a lot for our country, more than we tend to think.
He was brilliant and hard-working and visionary.
And he had a complicated life.

Thomas Jefferson back from Paris

Surprisingly, "Hamilton" is more of a love story than I expected (to the point where Jefferson walks on stage and says, "Can we get back to politics now?")
It's poignant.
It's funny.
It's witty.
And it's well written, well supported and amazingly well staged.
It's no wonder it's selling out everywhere it plays while it is a wonder that it's playing in Salt Lake.
Kudos to the far-sighted folks who made it possible by getting us a marvelous stage and house for this.