My Favorite “Relax & Drink-too-much Wine” Movies

OK, we don’t have TV. We could have: we now have cable in Boquete and of course Direct TV, but I don’t “do” TV. When we moved to Ventura from Thousand Oaks we bought an old fixer-house on the hill with a fantastic ocean view and a lovely pool, but . . .it needed a lot of work . . . which I did by myself and with the help of Mario, a local fifteen-year-old “pot head” (his choice of words, not mine), who would later become one of my best friends, and like a son. Anyhow, we ripped out walls, moved bearing walls, put in shear walls, did electrical, plumbing, and tile work . . . all to “code” by the way . . . and I didn’t have time for TV. Then, before we replaced the roof, we had to take down the antena, and it never seemed worth the hassle to replace it. So it’s been ten years without TV! We’ve talked about it, but we just can’t find enough worth watching . . . even with 5,000 channels. We do buy videos and series like “Bones” and “CSI” . . . good for watching while eating dinner, and we’ve learned to be cool and say “Hey!” instead of “Hello”.

But sometimes, when I just want to sit, relax, drink and think about nothing . . . I turn to my two favorite-of-all-time movies . . .

“Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels”. . . There is nothing like the scene with Michael teaching Steve Martin to be debonair.

And when Steve Martin plays the retarded brother, at dinner with a wealthy mark, and asks, “Can I go to the bathroom?” . . . it still cracks me up!

My favorite line in the movie is when Steve Martin walks up to Michael Cain’s home overlooking the Riviera and says, “This, I want this!”  It’s been my dream . . . and as you can see by the picture heading this blog, I’m getting there.

 My other favorite is “Birdcage.”  I pretty muchlike anything with Robin Williams, but he and Nathan Lane are “marvelous darling!”  Throw in Gene Hackman . . . I particularly like the house boy, “Agadar Sparticus.”  Our friends were looking for a Panamanian houseboy, someone who was reliable, honest and a good worker, and would feel comfortable with their gay relationship . . . of 12 years!  We suggested a guy we’d met at a resort we stayed at . . . he seemed perfect for the job.  He’d grown up in a very evangelical, judgemental, anti-gay home, and felt rejected by his family.  Anyway, we suggested him . . . and it has worked out great . . . but I kid them all every time I visit that our friend is becoming more and more like “Agadar Sparticus”.

So, it’s been a tough day on the construction project . . . I don’t even want to talk about it.  I just want to sit here, blog, and mindlessly watch “Birdcage.”

Rebecca, From Siberia . . .

Some of you have mentioned that my daughter’s life is a lot more interesting than mine – it is! – and that you were fascinated by her trip this summer to Siberia.  A few asked if she wrote a blog.  She should, but she doesn’t have time . . . so I thought you might enjoy her latest email . . .

drast-vuyt-ye! Hello!

Greetings friends from the Ural mountains- the entryway to Siberia! I’ve officially made it to Asia and am having an amazing time! And I am so pleased to have found an Internet place and be able to write you all a quick note to give an update . . .

First, the river trip with my mom from St. Petersburg to Moscow was a perfect introduction to Russia. It was rich with incite into a fantastic, horrible, and deep past. A past which has seen beauty, but more often pain and harshness. It has been fascinating to see stereotypes broken down and hear about Russia from the Russian perspective. I value the sense of place that this guided journey allowed and was so glad to be able to share it with my mother and hear her stories of the US during Stalin and Soviet times. What a complicated and every changing world!

The strength of the Russian people is commendable- old woman who have endured the time of Stalin, had husbands and sons killed (over 27 million during WWII), and are now in a capitalist society that is foreign and they are told to cope- something they have been doing their whole lives. The transitions since Gorbachev (not a popular fellow here in Russia) has been at jet speed and some cannot keep up. Do you remember when the first McDonald’s was opened in Moscow? When visiting Red Square on the Fourth of July (odd in and of itself) there was a family having a McDonald’s picnic in front of Lenin’s tomb… it is an ever changing world.

After time in Moscow I hiked myself through the rain to catch the first of many trains on my journey along the trans-Siberian railroad to Baikal. I’ve been adopted by many on the trains who have ensured I am well taken care of. I’ve been given tea and forest strawberries, which are the size of your pinky nail, but have more flavor than any strawberry I’d ever had in California. I’ve been given summer sausage and little spotted eggs of various birds and I was offered vodka by the two drunk cabin attendants – I declined. I am full with Russian hospitality and the eternal picnic of the train ride.

At four in the morning I woke up to look out the train window of my compartment and into the face of Lenin (a statue next to me at one of many train stations- every town has their Lenin)- it took me a moment to get my bearings and remember who I was, where I was and what I was doing (even when I’m awake I still wonder what I’m doing)? After 28+ hours (I lost count) on the train I was happy to get off for a shower and stop over in Yekaterinburg- were the last of the tzars and his Romanov family were executed by the Bolsheviks. Tonight I board another train which in two night will land me in Krasnoyarsk, a city of 800,000. The train has taken us past so many trees and little villages of grey weathered wooden homes and woman watering cabbage.

It is hot here (yes, it is hot in Siberia!) and the trains are stuffy and muggy. I would stand by the few open windows to let the breeze cover my face in a vain attempt at cooling myself. Trains would pass frequently taking the riches of Siberia off to be sold- timber, minerals and oil- so much oil! This is such a huge country- it seems the riches stored in Siberia will never run out- hmmm, have we heard that before?

This computer is interesting, because it is all in Russian except for My Yahoo. I keep closing things down because I don’t know what it is asking me and I guess the wrong button . . .  I better send this before it is lost . . .  Well, not sure when I will again find a computer. But, know that I am well! Hope you are all doing well also! I appreciate your thoughts and prayers! Much love, Rebecca- Bec who has seen enough onion domed churches to fill a lifetime!