It just so happens

To create that post a couple of days ago, I went into my cache of 20th-Century photos taken in NYC.  There was one image that showed huge marquees for On The Waterfront, Brigadoon, and one I’d never heard of, entitled Susan Slept Here.  Guess what I’m recording right now from TCM?  

Beyond this point is more detail which I want to remember, but that I recognize will be of interest only to me.  You’ve been warned.

I don’t usually go into Bluesky, but this morning I did, and almost immediately saw a post from the New Yorker from one of their film critics.  It said that he’d been discussing Susan Slept Here with someone, and how it was a sharp portrait of mid-1950’s capitalist America, and… it was going to be on TCM in about 15 minutes.  I powered up the TV and the TiVo just after the opening credits began.  

Photographic memory

I remember hearing about the documentary "The Automat" a few years ago, and when it was on the TCM schedule, I recorded it, or so I thought.  When I tried to play it back, there had been a problem with the cable that left the picture scrambled and the audio garbled.  But recently, I got a second chance, and this time it recorded properly.  

Above, a still from the film reminded me of a photo I'd seen online and saved.  Not exactly the same, but likely taken moments apart from the same spot on the same rainy day in 1943.  

Wonder what the "E" billboard next to the Automat sign was promoting?  Was there an "E" war bond? 

What do you have to say for yourself?

Getting done what has to be done, whether it's getting PG to her medical appointments, keeping the household chores up to date, or fulfilling my duty as a citizen by reporting to the court house and making myself available for a jury.  Well, the last one wasn't necessary, as word came down this afternoon that those scheduled to report tomorrow morning were no longer required to show up.  Can't say I'm sorry for that, since PG has two appointments on Wednesday and another one Thursday morning, and I need to drive her to them.  

Trying to appreciate each day as it happens.  I saw it put in a different way:   if you count on a bad situation resolving quickly, or if you lose hope and feel that a bad situation will never get better, it can break you.  One day at a time, or The New Normal, is the least likely to send someone into the abyss.

Satisfied with the new mini-trampoline so far.  I was on it for 25 minutes today; five minutes here, 8 a little later, then 12 late in the day.  Anything to keep me from rotting, immobile, through the weeks of winter.  One thing I have to unlearn is that when I'm relaxed, I tend to close my eyes, which is bad for balance on the rebounder.

Besides that, by end of day, I had done some charting of one old videotape; I practiced my instrument or watched/listened to instrument-related videos for about an hour; and did the chores that needed to be done. 

Tomorrow, nothing on the schedule since jury duty is out.  Let's see how disciplined I am then.  

Winter weather and its effects

Lousy weather making it too hard to go for a walk, and I was not looking forward to two or three months of that.  Then I got a Facebook Messenger message from a family member that showed someone demonstrating a mini-trampoline, or as they call it, a "rebounder."  Stationary bikes and treadmills are too heavy and take up too much space, and besides they're out of my budget range.  But I did some research and decided on a $409 model that had a 15% discount for the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  That ought to get me through the winter without becoming dangerously sedentary.

Getting better at getting things accomplished:  "What's the next action?" comes to mind, or as they like to say where I get my music lessons, you eat an elephant one bite at a time.  Now, some Christmas decorations are up in the family room, there's a timer on the wreath lights above the fireplace, and electric candles with LED lights are in place in the downstairs street-facing windows.  Maybe Friday I'll work on one room upstairs.  Then, another one.  And so on.