Have you ever been smitten? Just bowled over and left weak in the knees? At a loss for words when such a person is in front of you as you’ve never met or experienced? I find myself wrapped in this realm of loveliness for I have discovered the diverse world of…….
Clint Eastwood.
Had you going there for a minute, didn’t I???
It all started with VST and his movie collection. He watched DVD’s while I read books. Night after night, he’d be in his office munching on popcorn and watching the latest movie just purchased. His collection consisted of guy movies, therefore, there were many that I’ve never seen. An entire John Wayne collection, on top of war movies galore. From the Civil war through Desert Storm, the collection was lacking in Rom Com’s or Chick Flicks.
One day, he decided to make his collection more accessible and off to Walmart he went. Buying several DVD briefcases, each ready to hold 208 movies, he discarded all the bulky jackets. Carefully placing the movies in alphabetical order, he organized our collection before his passing. Four of these briefcases hold the collection as I balance out the heavy influence of testosterone, now absent here at Winterpast. It’s my intention to have watched all of them before I die. That might’ve been possible had I not started collecting movies of my own.
It started with a need to laugh and say a few “Ahhhh’s” as girl-types like to do. So, I started with Romantic Comedies and Chick Flicks. My first selections centered around Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Just sweet movies about nothing more than a silly problem and a cute fix. Finding them so relaxing and fun, I continued to collect more. There was also my worry that, at some point, either DVD’s would not longer be available or that certain titles would be deemed politically incorrect. My collection continues to grow.
I added my Alfred Hitchcock favorites like The Birds, Psycho, and Rear Window. I found delight in Stephen King and all his best works; Christine and Cujo being favorites. Pretty soon, I had to run to Walmart to buy another briefcase to hold new additions to my collection, growing by the week.
I found I loved World War II classics like The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Longest Day, and The Caine Mutiny. My list grew. As DVD’s arrive, I have plenty to watch on days I decide to practice laziness. With the lack of travel in my near future, I only need to turn on Elvis’s Blue Hawaii and I’m there, back in the islands.
Clint Eastwood has always been a favorite. When I started searching movies titles, I ran across the “Dirty Harry” series. Almost like time travel, I was transported back to a San Francisco of the 80’s remembered so well. Such wonderful visuals of the once beautifully romantic city, not the one now in ruins. It was to San Francisco that VST took me on our first trip out of town, when he hadn’t yet proposed. I remember dressing up for a dinner out at Hoolihan’s. On the way back to our hotel, we found ourselves in the wrong section of town. Taking off my high heels, we ran for our lives until we found safer ground, laughing all the way. Little did we know of the fantastical life we were running towards.
Old movies are a great way to remember back to simpler times. Times when people actually went outside to do things without being fearful of the boogie men, a real fear today. There were smiling faces to recognize. Friends who waved. People out for a jog on a bright and beautiful day. Children who went out to play as long as they promised to be home for dinner at 6PM. New lovers kissing in the park. Old people like to remember the good old days which held wonderful freedoms lost along the way.
Two Mules for Sister Sara. Play Misty for Me. A Fist Full of Dollars. So many titles that bring back the foggiest of memories and leave me wanting to see them once more. One of my favorites will forever be Bridges of Madison County. Such a variety of movies our American treasure, Clint, created, each one telling a story unique and wonderful.
So, male types, back it on up. This chick-a-dee is quite happy to be alone with Clint on New Year’s Eve. He and I will have quite a ride as we travel through decades of movie magic, time traveling across the wild west to the streets of San Francisco. Makes my day, for sure.
More tomorrow.