Life is like a symphony … and sometimes a bridge over troubled waters!

 We went to see a performance of the Houston Symphony last weekend. First time ever and it was so fun. They performed songs of Simon and Garfunkel like “Sounds of Silence” and “I Am a Rock” and my absolute personal favorite … closed my eyes and swayed back and forth ever so slightly on this one … “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Don’t certain songs bring you back to a great moment in your life?

The symphony tickets were a Christmas present from our oldest child and her newbie husband. Did I mention that Katie and Chad made us work before we got to open the present? They are just a little mischievous in that way. Hope they never change. They had this page of blanks with a code for letters and we had to figure the whole thing out. Turned out to be titles to Simon and Garfunkel songs but I still didn’t get their point. News flash … to my knowledge S&G hadn’t gotten back together. That also meant they were not hangin’ on our front porch waiting to serenade the family or anything.

We hadn’t been to a concert in years and never to a symphony performance. Kids … all three of ours … and now a daughter-in-law and new son-in-law … have absolutely been one of the greatest things that have happened in our lives.

Did I mention hubby and I were married in 1972? It was classic Simon and Garfunkel music era. For the twenty or so minutes before I walked down the aisle we had a bunch of songs from that time period played. One was “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The title might sound kinda morbid for a wedding but it fit. Listen to the words and be sure to close your eyes. Can’t you just hear Paul sing “I’m on your side, when times get rough, and friends just can’t be found, like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down, like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.”

I mean who doesn’t expect to need a bridge to cross those unexpected troubled waters experienced throughout your life. Forty-one years ago in May I’ve been privileged to have someone to cross with to the other side! Thanks Simon and Garfunkel … you guys are great!

Scent of a Woman

Chanel No. 5

We were channel surfing the other night snuggled on the couch flipping in an earnest attempt to find a movie that would hold our attention. There were several options that looked interesting. Rick stopped when he came across “Scent of a Woman.” It’s one of those movies played on television on a regular basis. Rats! Almost thirty minutes of the movie was already gone. I hate when that happens.

“You know I’ve never seen that movie from the very beginning to very end,” I said.

“Me neither. I’ve seen plenty of it, but in bits and pieces. How about we stream it and watch the whole thing?” Rick said.

If you have never seen the movie … in a peanut shell it’s about what happens over a Thanksgiving weekend between a flamboyant retired Army colonel, Frank Slade, and a poor prep school student, Charlie Sims. Charlie, portrayed by Chris O’Donnell, is hired to be Frank’s caretaker for a few days. Cranky Frank is played by Al Pacino and won his first Oscar for the role.

Frank has recently become blind. He also has an interesting gift for being able to tell what perfume scent a woman is wearing. The guy does have a tiny sliver of a charming dimension to him. There is a very memorable dance scene. Frank teaches the tango to a beautiful young lady sitting all alone in a swanky restaurant waiting for her date. The whole scene is breathtaking.

But back to what happens before the tango. So poor Frank is having major issues. Poor guy. He’s recently become blind because of a dumb accident and living with young family members in a dumpy garage apartment. The dude is not a happy camper and expresses his displeasure with quite a potty mouth.

Now Charlie is himself having quite a crisis. He is on the verge of expulsion from his prep school over a prank he witnessed from afar right before the Thanksgiving break. The headmaster is focused on poor and moral Charlie and it looks like he will be the fall guy in the whole sordid affair when school resumes. Major tension ensues.

The part of the movie Rick and I never saw was the “prank” the rich kids performed on the headmaster of the school. It’s pretty awesome! I always wondered why the headmaster had his big boy pants in such a wad. Now I totally get it. The whole movie made so much more sense after seeing the first thirty minutes.

My guess is we’ll be using the television as a source for older great movies to stream from now on. No more missing key parts of character development like why the rich kids were such twits … or the headmaster was lacking moral character … and why I really, really cared about Charlie Sims.