So tonight we had a ward activity---an outdoor movie. I love outdoor movies. A few years ago, I went to see Charade with Nemesis and another friend. We had blankets and snacks and the whole evening was perfect. Last summer, my city in Maryland would put on outdoor movies every Friday night on the lakefront. I went to see Return of the King with my brothers and some friends. We had blankets and camping chairs and snacks and the whole evening was perfect.
This summer, I've been looking out for an outdoor movie. I even asked the 100 hour board about when an outdoor movie would be playing---so imagine my excitement when I saw the announcement for our ward activity: an outdoor movie in Kiwanis Park. The flyer wasn't very pretty, but despite the weird capitalization issues, it made me excited. It said:
21st Ward movie Night!!!
Wednesday 9 PM
In the Field behind Chatham Town
Refreshments served
Bring Blankets, Chairs, Etc.
Bring Your Friends!!
So I went out to try my luck at the second ward activity that I would attend this summer. I was so proud of myself when I tried to attend a ward activity the first time, too... s'mores up the canyon. I love s'mores! And I got up there and was overwhelmed by the number of people. The fire was way too hot to even approach with a stick and a marshmallow. Brother #2 ended up calling me to try and stop by my house. I made him come up the canyon instead and the two of us separated ourselves from the group and spent a wonderful evening in each other's company. And my parents wonder why we all have such a hard time finding potential future spouses...
But I digress. This time, I wanted my attempt at ward sociality to be more successful. I went out with a nice big blue blanket and a body pillow. By the time I got there, everyone was already settled. I set my blanket and pillow up beside some girls in the ward that I like. And then I turned to the screen to see what was playing...
...
There was a man and a woman on a couch being interviewed. Now, I think that When Harry Met Sally starts with couples being interviewed. I can't quite remember---there's some romantic comedy that starts with couples being interviewed and ends with couples being interviewed. I really didn't think that my ward was cool enough to actually be watching When Harry Met Sally (would that it were!), but I thought that I was in for some sort of treat.
Until the interviewing didn't stop.
I turned to my friends and said, "What is this??" They told me it was Spellbound. No, not the cool Spellbound with Gregory Peck. The Spellbound that is a documentary about spelling bees. Now I'm not going to do something so foolish as argue that Spellbound sucks. I have heard great things about it from many people. But I will suggest that maybe it wasn't the best choice for an outdoor movie at a ward activity. You don't want to go outside with all of your ward friends and watch a freaking documentary! I'm still trying to figure out whose dumb idea it was.
I lasted about 30 seconds. Once I had established that they really weren't kidding and that Spellbound really was the film for the evening, I grabbed my perfectly positioned blanket and pillow and went back home. I watched The Importance of Being Earnest. As I explained to my friends, I had time to be entertained, but I didn't have time to waste.
9 comments:
You know, regarding milking cows, Nancy Krusoe, in her short story "Landscape and Dream," wrote that "Warm cow milk has a certain smell, a from-inside-the-body smell, the way your finger smells pulled out of your own vagina."
(Reci-typed by memory. My friends call me God, practically.)
And that will teach you never to flirt with ward activity!
Love, Ralph
Which "Earnest"? The Colin Firth one, or the old one? 'Cause you can't ever knock a movie with Mr. Darcy in it, but I really enjoyed the older version very much.
Oh, definitely the Colin Firth one. I didn't even know that an older version existed, though it makes sense, really.
I'm too busy recoiling from Cicada's friend's poetry to even think about Colin Firth. And that, my friends, is saying something.
You'd rather milk cows? That can be arranged.
Ambrosia, darling, where on Earth were you using a computer at 2:45 a.m? And why? Next time get your lazy bones to bed.
I was using a computer at . . . the library. That's right, the library.
And I'm not joking about the cows. Of course, if you'd prefer, there are plenty of sheep that need milking, too.
Oh, yeah. And why? Because I'm an Internet junkie.
Moo...I've heard that Spellbound is actually very good. But definitely something you want to be forced to watch in a class and later grudgingly admit it has merit, and not the sort of thing you want to see under the stars on a crisp summer night.
And Mitya scares me. Moo.
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