Through Fresh Eyes

Inspirational song: Puttin' on the Ritz (Young Frankenstein)

There is a distinct advantage to having a best friend/neighbor who is of a different generation from us. There are tons of pop culture references from my contemporaries that he just doesn't know about yet, things that we get to introduce him to in good time. For example, Mel Brooks movies. He has seen some of the later ones, like Robin Hood: Men in Tights. But until we sat him down a few months ago, he had never watched Blazing Saddles. Yes, he was as stunned as a Millennial could be that this film was made, even with the "it was a different time, and they were trying to make a point" mantra. Even so, he found it terribly amusing, and now he doesn't look at us blankly when we quote from it. We had to save Young Frankenstein for when his girlfriend (even younger still) was available to watch it, and after we had them over for burgers and what-not this evening, we suggested closing out the night with Young Frankenstein. Some of the scenes that made our teenage peers howl with delight decades ago didn't translate to this audience, but for the most part, they enjoyed the show, seeing it for the first time. I don't think we will do any seriously deep dives into the Mel Brooks catalog, like Twelve Chairs, but it might not hurt to bring up The History of the World Part 1 before the year is out. I'm looking forward to that one.

I'm starting to feel a little better, now that I'm taking my meds again. It was dumb of me to let them go for three whole weeks. I had the energy to make homemade hamburger buns (a gluten free recipe from Goop, actually, that would have been quite plain without the addition of everything-bagel sprinkles on top) and a watermelon salad (watermelon, cucumber, Vidalia onion, feta cheese, and fresh mint from the garden). I bought pre-made patties for the burgers, but that was my only copout. I even had a few spoons left over at the end of the day to do the dishes before we went over to T's for the movie.

I'm not taking this brief uptick in energy for granted. Things start all over next week, and I need to prepare my surroundings. I need to tidy my room before I'm confined to it again, and I have to prep my guest room for my daughter to come visit at the end of the next cycle. She is remarkably easy to please, as far as guest accommodations go, but I still want to make it nice for her. The least I can do is clear my laundry from the bed and put away my painting setup. I get my blood tested on Monday, and the next infusion is Tuesday. If past is prologue (no guarantee it is), the bad stuff should hit right about the time everyone across the country is ooh-ing and aaah-ing over fireworks on Thursday. I would like to go watch the city display, but I doubt that's wise. We might light a few fountains in the street and call it a night.

Murray... How did you even... You know what? I'm not mad. I'm kind of impressed at your ninja skills.