Movie Night

Location: H.O.M.E. – Pat Crowley House

Date: Sunday, February 02, 2014; 5:30-9:00 pm

“This day was perfect. You couldn't have planned a day like this.”

“Well, you can. It just takes an awful lot of work.”

-          Groundhog Day

Yes it was

It was ‘Superbowl Sunday’ and usually I am firmly planted in front of my TV.  But it was also ‘Groundhog Day’ and Wilson was planning to show ‘Groundhog Day’ the movie at Pat Crowley.  Well, that was certainly not to be missed.  We arrived at Pat Crowley from the project at Lakeview Nursing and found the residents at the dining table.  They seemed have just finished having ice cream and so I went over to help with the clearing.  As I went to take Wendy’s bowl, I saw that it had hardly been touched and Mabel said that I should leave it since there was medicine inside it, and it was important that Wendy finish it.  First off all, great call on embedding medicine in ice cream, and secondly shame on me for trying to take away someone’s ice cream.  However I have nightmares of my parents giving me bitter medicine in honey when I was a kid, and to this day I cannot stand honey.  Thank God they did not put it in an ice cream else I couldn't live with myself!

The fantastic 'High Noon'

Annabelle was back from the hospital, though confined to her room.  This was a good sign though and the residents did seem a bit more upbeat than the previous week.  I went over to chat with Andrew and he said that he could still take me.  What?  It wasn’t as if I had challenged him for a duel!  I said that I had never been accused of being strong, so he could well be right.  We talked about our favorite movies and Andrew said that he liked Westerns like ‘Shane’ or movies featuring John Wayne.  I told him that ‘The Searchers’ was one of my favorites, though the best Western movie that I had ever seen was ‘High Noon’’.  His face lit up as for the next few minutes we talked about Gary Cooper as ‘Marshal Will Kane’, one of the greatest screen heroes of all time.  Even now as I write this, it gives me chills to think about this movie, about a man who is abandoned by everyone – including his wife – and who in face of imminent death stands up for what he believes in.  Plus that haunting song that plays throughout the film as the clock ticks towards noon.  Brilliant!  It is the crown jewel in the American treasure that is the Western. 

As we prepared for the movie, Cynthia was making tea and I mentioned that she certainly liked her tea's.  She said that she was particularly fond of ‘Chai’, having been introduced to it by her boyfriend back in the 70's when she was in DC.  I would have liked to have heard more about her days back then but Wilson announced that we were ready to begin.  Mabel was already in there watching a film on photography and Jane had come down for this one as well.  Before she came inside, I saw Cynthia stroking Wendy’s cheek and saying that she was her “little girl”.  It further emphasized what I already knew, that while she may not be the oldest, Cynthia was really the mother figure of this house.

We started the movie and I was sitting next to Andrew and I watched him drift in and out of sleep.  Despite that he seemed to be awake at the right times, like a scene where two big steins of beer were being passed and Andrew said “I would like two of those and two shots of rum”.  Well, him and me both.  At the end of the film as the hero gets the girl, Andrew woke up and said, “There she is”; and with enthusiasm as well.  Everyone had loved the movie and Jane was even dancing during the end credits, as was Cynthia in her chair.  We started discussing the next one and once again Andrew said that he would like to see ‘Shane’ or Spencer Tracy in ‘Bad Day At Black Rock’.  Even Jane and Mabel endorsed that.  Andrew and I had enjoyed talking about movies and he even called me a “movie buff”.  He then went on to talk about guns and while he would have liked to go on for hours, it was time for us to leave.  The ‘Superbowl’ had been going on, but for me this had been another wonderful evening.  Plus what a movie to watch!  ‘Groundhog Day’ is about a man re-living a day again and again till he learns something about himself, and finally gets it right.  There’s a valuable lesson in it for all of us.  All of us have been guilty of throwing away opportunities… ruining relationships…wasting valuable moments.  But it’s never too late to change… to apologize. As Bill Murray's character say's in the movie, "it just takes an awful lot of work".  Hey, as someone else once said, "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain".

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy