Sunday, 05 July 2009

• Born on the Fourth of July

   

   

  Yesterday, obviously, was Independence Day in my dear US.  (I almost wrote ‘UN.’  I’m sure that I should have more coffee before continuing, but what the hell.)  Contrary to what the title would suggest, it was NOT my birthday.  Confused yet?  Let me explain.  No, too much.  Let me sum up.

   

  Every year, for many years, my family had this tradition.  Our Fourth of July consisted of a BBQ, with homemade BBQ sauce (this is the best stuff ever, trust me), shish kabob, roasting marshmallows (remind me to tell you about the time a frog peed on my brother), fireworks—and Yankee Doodle Dandy.  It’s a movie—a classic movie.

   

  It stars James Cagney, and it’s in black and white.  It tells the story of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.  They used to air it on television, without fail.  Years ago, they stopped doing that.  So, I haven’t seen it in a long time, but I remember it fondly.  Call me nostalgic.  I won’t argue.

   

  Now, I know that I could get it on DVD.  But there’s something different about watching things like that on tv.  It’s the same reason I’ll stop and watch The Princess Bride, if I catch it appearing on cable.  It’s a welcome, happy surprise. 

   

  I wonder why they don’t air the movie, anymore.  Just like they don’t air King Kong or Mighty Joe Young—the originals.  Not the remakes.  These things are a part of my childhood, and are remembered fondly, even though they were made way before my time.  I wonder what else kids are missing, for lack of cultural exposure.  (Movies are part of our culture, damn it!)

   

  Growing up, I remember watching Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Katharine Hepburn in Holiday, and Lauren Bacall in To Have and To Have Not (Sweet Jesus, that woman nearly melted the screen—I’ll never look at a whistle the same way, again).  These women all had a style and a grace that I admired.  And while nothing blew up in Breakfast, it was a good movie.  I can’t imagine having grown up without movies like these, and I wonder if people are.

   

  It’s funny, the things that you miss.  Important pieces of childhood disappear, like purple Swedish fish (which I always called Gummy Fish), Cracker Jack prizes that were actually good (seriously, they need to rethink their marketing, or something), or prizes in cereal.  Yes, times change, and I love video games as much as the next person—my xbox 360 is terribly amusing.  How else could I experience the life of an assassin?  (Assassin’s Creed, anyone?)  But I think that we tend to forget the simple things, sometimes.  Yes, life changes, and things are more fast paced now then they even were when I was a kid.

   

  But it’s good to reach back, sometimes.  To go roller skating, or walk on a boardwalk, eat ice cream for dinner, have a food fight with potato pancakes, eat honeysuckle, play with clay or play dough, learn to make something (anything—from crocheting to drawing to sewing.  Create!), and—yes—watch old movies.

   

  It may sound simple, or silly, but these are things that helped to make up my childhood.  And sure, I may have begged for a new videogame system, or coveted someone’s new [insert wildly popular item here], but I also knew how to play in trees, make mud pies, and spend entirely too many hours finger-painting.  The result of which may or may not have ended in a disaster regarding a concrete floor.  Possibly.  I admit to nothing.

   

  Maybe I’ve just let nostalgia get the best of me.  Who knows?  But, in any case, every year I still look for Yankee Doodle Dandy on tv—even though I know it won’t be aired.  Call me crazy, but I still hope to find it.  Regardless, thanks for journeying with me this morning, through this little trip into the past.  My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you...

   

  [Note: I don’t have a sister; that’s a line from Yankee Doodle Dandy.]

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