Tad, Dave, and Fireworks

That title sounds a LOT juicer than this entry is going to be. I've got to cover my bases, and I'm gonna try to cover them rather briefly. I was talking to the weather guy here at the station (we have quite a few interesting conversations, mostly me coaching him on how to handle his three daughters...I'm one of three girls, so I should know, right?) and he told me that if I want to produce I need to be able to write. Not just write, but write conversationally and succinctly. (And probably learn to spell succintly...is that right?) He said to keep a journal and just talk in it like you would if you were talking out loud. So I try to do that here, but I'm going to try harder to, and not to be quite as lengthy. Unless I really need to get something off my chest.

Ok, first the fireworks. Ryan and I had one of the best 4th of Julys that I can remember. We went to some friends' for a birthday/4th of July party, then met up with Ryan's roommate and his girlfriend and a couple of other people to go see Purdue's fireworks. We went up to the top of the parking garage, and it was like a village up there! People were covering the roof of the garage ready to watch the fireworks, and what a show! Not only did we get a perfect view of Purdue's show, which was great, but to the north of them we could see the fireworks coming from the Elks Club, and to the east, all along the horizon, a steady sparkling of fireworks from all the surrounding small towns and counties. It was so magical, so enchanted. It was a feast for the eyes, and I was an absolute glutton. I just wanted to look everywhere at once; I didn't want to miss one view, one amazing explosion. It was awesome.

Now onto a new segment of the story where I tell you about movies and music that I am into at the moment. I just bought "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!" from the $5 bin at Wally World, because I had always wanted to see it, and because it was $5. Funny story about this, I almost bought "City Slickers," and decided against it, but forgot that I had tucked it under my arm and walked all over the store with it. Then I checked out, all the time not realizing it was still under my arm, and walked out the door. Now at Walmart they have the sensors that go off, always, it would seem, at random times and with no reason because you obviously paid for everything in your plastic bag. I've been dinged plenty of times and checked out and found innocent of shoplifting. Well, today I got dinged and the guy whose job it was to check people's bags came over, an older gentleman, and I showed him my receipt and let him check my bag. He said everything looked fine and so I exited the store. When I got in my car, I pulled "City Slickers" out from under my arm absent-mindedly and just stared at it for a second. Then I just laughed, and headed back to the store entrance.

"I know why that thing dinged me," I said. "I had this movie under my arm and didn't even realize it!"

"Did you buy it?" asked the guy.

"No, I didn't even want it, I just forgot to put it back when I was digging through that movie bin."

He looked at me like I had just arrived in a big, pink bubble.

"You're the first honest person I've ever met," he said, and thanked me.

Ha!

And so much for brevity. Anyway, I went home and watched this movie between shift breaks today and it was great. Very very funny, and I would even watch it with my boyfriend because I think he'd think it was funny too. Topher Grace is what really makes the movie, but the story is surprisingly fresh and close to the heart. Of course you probably remember this is a story about a girl (Kate Bosworth) who wins a date with a famous actor whom she is crazy about, and Grace plays her guy-friend who is really in love with her. The bartender has this awesome line that goes something like, "Everyone is a Tad Hamilton to someone else," meaning you may be in awe of this person you think is amazing, and you think you'll never be good enough for, but probably someone else is thinking that about you. I think that's a very true concept. There was also something so charming about Bosworth's character, this small-town girl with such a polite, genuine, and almost old-fashioned personality and sensibility. She's not totally naive to the point of being blind or stupid, but she is, rather, aware of her innocence in a way that I think they just don't typically write female protagonists in Hollywood. Seriously, watch the movie. It's great.

And now to Dave. I've been doing a lot of soul-searching (or maybe searching for my soul?) lately and when I get to the point where I'm just baffled by God or religion or life in general, I like to listen to a little Dave Matthews Band, because I think Dave a lot of times is baffled, too. Half the time I don't know what the heck his lyrics mean, but I like to try to interpret them, and even find an interpretation applicable to my life even if it's not applicable to what Dave was thinking, drinking, or smoking when he wrote those lines. I think he just has a way of expressing his wonder, that sometimes you just have to stop and realize how big the universe is and how small you are, and how little time you have to enjoy all the things that you take for granted. I think he writes about the fact that God is so far beyond his understanding, and I think that's great because sometimes I get to where I'm trying to get it all sorted out, and I need to remember that God is so far beyond what my mind can wrap itself around or define. Specific tracks? "Bartender" is really great, so is "You Never Know" and "JTR." It's good soul-searching music, and if nothing else reminds me of the sense of wonder I do and should have about God and faith.

Ok, maybe we'll try that "brief" thing next time.

Lis