Dirty Movies

Dear Proctors,

I am so lucky to live near you. I know you just finished THE BEST THING EVER—the run of the 100 American Film Institute’s picks. Wowza. Many of these I had seen before on regular televisions—or tiny laptops. But seeing them on the big screen? What a gift.

I bought the pass ($100 granting entry to all the films), and I made it to 42. Formidable, but I wish I had done more. In sonnet form, I could go through 42 ways in which I loved these films… Or 42 different dirt metaphors.

Instead, I much prefer to think of how these 42 films mark like tree-rings of this tiny era of time.

2013

1. Rocky of all the movies, this one, the first, convinced me I had done the right thing in getting the pass. And I didn’t write the damn day down in my journal!

2. Shane 6/10/13 This is the week I started writing-pomodoros. As a writing technique, my life has forever been changed.
3. Manchurian Candidate 6/17/13 Mosquitos seem worse this year.

4. French Connection 7/1/13 Trying “pallet gardening” for the first time. Genius!
5. Bringing Up Baby 7/22/13 Pulling in no less than 1 lb of blackberries a day.

6. From Here to Eternity 10/21/13 Apparently I am so busy between July and October to get my butt in a movie seat.

7. Rear Window 10/28/13 I let a friend rake my lawn. It was his first time raking a lawn and he was really excited. I prefer to let the leaves give back to the soil, but whatevs, he had fun.

 8. Double Indemnity 11/4/13 Daylight savings time. I used my extra hour to read something beautiful.

9. To Kill A Mocking Bird 11/25/13 Started my phd exams…

10. Mash 12/16/13 …Passed my phd exams! I’m ABD! The hard part is over.
11. Dances With Wolves 12/30/13 The end of this year…. It was a tough one, but that’s how it goes after 30, right?

2014

12. An American in Paris 1/27/14 Too cold to come out for movies the past few weeks. I’m a wimp!

13. Platoon 2/10/14 Groundhog day passed, I think they need to change the system, says everyone every year.

14. Modern Times 3/17/14 To Europe and back. I think I’m sick of going there.
15. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 3/24/14 My puppy is 4 years old!

16. Shawshank Redemption 4/1/14 Still stew-cooking weather.
17. Tootsie 4/7/14 I am excited to go to Hawaii!
18. Silence of the Lambs 4/28/14 Leaving Hawaii was stupid. If you are ever in Hawaii do not leave.

19. Cabaret  5/19/14 The spring always makes me want more alone-time.

20. Rebel Without A Cause 6/30/14 Tomatoes are popping up in places they are not supposed to be!

21. Vertigo 8/25/14 Berries were late this year.

22.Nashville 9/15/14 Hit my 100 book mark!
23. Philadelphia Story 9/29/14 The time of year to refinish furniture you find at goodwill is coming to a close.

24. The Gold Rush 10/6/14 Still warm enough to walk for short errands.

25. Singing in the Rain 11/17/14 It is snowing by now.
26. Dr. Zhivago 11/24/14 Ferguson and heartache.

27. The Wizard of Oz 12/29/14 Christmas and the semester have passed.

2015

28. Midnight Cowboy 1/5/14 It is a new year, Neruda is the first book of the year.

29. E.T. 2/16/15 Snow day after snow day, I can’t take any more of this winter bling.

30. All About Eve 3/2/15: A friend is lost. Life as precious/life as curious/life as angry-making.

31. 2001 Space Odyssey 4/6/15. See above. And now my puppy is 5!

32. Blade Runner 5/4/15 The anniversary of my father’s death. This was one of his ‘desert island movies.’ Thank you, proctors.
33. Annie Hall 5/11/15 My birthday. The weather is summery already. Strange.

34. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest 6/1/15 Just back from Vancouver, new places are good.
35. Godfather 6/22/15 I’ve been hibernating even though it’s beautiful out. Has anyone else flipped the seasons?
36. Godfather part 2 6/29/15 SCOTUS legalized gay marriage! Almost proud to be an American today!

37. The Graduate 8/17/15 made new friends! This doesn’t usually happen in adulthood. And where the hell did the blackberries go this year?
38. Psycho 8/31/15 Skunks are alive and well, out and about, and spraying. Me and my dog.

39. Dr. Strangelove 9/14/15 The cold of fall is settling into my bones. Hit my 100 book mark!
40. On The Waterfront 9/28/15 I’ve started reading Harry Potter, finally,  and the blog has nearly hit 2500 reads. These seem like milestones.

41. Schindler's List 10/19/15 Days are getting shorter, but it isn’t as cold as last year.
42. Citizen Kane 10/26/15 The leaves seem like stained glass this year. I don’t remember that from before.

This standing Monday Night Date with myself was an important part of the last two and a half years for me (holy crap that's a long time!). I say with ease that I felt every human emotion possible through the run of these films. (including walking out of ET with snot running out of my nose.)

Best $100 I ever spent. Thank you Proctors, thank you thank you thank you.