For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

Hairspray

Having never seen another version of Hairspray, I consider myself unbiased and of fresh opinion! All I knew of the story was a chubby girl does good!! Well, Hairspray is so much more than that!

Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnbland is absolutely adorable!!! She lights up the screen with energy and 60’s naivety. A perfect match for Tracy is best friend Penny Pingleton played by Amanda Bynes. They were my best friend Diane Evans and I dancing in the elevators in Bullocks in 1963!

Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, was perfectly evil as the overdressed, over coiffed, over made-up, over the top villain in this piece. Though I did think she was a bit thin and her eyes were a little blood shot....hummmm......whatever....Christopher Walken as Wilber Turnbland was his quirky self, James Marsden’s Corny Collins was the quintessential dance show host of the 60’s and Zac Efron was dreamy as Link Larkin, the heart throb.

But let’s face it...we all are going to see Hairspray to see John Travolta as Edna Turnbland. He does not disappoint!! He wasn’t like a guy in drag; he was an actor playing a mother with issues. He is awkwardly feminine and endearing and makes me laugh just thinking about him...er her....I would say he steals the film, but it’s too good a cast to say that!

Costume designer Rita Ryack was spot on! From head to toe it was the early 60’s, still fresh and innocent. I know I still have some of those patterns around here somewhere!
The set decoration was equally authentic, from the knick-knacks to the look of the streets. Though, there was one bug-a-boo...TV’s didn’t come on instantly, but rather took several seconds to ‘warm up’. Something the director might want to jot down for future reference....

This is a great movie, in my opinion. From the moment it started until the end, I was enthralled! It was sweet, laugh-out-loud funny, had a message and made me feel like dancing! Take the kids from ages 6 and up, though there was a 3 year old next to us who loved it. It’s a musical for even those who hate musicals (Ryan!). Stay to see the credits, we all did! And the hair is to dye for!!!

I give this film a solid 9.9! I gave Chicago a 9.5. As raunchy and fun as Chicago was, Hairspray is equally fun and clean! Gosh I love a good musical!!! I consider this a must see for all!

part 3, Vacations

Thankfully, the back packing vacations only lasted a few years. On the last trip I went on, Daddy had what he thought was a brilliant idea. He had done some work at Cal-Tech and came across these discarded ‘tubes’. They were made of a heavy plastic and about 5 feet long and about 2 feet in diameter with these silver bands to close them. I remember hearing they were used for chemicals and such, so they were airtight. He had the idea that if we could somehow store our stuff up in the Sierra’s, it would be just a quick jaunt with only our food and clothes to carry up. So, he rigged up a toilet and shower out of these tubes and some PVC pipe and packed all of the tents, sleeping bags, cooking supplies and whatever else he could think of that would make Camp Ellingson the envy of all who hiked by. The pack mules never had such a load as they did with those yellow tubes strapped to either side of them! What a sight they must have been to those who weren’t familiar with the antics of the Mayor of Shadow Lake! Those tubes were the talk of hills! We did have the camp to envy. People would stop by and ask for a tour of the camp they had heard about from the bottom of the mountain and from all those along the trail coming from Camp Ellingson. There were about 12 in our party that year, as we had collected friends and family alike to join us. We had 2 showers and a Men’s room and a Ladies room! In the backcountry!!! Unheard of! I have to admit, that year was uniquely fun and memorable! My nephew, Dale, who was 6, (that made me 12) came and he could run around without a shirt and the mosquitoes didn’t even know he existed! He didn’t have to wear spray or anything! Whatever....
On the last day is where Daddy’s plan had it’s brilliance! He had found a cave and buried the 6 tubes filled with all our camping gear underground and planted bushes in front of the opening. Gosh it seemed like a good idea, even to me. We walked out with just the clothes we brought. We sailed down the hill to Agnew Meadows, our stuff just waiting for the next vacation! Well......gratefully, Daddy made a trip up alone the next Spring to check things out. All of our stuff was gone. Either it was stolen by one of the dozens Daddy bragged to about the ‘idea’, or those bears I never saw are living the life of Riley somewhere!
Mamma and I never had to backpack again, Thank the Lord! Daddy would go himself a few times, but we were never forced us to participate in the ‘fun’! As a side bar, he had once decided that when it was his time to die, he would just go back up in the Sierra’s and never come back. He thought that would save a lot of money in the funeral costs, as he was disgusted at the cost of Mamma’s funeral! We finally convinced him that the cost of searching for his lifeless body in ‘them thar hills’ would far exceed the cost of a pine box and a fern cover! He had a funeral!
In the later years of their life, Mamma and Daddy vacationed in the fall as their anniversary was November 3. They would go camping, but in the camper and stay in a motel one or two nights for a shower. How magnanimous of him! They would go to the Tetons and Sedona, Mamma’s favorite spot in the world! He always took the pictures and each picture was Mamma pretending to point to whatever picturesque spot Daddy chose. He always had her wear her most colorful outfit as to contrast the scenery! They always had wonderful stories of those trips, Mamma talking about the food she ate!
On the trip in 1977, as I sat playing with Ryan and Nathan on the floor, the doorbell rang and my brother-in-law Leon was at the door. Odd, I thought. He said his usual ‘Hi!’ and then gently told me he had my mother in the car. ‘WHAT?’ I queried. My mother was on vacation. Well, it seems there had been a little accident and Mamma had broken her leg. Here’s how the story goes....
On about the 3rd day of vacation, they had stopped for dinner in one of those little cafes along the roadside. You know the ones, little hole-in-the-wall place with food to die for. They had dinner and boysenberry pie alamode. Mamma was in a particularly playful mood having had a great meal and the promise of a hot bath! The camper was on the other side of the road and she, being in that playful mood, ran across the street ahead of Daddy. As she crossed the road to the other side, before Daddy could cross, a big truck drove by. As the truck passed, Mamma was nowhere to be found. Where could she have gone? He had the awful thought that she had been struck by the truck, but he knew he had seen her safely on the other side of the road before the truck passed. Where on earth could she have disappeared? He looked and called and yelled. Nothing! It was pitch dark by now and he had a terrible feeling of dread come over him. ‘Dolly!!!! Dolly, where you at?” ‘Dolly!!!’ He finally came across a crevice just a few feet from the spot she ran to across that highway. ‘Dolly!’ he yelled again. He heard just a hint of sound coming from the deep crevice by the side of the road. He knew instantly she was down there. He climbed down the 6 feet or so to find her lying in a heap. She had broken her left leg and hurt her right arm. She was helpless. The sides of the hole were slimly with a moss and he had no idea how he would get her out. The next few moments, he says, he has no memory of. But they were out and on the side of the hole. We know that God in His own way lifted the both of them out. Now what? He laid Mamma gently down and ran for help. The break in her left leg was high up on her chin, but they put the cast as low as they could so she could bend her knee to get on a plane home. They flew home, and that’s how Mamma landed on my doorstep that afternoon.
Daddy had to fly back up to Acadia in Northern California, the sight of the fall, to drive the truck home. The next few weeks were hard for Mamma as the leg break was one thing, but the sprain in her right arm kept her from doing anything for herself. With the left leg broken and her right arm hurt, crutches were useless. So, my husband and the boys and I moved in and took care of her and Daddy, much to Daddy’s dismay! He didn’t like to have his routine dislodged. He kind of lost a bit of control. That coupled with the fact that Mamma made his lunch everyday, which consisted of about 8 separately packed little bits of this and that. I didn’t quite coddle him the way she had done for 40 years. He got a hearty sandwich, fruit, a thermos full of chocolate malt and whatever else looked like it would be good for an afternoon snack. He certainly wouldn’t starve. Mamma did a lot of things for 40 years that just wouldn’t even occur to me to be even in the realm probability! Let’s keep in mind that she worked full time, made breakfast, that jam packed lunch and had dinner on the table every night at 6:30. After she died, he had no idea how to even turn on the washer and used the dishwasher as storage. What was she thinking? Whatever...don’t get me started.....
Well, after a few weeks, she was on the mend and we went home. From then on, they stayed in motels. Finally, a vacation for Mamma!

Vacations, part 2

OK, the next summer torture fix came in, I don’t know, 1959. We no longer had the ‘shop’ and now backpacking was the rage for Ol’ Dad. OK, again, sounds fun, right? Camping, yeah!!!! Well, not so fast. As we know, Daddy doesn’t do anything quite like everyone or anyone, for that matter. We didn’t pack a little back pack and take the camper up to the mountains and sing Cumbiya (?) by the fireside and roast marshmallows. Not us. We packed only the absolute necessities of existence and went way back up in ‘them thar hills’! The High Sierras. Where there is nothing. You know what I mean. Nothing! Not even the hint of even a ‘Johnny-On-The-Spot’. We would have the pack mules carry up our food and tent and sleeping bags and we schlepped the rest. My sister and I hiked bare-foot. Don’t ask. It was about 5 miles to Shadow Lake. I think I was about 8 the first time I went. And I was a chubby kid, whose only activity was walking to school a block and a half down the road. It was a long 5 miles up the trail, when we actually used the trail.
Mamma hated camping. She had Asthma and the altitude about did her in. Her eyes would all but swell shut and her hands looked like mitts! She would spend all year walking 5 miles every morning before work to build up her stamina for the week of ‘vacation’. Her description of camping was this: Camping, for a woman, is doing everything you do at home without ANY conveniences. And you don’t get to take a long, hot bubble bath when the dishes are done!
We would take day trips from our base camp along the banks of Shadow Lake to places that weren’t even on the maps. Places that only the hunting guides had found mostly by accident. Places without trails to or from them. We would just trudge up the side of the mountain, blazing trails of our own. But that gave Larry, the unofficial Mayor of Shadow Lake, as he was know by the guides and trails guys, to name any lakes he found after his girls. Let’s see, first was Lake Dienna with the tree trunk ‘dock’, pretty little Lake Betty June, Big Lake Dolly and, oh yes, that little mud puddle creek, Lake Jeanette. If I thought going up the side of a mountain was tough, coming down was just plain freaky!! I did those hikes with my shoes on!
We were so high up, that even in August there was still snow on the ground in some shaded spots. We would all bare-foot ski, even Mamma! Well, she kept her shoes on as she did nothing bare-foot! I have to admit, that was bordering on fun. Bordering. The water was always way too cold to even think about swimming. The lake was for fishing only, I guess. And keeping the butter and eggs cold. And we had to eat the fish that Daddy caught that day!! UHHHHHHHHGGGGG!!!! That’s the only thing that Daddy cooked. Fish. Thank God for the butter! The only saving grace on a camping trip for me was the fact that Mamma always brought candy bars. One each, each day. That never happened at home! And I got to drink tea. At home it was forbidden. I’ll never forget that hot tea in those tin cups. It seemed like it was never really cool enough to drink when it was in those tin cups!.
Now, I never actually saw a bear, but the food had to be kept ‘away’ from them. Sometimes we would come back from our daily torture-hike and the Mayor would say, ‘Dolly, it looks like we’ve had bears!’ Great… It was so cold at night that you had to sleep with someone. In a sleeping bag. Another torture device, if you ask me. A sleeping bag on the hard ground. Who thought this stuff up?
With the week coming to an end, one would think I would be looking forward to freedom. One would think. But the trip back down the hill was just plain awful! You know those pack mules that brought our stuff up? They didn’t bring our stuff back down. We did that. You see why we only bring the absolute necessities of existence. We were all loaded up and down the mountain we’d go. ‘Just one foot in front of the other, Jannie,’ I’d tell myself. ‘Just one foot in front of the other. And the other. And the other’….At least on the trip down, we followed the trail…Sometimes…When we had to…Sometimes. I’ll never forget that clearing up ahead looking like Heaven itself! Agnew Meadows!! Agnew Meadows meant that the Pack Station was just one mile away! One mile! Agnew Meadows was one of those memories that will be one of the things that will always make me smile at the thought! It was a beautiful, open, green, well, meadow that was edged with flowers and trees and I’m sure the birds sang 24/7! Like a scene from an old movie. An oasis. A place that Julie Andrews might sing! And it meant one mile to civilization and a bed and pillow and a bath with hot water and a real, live, working, modern toilet!!!! Yes!!!! There suddenly was a quickness in my step and a hint of a smile on my dirty, chubby little face which was always covered by mosquito bites, as was every other place on my body not covered by some piece of uncomfortable, itchy clothing or stinky bug spray! But freedom was just ahead! At this moment of ‘vacation’, I was usually way ahead of everyone else on the trail. You see, being the baby, my pack was unusually lighter and I could move faster. That and the fact that I was so excited to be almost home! So my moment in the meadow was my own to treasure. My own to run through and laugh and play! I picked the wild flowers for Mamma and took a sip from the brook. It was my moment to be thankful I’d lived through another vacation! The last mile wasn’t nearly as bad as the other 4. And soon I could see the truck! Hello truck. Remember me? ….freedom…for another 51 weeks…. until next year…freedom….I wish Dr. Phil had known about this…..

Vacations

The word vacation is not really one I hold in my brain as particularly wonderful. I know that sounds odd. But let me explain:
As a kid, we took a vacation every year. Every year. One week. I don’t remember one being longer, and I’m sure I’d remember it if it happened! Keep in mind all of the things you’ve read about my Dad and ‘his ways’. So here’s how vacationing went for the Ellingson Family….
Daddy had a Sportsman’s shop. That’s what I remember hearing it referred to as growing up. It was called Sportsman’s Paradise. He sold fishing boats, fishing equipment and the like. In fact, when you see a boat on top of a car, as we did in the 50’s and 60’s, my dad invented the contraption that put said boat on top of your car in the late 40’s. Another fact, for those who have been to my home and wondered why I have an Alumacraft boat as a planter in my yard, it’s because that is the original boat used to demonstrate the Quick-n-Easy Boat Loader. And once you’ve filled an Alumacraft boat with dirt, it ain’t goin’ anywhere! Aren’t you glad you know that? Anyway, vacations. Being a ‘sportsman’ we had to do ‘sportsman’ stuff on vacation. …Apparently that’s in the handbook somewhere. Did you know that the advent of the infomercial is not as modern as you may think. When the Quick-n-Easy Boat Loader was ready for production and sale, my Dad took her up to Lake Shasta along with my planter and did a ½ hour commercial. They were almost like little documentaries, I guess. Advertisement. I don’t know, I wasn’t born in the 40’s. Quite. By the time I came along, everyone had his own Quick-n-Easy Boat Loader and boating was the thing for the Ellingson’s to do on our one-week vacation. Now you might think, how fun!!! And I suppose many did enjoy their week. However, I was little and they didn’t want to lose me overboard and certainly didn’t want me to get wet. So me in my big ol’ orange Mae West went under the hull of the boat. I can remember my Dad saying, ‘Dolly, does she have to stay down there?’ And Mamma answering, ‘yes! She’s dry and out of the way’. That, apparently, was important. Mamma was a practical woman. Now, think about what a boat does when you go screaming through the water at break neck speed pulling your skier to new heights of thrills and spills!!! The hull of the boat slams into the water about 57 times a minute! Slam!!! Slam!! Slam!!! All of those in the rest of the boat are laughing with the wind rushing through their hair, little droplets of Lake Shasta cooling their sun-drenched brows, basking in the remembrance of the thrill of their last turn behind the Alumacraft! But not Jeanette. Noooooooooo! She is being slammed!!! But…I’m dry and out of the way. Again, apparently important.
In the days in which I was born, it was a belief that you should put your babies in the sun everyday for their daily dose of vitamin, I don’t know, K maybe? Whatever. Well, my mother would laugh and say that she could never get me past 2 minutes without burning me! How endearing….so, we know sun was not my friend. Still isn’t. So, water was out, sun was out. Mosquitoes looooved me!!! So I was covered with clothes from head to toe and those parts unclothed were either covered with bug spray or Calamine lotion for those spots the mosquitoes found exposed! It really seemed like everyone else was having a good time. I just don’t see how. I just wanted to be home with my Gramma! In the back bedroom. In my pajamas she had warmed in the oven. After I’d brushed my teeth with Pike-O-Pay tooth powder on my very own little yellow tooth brush. After my Lack-to-Pine bubble bath in the big tub with the feet. After she had tucked me in and kissed me goodnight and told me she loved me and couldn’t wait for me to wake up in the morning. Now that’s a vacation……

To be continued, because the trips to Lake Shasta only lasted until I was 7. You won’t believe what they called a vacation after that! Stay tuned…

Tammy Faye

July 22, 2007

Tammy Faye Baker, or Mesner, died yesterday. Tammy and I go way back. I remember sitting in my orange and green couch in the W. Lime house watching PTL every morning. Jim and Tammy Faye like little characters from days gone by even then. I loved Tammy Faye! When I started watching them in the early 80's, her now outlandish make up was, well, sort of normal. Sort of. I couldn't wait to see what soapbox she would be on on any given day. I loved the chemistry between them and I loved watching Jim grin at every word out of her mouth. She couldn't really sing, but sang with every ounce in her body! You could never question her devotion to Jim or her love for the Lord, that's for sure.
The late 80's, as all of us know, brought an end to PTL and Heritage USA. I have my thoughts on the whole thing, but that's for another time. I followed Tammy's career over the next years and just found her fascinating. Her talk show with Jim J Bullock was a hoot! What a pair! Her divorce from Jim kind of ticked me off and her marriage to Roe Mesner was puzzling and made me wonder how long that has been brewing!
I missed her on the Surreal Life but can only imagine how odd that was!!! I remember her saying she never took off her pantyhose the whole time she was there! Now, that's funny!
I heard a few years ago she was battling cancer but wasn't worried about my Tammy Faye as I knew she had Faith in God and knew cancer is no match for God!
The other night I was flipping channels and came across Larry King. I always check to see if he's interviewing anyone important to my world. He was, in fact, interviewing Tammy Faye. I was absolutely stunned to see her at 65 pounds!!! I honestly have never seen anyone look that horrible, ever!!!! She was like a bad caricature of her drawn made to make fun of her. Fully made up, eyelashes and all, she spoke with a definite halt in her speech. She still had her little giggle and unique bubbly personality even in her depleted state. My heart broke for her, but was impressed by her courage to want this interview to give Praise to God for her life and family.
Just 2 days later, she died. I'll never forget you, Tammy Faye Baker Mesner! The mascara business will never be the same!

July 19, 2007

Dating in the 2007's....

OK, here's the deal.....
My daughter is 24, tall, thin, GORGEOUS, and a great catch!!!! However, no one seems to want to go the the effort to catch her!!!! Now, I'm not trying to marry her off, but I just don't get guys. We have a saying in our house....'boys are stupid'...(brother Ryan is not included in that, but brother Jake is on the border!) This started the morning she got up, came downstairs wrapped in her comforter with 'that look' on her little face. Oh, oh...I thought. What's wrong....'boys are stupid'.....that only means one thing....the latest guy has broken her heart...once again.....
Now here's the deal....In my day, oh, gosh, I said it....but, in my day, boys knew how to wooooo a girl. They would actually come to your house to pick you up, something that no longer seems to be even a possibility. They would come to the door, knock, and even have a flower or two in hand, shake hands with dad, great mom and sit a moment. Not so much any more! Most of Ashlee's 'boyfriends', and I use that term lightly, we've never even met. We really only saw 'Ryan-the-boyfriend' a total of maybe 10 times the whole 6 years they were together. I know she likes us and isn't, to my knowledge, ashamed of us, but nonetheless, we rarely meet them. That's good, I guess, as I tend to get attached. Not so much to Ryan-the-boyfriend however...whatever...
Now I have a theory. You knew I would. I blame texting. Texting is the bane of dating. They now longer talk, they text. Ashlee's little thumbs just go like fire! Here's the problem with texting....if I text the following phrase, 'did you see her dress'. OK, did I like her dress or not? You have no idea, because with texting there is no inflection (oh for spell check...) in the 'voice'. I 'heard' her have arguments with a guy while texting and she 'heard' one thing and I another. I think she's had whole relationships over texting and actually never really met the person!
And dating...there's another thing. They don't date any longer, they hang-out. What's that????
Here's the deal as of late....She has 2 guys that are, in their words, 'madly in love' with her and will do whatever it takes to win her back. O h, r e a l l y.......where are they????? I don't see them sitting on the porch waiting for her to get home from work to talk to her face to face, you know, communicate?.....I don't hear them calling on the real phone to talk to her.....I don't see any flowers delivered to the door....I don't see them picking her up to whisk her away to a romantic dinner on the beach.....'do anything to win her back'?????? Boy could they take a few lessons from good, ole' dad on this one!!!! AND, none of this new dating ritual seems to bother her in the least!!! How the heck did that happen??? We certainly didn't raise her that way.....
So to those two guys, and you know who you are, what are you thinking?????? Put your stupid phones away and get over here!!!! Woooo, damn ya, wooooo!!!!!!
One mother's opinion....

July 17, 2007



Tomorrow is July 18th....that is my mother's birthday. Now, my mother has been gone since 1985, but July 18th is still a day I remember her fondly. I still think of my mother almost everyday. I wonder what her life would have been like if she had lived longer than my dad. I wonder if she would have felt free for the first time in her life, or would she think she had to live life just as she did with him hovering over her. I wonder if she would have met someone wonderful and lived happily ever after or just lived life to the fullest alone, which I'm sure would have been just fine with her!

Every time we eat at Mimi's Cafe, I think about how much she would have loved it. I think it opened the year after she died. It was just her kind of place. However, my dad would have hated it, so it would have been a place she and I would have gone for lunch, something we did oh so seldom.

Some people have funny mom's like our cousin Cathy. Some people have really nurturing and caring moms like, well, I'm not sure I knew any nurturing moms but I'm sure they were out there. OH! OH! OH! I know! My Grandmother was nurturing and caring.....And some people had adventurous mom's like the lady down the street who had the bike made for 3 who rode down the street with her kids laughing on the back. Some mom's wore gloves and hats and took their daughters shopping. Well, my mom was practical. Nuff said on that.....

My mother was zaftig.....zaftig...like the naked ladies in the paintings hanging over the tables at North Woods Inn....Zaftig and practical...hummmm

Well, she would have been 88 tomorrow. It's funny how life just goes on when someone dies, just like that. Weddings happen, babies are born and others die. Just like that.

Anyway, that's what I was thinking about today, July 17th.....