1. Tonight the Deke and I did something that felt really good that we haven't done in a long time. (Are you ready?) I fixed us BLTs. We ate them. I bought us each a ciabatta roll at the Co-op, fried us up some bacon (almost crispy) and we each built our own sandwich with romaine lettuce, tomato, and basil. The Deke added sweet onion. I added red pepper. She went with mayo. I went with yellow mustard. Perfect dinner.
2. I got an email from Carol who told me the doctor at the pain clinic determined it wasn't safe to give Mom a pain shot because her blood pressure was high and because of the way her ankles are swollen from water retention. This dismayed me and I called Mom to see how she was doing. She agreed with the doctor. She was glad he was being cautious. Yes, she is having sciatic pain at night. The shot has brought her relief in the past. But, her attitude on the phone was good. As is often the case, Mom is ready to tough it out -- as best she can.
3. I spent the afternoon watching the bonus disk that came with the movie Heat. Michael Mann fascinated me with his explanations of what he had in mind in making the movie Heat. I might write more about this in a separate blog entry.
For now I'll just say that without alluding to Sophocles, Mann made it clear that the understanding of human nature and human life that he worked out in his movie is right along the lines of Sophocles' assertion that fate is character, or, to put it in George Eliot's words, "Our deeds determine us as much as we determine our deeds."
I had thought this was Mann's vision as I watched the movie. I was right about another thing, too: Mann worked to fill out the development of Lt. Vincent Hanna, Neil McCauley, and Chris Shiherlis by probing their love lives. I came away thinking this is an idea that sounds better than it played out.
I'll just say, for now, that while many who were interviewed on the bonus disk asserted that Neil McCauley getting involved with Eady made viewers care more for him, their instant romance had the opposite effect on me. I cared less for McCauley. He exploited Eady's kindness, withheld from her the facts of his life, and chased her down, grabbed her, and pinned her down when she tried to leave him. This didn't make me think he was a professional thief with a romantic side or that "love" had softened him and increased the sadness of his eventual demise. He continued to be a thief with Eady, stealing her heart, robbing her of her trusting nature. I'd like to think that, well, my response was closer to the movie's truth and that the interviewees were trying to elevate McCauley by assigning him qualities of character that he didn't actually possess.
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