That was the Thanksgiving weekend that was
Had I been allowed to watch KING KONG like I wanted, the long holiday weekend would have left a more positive taste in my mouth. But it’s not like it was bad.
THURSDAY: While the rest of the family watched the parade (I hate parades), I finishing reading Ed McBain’s THE GUTTER AND THE GRAVE and started reading (and loving) IT’S SUPERMAN! by Tom De Haven. Late in the morning, I sat down with the kids to watch LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. It was the second time I had seen it, and I think I loved it even more than the first. I stand by my statement that it’s one of the most overlooked and underappreciated films of the last 10 years. Hell, the end-credit sequence alone is a masterful work of art. Then it was off to my parents’ house to eat good food and drink good wine. Wanted to watch WAR OF THE WORLDS when we got home, but it was too late.
FRIDAY: While my wife was off shopping starting at 4:45 a.m. – crazy woman that she is – my morning was all about kid wrangling. I was relieved of duty that afternoon. I tried to watch MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, having read the book last week, but found it too slow. So I read some more. 
That night, we caught WALK THE LINE, the Johnny Cash biopic/Oscar bait. Great performances and great music. Since Reese Witherspoon became a household name, my wife is always told she looks like Reese Witherspoon. And she does. It’s all the more eerie since Reese sports dark hair in the movie; there were moments when I could look at the screen and then turn to my right, and the resemblance was strictly uncanny. (For the record, I am much too handsome to be mistaken for Ryan Phillipe.) Wanted to watch WAR OF THE WORLDS when we got home, but it was too late.
SATURDAY: I do not remember Saturday morning, but I think it involved a trip to Home Depot, so it’s probably for the best. But I do remember my afternoon was spent hanging Christmas lights and installing window blinds. My shoulders racked with pain, we went back to my parents’ house that night for my dad’s 65th birthday party. He did a good job of disguising the fact that he’d rather be watching the History Channel or SpeedVision. It was a night of pizza, beer and the obligatory, predictable stream of “you’re old” jokes. Wanted to watch WAR OF THE WORLDS when we got home, but it was too late.
SUNDAY: Most of the day was spent prepping the house for a family dinner. I made chili and it was awesome. You should’ve come over. But then I wouldn’t have enough left over for today’s lunch, so I’m glad that you didn’t. Wanted to watch WAR OF THE WORLDS once everyone left, but it was too late.