Tag Archives: Michigan

Get To Know Dinky Bossetti

Posted on April 9, 2014 by funnygurl2

I have always had a problem when someone (or an Internet quiz) asks me what my favorite movie is.

1. Movies are not my medium of choice. Television is.

2. Several come to mind, but none seem good enough to be called my all-time favorite.

But when I pulled Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael off my overflowing DVD shelf today, I knew that I might have a winner. I have watched this movie numerous times over the years.

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael is a movie starring Winona Ryder. Now, you might think that an 80’s movie starring Winona Ryder was of course a huge hit. But it wasn’t. You probably have never even heard of it. It was more offbeat than her usual offbeat.

In the movie they talk about how bad her hair is. But I would look at this pic and wish mine looked that good. Photo: TV Guide, April 13, 1991

In the movie they talk about how bad her hair is. But I would look at this pic and wish mine looked that good.
Photo: TV Guide, April 13, 1991

I think the biggest reason it was not a hit was that it was a very 80’s movie…that came out in 1990. By then, the world was moving on from big hair and poofy clothes. It actually works in the movie, because it takes place in tiny Clyde, Ohio. You are supposed to get the impression that they are rural and behind the times. But that didn’t come across in the movie previews.

The main young guy in the movie that has a crush on Winona’s character, and she on him, isn’t exactly heartthrob material. Instead of a Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles, Gerald is more of a wannabe Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. We see how much he cares for Dinky by how he stalks her.

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael also suffers because while it stars Ryder, much of the action and story of the film focuses on the adults around her in her life. Her adopted parents struggle with Ryder’s antisocial behavior. Ryder herself clings on to her guidance counselor and the local landscaper as mother and father role models, respectively. (Whoa. I never quite realized that until I just now typed it.) We also become involved in the life of the former best friend who is returning to town, which leads us to…

The fact that while the movie is called Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, and Winona Ryder is the lead, she does not, in fact, play Roxy Carmichael. Ryder plays Dinky Bossetti. The audience never even SEES Roxy Carmichael’s face, and SPOILER ALERT, Roxy never, in fact, returns home.

So, it is a teen movie featuring adults. Or an adult movie with teens, I’m not sure. It is a movie behind its time in fashion and moral. But a bit ahead of its time, in that it does contain a big gay reveal for two of its characters. And a disappointing departure for a Winona Ryder film, in that she does not in fact lose her virginity in this one 😦

I believe I always deeply connected with this film not because of the large amount of carpet samples, but because it shows that no matter what your family looks like, as a teenager, you just don’t fit. Anywhere. EVER!

I watched this movie the morning of my high school graduation on HBO. It perfectly echoed everything I felt about my school career that would be officially ending in a few hours. From the scene where Dinky tries to make herself more attractive, only to end up on the school bus floor, to finding that you can’t make the world fit what you want it to be, you have to find a way to fit into your world (wow, deep).

The bus floor grime is highly realistic. So are the cafeteria horrors that she endures. The costumer dresses her in dog tags, hoodies, and boots to illustrate her anti-social tendencies.

Wait…that is what I wore in high school. Hmmm. Was I too cool to care what I looked like? Ahead of my time? Or just horribly dorky? These are rhetorical questions.

There was something fitting about her sitting on the lawn in the pink floofy dress, eating ice cream with Gerald and his new braces at the end that made me know everything would still be hard, but it would be OK.

Many other great things about this movie that I would rather list than try to fit into paragraph form:

My favorite quote from the movie:

“It’s good to want things.”

Dinky says it to Gerald, and he later turns around and uses it on her. It is applicable to tons of real-life situations.

Gosh, and I forgot to mention Melissa Etheridge’s great version of the central song in the movie “In Roxy’s Eyes (I Will Never Be The Same)”. We find out that Roxy Carmichael is only famous because a singer made her the object of a hit song. But, as an audience, we believe it, because Etheridge wrote and belts out a REALLY great song.

Or the other fine quote: “I’m gonna laugh at you someday Gerald Howells.” I want to say that to many of my former classmates.

Or the work of the always excellent Jeff Daniels, proud Michigan native, resident (30 miles to my north in the land of Jiffy Mixes), and friend of Adrian College. Daniels always plays such likeable characters, and he is good-looking. My best friend and I were going to stalk him one night, but she was driving and she chickened out. (I would not have.)

The school counselor: That’s a funny analogy.
Dinky: I’m here to amuse.

AND ALMOND ROCAS! Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael really plays as a giant Almond Roca commercial. I had never heard of this candy until I saw this movie. And then it would be another 20 years before I would actually see them in stores and try them. Soooo yummy, by the way.

“Dave, don’t be a cliché.” In the movie, this is told to a pig trying to steal another animal’s food. I tell it to my dog when she tries to pee on fire hydrants.

The movie also featured a great supporting cast of Dinah Manoff, Stephen Tobolowsky, Robin Thomas, and Micole Mercurio.

I feel like I am the only person out there who ever saw and/or loved this movie. Although that cannot be true, because it was released in DVD. So, if you are out there, please give me a shoutout.

BONUS MOM RANT: Oh, and FYI, the morning of my high school graduation my mom wanted to clean the bathroom after her shower, but before mine, so that when my gramma came, it would be clean. Except my gramma came over once a month or so, she had seen our bathroom dirty before. And my mom almost made me late for my own graduation because she just had to clean the bathroom.

 

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What I Learned This Week – 3/23/14

Posted on March 24, 2014 by funnygurl2

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

This week I got to see the movie Divergent.  I have been waiting to see this movie for eight months!  From the very first time I had ever heard of it in Entertainment Weekly.  You can read more on the birth of my obsession here.  My primary motivation for reading all the books and anticipating the movie release is because of Theo James’s good looks.

Theo James as Four Photo: Summit Entertainment

Theo James as Four
Photo: Summit Entertainment

My asbestos friend pointed out that Theo James, who plays Four,  looks a lot like the boy I had a crush on all through school.  Except that Theo is British.  And Theo is probably a good 5 inches taller and 9 years younger than the boy I liked in school.  And Theo has amazing model/actor good looks.

Now that I have given you a little background, I will share with you that…

This week I learned that the only actor I liked in Divergent was Theo James.

Oh wait, that’s not true.  I liked Mekhi Phifer as well.

It was a good movie.  A very faithful adaption to the book about a teenage girl, Tris, choosing her future in a dystopian world.  Of course, some things had to be cut for time.  Many things I thought would be cut were still included, which was nice.  They cut out the scene where Peter stabs someone in the eye.  Removing that scene makes it seem uncalled for later when Tris shoots Peter very deliberately when she and her crew are sneaking back into Dauntless headquarters.

I just find that Shailene Woodley bothers me.  She has a squeaky voice.  I don’t enjoy watching her on screen.  (It took me seven years to decided that Kristen Stewart was a bad casting choice for Bella in Twilight.  But I knew right away about Shailene.)  The actor playing Al wasn’t fat enough.  Zoe Kravitz was alright as Christina, but she had a much smaller part in the movie compared to the book.  I don’t like Ashley Judd.  I don’t like Tony Goldwyn (He will always be the bad guy from Ghost to me!).  I don’t like Kate Winslet.  Maggie Q is not the look I pictured for Tori.  I pictured Tori as Caucasian with blond dreadlocks, and a little chubby.

None of these actors did a poor job.  It is just not the casting I would have chosen.  And that greatly distracted me while watching the movie, except for scenes that Four was in.  He keeps you glued to the screen.

Also this week, “U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman on Friday ruled that the state [Michigan]’s ban on gay marriage, approved by voters in a landslide in 2004, the ballot box is no defense to a law that tramples the rights of same-sex couples.”

This made me happy.  (I voted against that law in 2004.  The vocal man in front of me in line that day did vote for it.)

I thought that some other law would have to be passed in order for gay marriages to proceed in Michigan.

Nope.  Apparently, we just needed to REMOVE the law that was PREVENTING it from happening.  On Saturday, some county clerk’s offices around the state had special hours to perform the state’s first gay marriages.  My county was not one of them (Not a big shocker).  But, when I followed some links from a news story about the topic, I did find an officiant in my county that would perform such ceremonies.

I was SO PLEASED to see that it is the same woman who performed my wedding back in 2003!  I knew she was open-minded about getting married in jeans, but I am happy that she is open to all types of love as well.

I tell my son that I don't care if he grows up to be gay, but it would be a lot easier on him if he wasn't.

I tell my son that I don’t care if he grows up to be gay, but it would be a lot easier on him if he didn’t.

 

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What I Learned This Week – 1/19/14

Posted on January 19, 2014 by funnygurl2

This week I learned that it is easy to become just a statistic.

My asbestos friend used to babysit a little girl after-school everyday.  She was particularly memorable, because she had the same first name as my asbestos friend.

One day she announced, as kids do, “Two people cannot have the same name.  I will call you Frank.”

And the name has stuck.  Many of my asbestos friend’s family members still call her Frank.  And I do too, on occasion.  That was probably another thing in high school that my classmates thought I was weird for, calling her “Frank.”  But it made perfect sense to us.

My mom also happened to work at the same factory where both the parents worked.

The family ended up having a little boy that my friend babysat for as well.

Years later, at my asbestos friend’s wedding, I sat at the same table with the family.  I didn’t know them well, but we all chatted.

So, I casually knew of them.  They were acquaintances.

But it was still very sad to hear that this week the father died at 57 years old from the H1N1 flu.

The little girl that my asbestos friend had babysat for?  According to pictures I see on Facebook, she is expecting her own baby soon.  So sad that her father won’t be around to meet his grandchild.

And now?  His whole life has been reduced to a statistic by the local news.  He lived in Lenawee County.

He is the statistic right at the beginning of the news report.  The rest of the report is about Lucas County, Ohio.

Photo: 13abc.com Click picture for story.

Photo: 13abc.com
Click picture for story.

Clickable link to the same news story: http://www.13abc.com/story/24462839/60-year-old-curtice-man-dies-from-flu

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What I Learned This Week – 1/12/14

Posted on January 12, 2014 by funnygurl2

(RECAP OF SNOWPOCALYPSE/POLAR VORTEX)

It is not what I learned this week, but knowledge that I learned over working for the past 17 years that I put to good use this week.

There has never been a day that I stayed home from work where I wished that I had gone in.

The tree and the ground do not usually meet each other.

The tree and the ground do not usually meet each other.

Sunday and Monday Michigan was hit by the snowpocalypse and the polar vortex. (Wow, that sounds like a blockbuster double-feature for the SYFY channel.) I was due to work 37 miles away at 5:00PM on Monday. My main route had reports of being impassable with 3 to 4 foot drifts by the Sheriff’s department just 12 hours prior. Add to that the fact that:

1. I do not have 4-wheel drive.
2. I would have to expose my son to the deadly windchills.
3. If I got stuck on the road, I would be killed by the deadly windchills (great name for a band, by the way).
4. If I didn’t go into work, my husband could take my car that handles better than his. (He did. And it always started. Even when it was like -25 degrees outside, my 2004 Pontiac Aztek with the 218,500 miles always started. I ❤ my Aztek!)
5. My best friend had already forbid me from traveling.
6. My mom had forbade me from traveling.

Add to that that I would be spending roughly 4 hours roundtrip on travel to work a 4 hour shift. I would spend more on gas than I would make.

Azteks rule!

Azteks rule!

Some people were mad that my employer was open at all.

Business is business. As an employee, you are just a cog in the machine to make money. Your employer is not going to look out for your best interest. They want to be open to make money. I don’t blame them. If I had a business, I would want to be open to make money too.

So YOU can be the only one to decide if the roads are safe enough to travel on to get to your job or not. I know that decision is harder for some than others. My husband did go into work, because his is the higher paying job in our household. (I only work part-time.) Plus, he had a shorter distance to travel.

I know what you are thinking:

But a single mother who has to support her kids can’t lose her job, she has to get to work.

I then play Devil’s advocate:

But those kids will be even worse off if she ends up dead in a ditch.

Ohio has a great thing called “snow emergencies.” (We do not have that system in Michigan.)

When you get up to Level 3, any non-essential personnel (essential personnel being firemen, police, doctors, semi trucks delivering more road salt, etc.) caught traveling on the roads will be subject to arrest. It cuts down on the traffic (and, in turn, the stuck cars) on the road to speed up the time it takes to clear the snow off the road. Actually, in the case of this past week, they could not clear the road at all because it was too cold for the salt to melt the ice.

So, to sum up, the eight or so Ohio counties right below me were ARRESTING people for leaving their houses, while Michigan residents struggled to go on with “business as usual”.

Does anyone see the disparity there besides me?

Now understand, the snow emergencies encourage businesses to close, but it is not mandatory. Then people are torn between:

1. Go to work, get paid, maybe die, or get arrested on the way.

2. Stay home, lose money, risk getting fired and losing future money, but you are safe.

My asbestos friend’s husband actually faced this dilemma. He went in, only to arrive at his work and be sent back home again. But at least it clarifies the line. If you are willing to go out when it is against the law, then yes, you are crazy for being on the roads.

Now, there was one time that I DO wish I had gone to school when I did not. (If you said “Field Day”, wash your mouth out with soap.)

In Kindergarten, we were going to have an “Indian Dance”. We worked all week on making headdresses out of construction paper and vests out of brown paper bags. On Friday we were to get to wear everything we made and dance around. But my mom kept me home because I have diarrhea.

I am still mad at her for making me miss the Indian dance. If I had been there, it probably would have been forgotten with all the other activities we did in Kindergarten. But because I was kept home, in my head it has become legen–wait-for-it–dary.

Barney Rocks

Barney Rocks

Wait…I just realized that sounds very politically incorrect.

Maybe my son and I will have to stage our own dance in the living room, where we can’t offend anyone.

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What I Learned This Week – 10/20/13

Posted on October 21, 2013 by funnygurl2

This week I learned that my asbestos friend was writing a post about an issue dear to her heart. This made me realize that maybe I should do the same as well. I believe our veterans (of all branches) are the truest heroes that we have in our nation. I took this opportunity to finally get out my credit card and donate to Honor Flight Network, which has been on my to do list for years.

Honor Flight Network (which can be found at www.honorflight.org) “is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.”

You might think that your donation just goes to cover the cost of a plane ticket. But priority is given to the veterans in the worst physical shape, as they literally may not live long enough to catch the next Honor Flight. Your money goes to purchase everything for these veterans while on their trip, including food, wheel-chair assessable transportation, oxygen while they are in Washington D.C., and coordinating people to push and assist them to get around.

Have you ever taken your grandma who doesn’t get around so good to Walmart? Ya, it is sort of like that, times a whole airplane full!

But this is a great cause. WWII was the biggest conflict in our recent history. More of these veterans die everyday. Think about it. If they were 18 when Pearl Harbor was bombed, then they would be 90 years old today!

Why didn’t they go visit their memorial sooner, when they were young and spry? Because we didn’t complete it until 2004! The question should really be, what did we wait so long for? (Local Trivia: World War II veteran Roger Durbin introduced the idea to U.S. Representative to start the process. Roger Durbin’s son was an English teacher as my high school.)

Most of all, this is important to me because my dad served in WWII. He was an ambulance driver with the medical corps in Germany. He was there when they liberated a concentration camp. He saw some bad stuff. Sorry I don’t know which camp. I only know what my mother told me. See, my dad died in 1975 of a heart attack. He never got to see his memorial. He never knew that they built one. He never even got to meet me. My mom always said the biggest thing he did in his whole life was his time in the Army. That is why I sort of think of Memorial Day as a family holiday, and I feel closest to him on that day.

So, I will add Honor Flight Network to my “What I Support” page. But not today. I have to head to work in a little bit.

But before I head out, I also learned a little something about pumpkins.

This is a picture of our pumpkin.

Our pumpkins

Our pumpkins

I am really into white pumpkins the last few years. And none of the orange ones fancied us, so we picked out this unusual one that looks like a ghost. If you tilt your head. And squint.

The lady we bought it from at Carpenter Farms (cool place, check it out sometime) asked us, “Do you know what this is?”

We replied, “A ghost pumpkin.” Obviously!

She asked, “I mean, this stuff on the pumpkin, do you know what it is?”

“Um, fungus?”

“That is deer damage. We had a lot of deer damage this year,” she explained.

I am not sure I would count it as damage if we still shelled out $3 for the pumpkin!

The great thing is, there is no carving required.

(I have been very leery of pumpkin carving since I required 5 stitches in my hand;)

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