Roman Holiday

Kristen and I went to see Roman Holiday at the Guthrie last night. Going into it, I had a lot of mixed feelings. I've heard it's below average, and that it was great. I actually thought it was very well done. It's hard taking a classic Hepburn movie and turning it into a song and dance show, but I think they did a great job at it. It get's 4 out of 7 (Jon) B's! I don't know enough about theatre to critic it beyond that. Sorry stage nerds, but that's all you'll get out of me.

Afterwards, we got to see the Target sponsored (whoop! whoop!) fireworks. Hot damn, they were good.

As we strolled along the Stone Arch bridge after dusk, and the heat  and humidity were climbing, I couldn't help to reflect on our trip to Italy. And yes, seeing Roman Holiday probably spawned most of the wandering thoughts. I don't know if I could ever live in Italy for the rest of my life, but I could certainly try. If I ever won the lottery, you would all know. Why? Because all of a sudden I would disappear like a baby daddy on Maury. I would buy a villa in Tuscany and Provence, locate a very old typewriter* and write short stories for the rest of my life.
Each day would be exactly the same. Wake up, have some breakfast, read the paper, go for a run and/or bike ride along the vineyards, write through lunch and enjoy a different dinner each night alongside a Brunello di Montalcino or Cortes du Rhone, and cap it off with an episode of The Wire. What a life. Of course there would be some variances (market day, trips to London, gelato stops, etc...). But I couldn't think of a more pleasant way to spend the rest of my life. And in fact, that would be how I would love to bring up my children. My wife may have a different idea of how to spend the next 80 years though (FYI, I plan to live to 110).

*On a side note, how awesome are typewriters?? There is something so therapeutic to the nostalgic sounds of the keys and ribbon fluttering about like trained bees hitting the paper. I absolutely love it. If I could blog from a typewriter, I would. You'd catch me in a coffee shop noisily striking down these random thoughts!

2nd Side note. I can't stop listening to James Brown these days. I literally find myself dancing away at my desk here, when I should be writing. I just two stepped my way down the hall as Give It Up or Turn It Loose came on.

3rd Side note. My new thing is going to be telling people that I'm a "retired baseball player". Did I actually play for MLB? No way, but my high school career should serve as enough foundation for that statement. And I did almost try out for the Twins. And by almost, I mean I filled out the pre-waiver form online. If Steve Dahl can say he is a retired athlete, I can get away with this general statement.

4th Side note. I'm slowly but surely making progress on both books. One will be about a grown ass man who decides to take a high-school-esq summer vacation and work part time at a coffee shop with other high schoolers. The second is still around the guy who travels to San Francisco to jump off the Golden Gate. Two very different ends of the humor spectrum. And to be honest, writing both at the same time causes some theme challenges.....

I need to re watch The Sandlot. I fancy myself a bit of a Yeah-Yeah, while Kristen thinks I'm a little more Squints Palledorous.