SPOILER ALERT!
Michelle Pfeiffer has the most amazing run-on-sentence-line in the movie starring her and Bruce Willis about a marriage that started out well, got really bad, got worse, involved splitting up and how they find their way back to each other (I’m sorry if I just ruined this movie ending for some one), in Story of Us, 1999.
For Dave’s birthday a couple of years ago, we all chose movie clips that reminded us of him or our relationship with him and played them before opening presents. The kids picked some pretty good ones. Some were funny and others were tear-jerkers. I chose this scene even though the actual storyline is nothing like the history Dave and I have (thank goodness). Still, I love what she says and as I read it, I can even hear how she says it – talking in this big, crazy circle with seemingly unrelated thoughts that say everything to her husband she needed to say (I’ll add paragraph breaks for easier reading, but there are no breaks in this monologue):
KATIE:” That’s not why I’m saying Chow Funs. I’m saying Chow Funs because we’re an “us.” There’s a history here and histories don’t happen overnight.
In Mesopotamia or Ancient Troy there are cities built on top of other cities, but I don’t want another city, I like this city. I know what kind of mood you are in when you wake up by which eyebrow is higher, and you know I’m a little quiet in the morning and compensate accordingly – that’s a dance you perfect over time.
And it’s hard, it’s much harder than I thought it would be, but there’s more good than bad and you don’t just give up! And it’s not for the sake of the children, but…they’re great kids, aren’t they? And we made them, I mean think about that! It’s like there were no people there and then there were people and they grew and I won’t be able to say to some stranger Josh has your hands or remember how Erin threw up at the Lincoln Memorial.
And I’ll try to relax, let’s face it, anybody is going to have traits that get on your nerves, I mean, why shouldn’t it be your annoying traits, and I know I’m no day at the beach, but I do have a good sense of direction so I can at least find the beach, which isn’t a weakness of yours it’s a strength of mine.
And…you’re a good friend and good friends are hard to find. Charlotte said that in Charlotte’s Web and I love how you read that to Erin and you take on the voice of Wilbur the Pig with such dedication even when you’re bone tired. That speaks volumes about character! And ultimately, isn’t that what it comes down to? What a person is made of?
That girl (I used to be) is still here….I didn’t even know she existed until you and I’m afraid if you leave I may never see her again, even though I said at times you beat her out of me, isn’t that the paradox? Haven’t we hit the essential paradox? Give and take, push and pull…the best of times, the worst of times! I think Dickens said it best, ‘He could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean,’ but that doesn’t really apply here does it?
What I’m trying to say is, I’m saying Chow Funs because, I love you.”
Dave and me – we’re an “us”…Blessings, Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: So this is my prayer: that (our) love will flourish and that we will not only love much, but love well...(paraphrasing The Message), Philippians 1.9
Thank you honey, more later, our internet is acting up!!! me+you=us! xxoo
Okay, so this is US… The reason I said Scotty's Sandwich Junction is because we used to go there and get a tenderloin sandwich that hung over the bun and it was so big that you couldn't really finish it and so we would have to take the rest home and have a second meal off a first sandwich. And Scotty's was right down the street from 3 Sisters which included Wendy of Wendy's fame, but in Kokomo, IN Wendy's wasn't that popular yet but it would be some day and what was it about those 3 girls anyway? Did Dave Thomas love Wendy more? Why did she get her own restaurant while the other 2 were stuck on a sign along with her and they didn't get their own. Like Madge or Blanche's or something like that? And I remember that Rocky was going to be born but we didn't know that it was Rocky yet and he was coming and so we were just going to run up to Gary, IN to drop the girls off at mom and dad's and so we started out and then you said that we couldn't make it and we were scared and so we turned around and Tara cried because she wanted to go to Grandpa and Grandma's and then your labor stopped and so we thought we would try it again and Tara stopped crying and so we used the phrase, "let's throw caution to the wind" a phrase that we used with several of the kids and so we got back in the car and the girls were happy and then you went into labor again and it was half way so we went on and I thought the baby, Rocky but we didn't know it, might be born in the car and we dropped the girls off and headed back to Kokomo which was only a couple of hours but then we decided to stop in at the Merrillville hospital and see, just in case and they said. "My Gosh, your ready to go!" and so we stayed and the nurse really delivered the little guy, who would be Rocky and then the doctor, a Russian doctor, only showed his face for 15 minutes and then charged us $600! But we had our baby boy and we were happy and the girls were happy not only to have a little brother but to also be a Grandpa and Grandma's house… And this is only ONE of the stories of US… xxoo