One of my family’s favorite pop culture quotes comes from David Lynch and Mark Frost’s seminal television series “Twin Peaks.” Special Agent Dale Cooper is in the Double R Diner and is talking to Sheriff Harry S. Truman:
Dale Cooper: Harry, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it, don’t wait for it, just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men’s store, a catnap in your office chair or two cups of good hot black coffee. Like this.
Sheriff Truman: A present? Like Christmas?
Dale Cooper: [Taking a sip] Ah, man that hits the spot. Nothing like a great cup of black coffee.
Very often we have invoked the notion of every day, once a day, giving ourselves a present. In the past two days, that’s been saying “Yes” to seeing some classic friends. I say classic because old friends has a connotation I don’t much care for. Perhaps that’s unfair, a societal bias against the notion of what “old” represents. But that’s for another day.
Yesterday, I met up for lunch with one of my best friends in this or any world. Brent asked if I wanted to tag along to a movie he had to review. It was, Brent warned me, being dumped by the distributor so was probably not going to be that good. But you never know and it was a chance to hang out with a pal so I figured why not? Besides, when’s the last time I saw a satanic rape thriller? Especially one reuniting two Harry Potter stars (Emma Watson and David Thewlis) and tossing an ex-Mr. Uma Thurman into the mix (Ethan Hawke).
What I wasn’t quite prepared for was the comedy of errors in trying to buy a ticket to this thing. Apparently a Friday afternoon screening doesn’t warrant staffing levels at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood, CA. Because we were met with a sign at the box office that told us this:
As we ambled over to the not-surprisingly long line at the coffee kiosk, due to the fact that the one guy working the counter not only had to sell tickets to all 18 screens he also had to barista the coffee and muffins and various other coffee-items as well as selling the Taschen books this upscale theater stocks as well. By the way, baristo is a hypercorrection for a male barista as barista is gender neutral. Just a google-FYI that I came across when I googled “what’s a male barista called?”
As the line slowly moved forward with patrons getting tickets and muffins in equally slow doses, I asked Brent if I should try the automated kiosks to try and get tickets. Figured it couldn’t hurt… until I came across this hilariously unhelpful message:
Adding insult to injury, I tried a different kiosk and was able to buy tickets… but the printer was out of paper so I had no tickets to show for the $17 a piece ticket. SEVENTEEN DOLLARS!
Eventually, I had to go back into the coffee bar line to get our tickets anyway. So ultimately, I cost us time and we missed the opening minutes of the movie. Perhaps that was for the best as it added to the mystery of the piece… or actually gave me something to think about during the film. There were interesting ideas being posited — and as I watched the regression therapy scenes I realized how little we learned from Exorcist II: The Heretic (the last satanic rape thriller I think I saw come to think of it). Speaking of which — Exorcist II has ANOTHER of my family’s go-to pop culture quotes:
“I’ve flown this route before. It was on the wings of a demon.“
Though I usually butcher the quote and make it, “I’ve been here before… on the wings of a demon!”
But I digress. The point of this ramble is that despite the snafus and general underwhelmingness of the movie proper, I was really glad to hang out with Brent. It’s important to take the time to appreciate and enjoy yourself no matter what. This ties into some of the posts I’ve been doing about travel and planning of marathons and runs — a potent reminder that whatever else is going on, I need to stop and appreciate things. Running affords a perspective and an opportunity to reflect and ponder as the miles go by. It can also punish and cause you to wish the world would end immediately so you didn’t have to keep going. But that usually passes quickly if you keep your mind open to the potential for what comes after; it’s amazing what happens after. And that’s true in running as well. I know that’s become a go-to cliche for me in these postings but it’s true.
And so that brings us to today when I had to the chance to catch up with Jean and Kerry Groce. Kerry’s running the Surf City Half Marathon tomorrow and Jean came along to cheer her on… and kindly has offered to cheer me on my marathon run from her hotel’s balcony! They’re classic friends I’m always glad to catch up, a part of the Table 44 group that my Mom and I met on the Panama Canal cruise a few years back. Wherever I go, wherever any of them go, if we can meet up we try and do so. Everybody at that table was and remains inherently fun to see and catch up with. I’m lucky to know them… and today because I said yes, I got to have breakfast on the beach. Not a bad way to start the morning.
Plus, there were beignets, which I normally wouldn’t order but since Jean and Kerry were with me, Cajun donuts for everybody! Powdered sugar and syrup and puffed pastry goodness. The only downside to all this is I’m not sure what to count as the present for the day — seeing Kerry and Jean, the beach, the beignets… I’m going to go for future beignet points and say it was seeing Kerry and Jean. But those beignets were awfully good. I’m sure Jean and Kerry understand.
And because this thing is supposed to be a running post, here are a few shots from the Surf City Marathon expo I hit after breakfast.
Tomorrow’s 6:30 AM start time means I probably need to leave for the start line around 4 AM. Perhaps the present to myself tomorrow will be a nap. But in truth, the fact that I can and will run 26.2 miles is present enough.
EPILOGUE: In an earlier post I wrote that three is a rhetorical go-to device, so here’s a third pop culture quote, this time from Ghostbusters (1984):
Gozer: [after Ray orders her to re-locate] Are you a God?
[Ray looks at Peter, who nonchalantly nods yes]
Dr Ray Stantz: No.
Gozer: Then… DIE!
[Lightning flies from her fingers, driving the Ghostbusters to the edge of the roof and almost off; people below scream]
Winston Zeddemore: Ray, when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say “YES”!
So to sum up the need to take advantage of the presents life presents to you on the road, there’s this:
