Movie Nights

I didn't get to see My Boy yesterday. I miss him terribly. It was pouring down rain and traffic was a nightmare. If My Boy was in my backyard, or even in my city, no amount of rain would stop me from seeing him. But when it is raining, my hour-long commute (on a good day) becomes even longer and I just do not have the time after work to get up there, see him, and get back at a decent hour. I will try again tomorrow. They are predicting rain, rain, rain for the next week. Is it really June? Can someone please clarify that for me? Because I am beginning to think it is November again.

Instead, I stayed at work and wrote report cards. On my way home I hit my local one-stop shopping department store (no, it was not Target) in search of necessities like Honey Nut Cheerios and Excedrin. And while I was there, I gravitated towards the home electronics department. I saw a rack of DVDs for $5 and on it were sets of old television classics. There were several western-themed ones and of course I had to pick up a couple! I chose Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Each DVD features around 8-10 episodes from their "classic western T.V. shows."

Now, I do not remember watching these television shows when they were actually airing, or even when they were just running in syndication. I was a little too young for that (these movies are in black and white, after all.) I do remember watching the Lone Ranger series, perhaps it was showing reruns in the 70's (the store had that DVD set too, but I decided that Gene Autry and Roy Rogers sounded more interesting.) Have any of you ever watched these classics? Do you think I will like them? I mean, they feature cowboys and wide open spaces and outlaws and ghost towns and a golden horse named Trigger. What's not to like?

As a pony-loving youngster, I loved any movie that had a horse in it. Most memorable was National Velvet. Elizabeth Taylor as a 12 year old was just a dream with that spitfire attitude and mesmerizing eyes, and I loved Mickey Rooney, too. Goodness, that movie was made in 1944! I didn't think the sequel, International Velvet, was as good.

The next big horse movie that I remember, this one I actually saw in the theater, was The Black Stallion. Of course, I had already read all the Walter Farley books (like, five hundred times) about the black Arabian racehorse, probably starting in the 4th grade. To this day, this movie is still one of my all-time favorites. Another great cast, including Teri Garr and once again, Mickey Rooney. Maybe I have movies on the brain because this dreary, wet, dark spring weather just promotes a curl-up-on-the-couch-with-a-good-movie kind of mood. Speaking of which, I won't be able to get to the Gene Autry or Roy Rogers DVDs quite yet, because I started Dances With Wolves two nights ago and still need to finish it (yes, it's been raining for days here.) I have not watched it since it was originally released in 1900. So, a good night to you all, I'm off to find a snack (Bottle Caps? Popcorn?) and hit my movie-viewing couch.