Kathleen On Sweet November

Again I say, ain't we sweet? And (doing the birthday dance) it's my birthday...got my party...had some girltalk...it's my birthday...

(L to R) Pamela Bauer (aka Pammie), Ana Seymour (aka Mary or Sister Mary Louise), Kathleen Eagle (aka Kathy or Sister Mary Kathleen) and Judy Baer (Judy Judy Judy). This is 4/5 of a group of fast friends aka Prairie Writers' Guild. We're missing Sandy Huseby, who's the only non-Twin Cities member (waving at Sandy in Fargo!)

As I mentioned under Betina's post, I'm a Scorpio. November 8. I was lucky enough this year to do lunch 3 times with 3 different girls' groups, and this is the ... not the oldest ... no ... the longest standing. Yes, that's it. PWG goes back about, oh, 20 years. Anybody remember the scene in the final episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" when the main characters shared a group hug in the newsroom and no-sentimentality-please Mr. Grant says "I cherish you people"? That says it for me about PWG.

Wanted to mention two movies we saw recently. First, BOBBY. Saw it on Thanksgiving, and it blew me away. Okay, first, the Thanksgiving matinee was a growing up tradition, and I haven't done it in years. We used to watch the Macy's parade, have dinner, and then divide into 2 groups--football watchers and movie goers. Hard to do that when you're the cook, but this year we did. I wanted to see BOBBY on release day, so hubby and I planned it in. I was a sophomore in college when Bobby was assassinated, and I could identify with so many of the characters, each one in a different way. You have to see it...for the structure, if nothing else. It's an ensemble cast, collection of connected vignettes, but (unlike, imo, "Crash") IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY, thanks to what I thought was a masterful script. Suffice it to say, I was not the only one bawling at the end. (No, not hubby. He just doesn't choke up at movies. Somebody has to drive home.)

The other movie that blew me away recently--and I think both films speak volumes in today's world--is FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS. That was my birthday movie, and, yes, there's some war gore in it. But the very title hits home with me. My dad was a WWII vet and a career Air Force pilot. I have his burial flag in a flag frame IN MY LIVING ROOM. And I've actually been to Iwo Jima. Long story short, I was about 10 (like, a mere dozen years after the battle) when we were stationed on Guam, went to Japan for RnR, lost an engine on the MATS plane, emergency landing on Iwo. I have been to that mountaintop and remember it well. But about the film...again, beautifully written and directed. It's about the 3 young men who survived the battle and what that did to them, especially when they were thrust into the limelight as heroes. The most poignant story, for me, is that of Ira Hayes (left in B&W), and the actor who played him should be nominated for something. Adam Beach (left, center)also in "Code Talkers") is just terrific in this movie. Plus, he's just as cute as can be. And he reminds me of another really cute Indian guy who once did the soldier's role.

I'll let you guess. Who's the guy in the third photo?

Has anyone seen FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS or BOBBY? What did you think? Any recommendations for holiday movie-goers?