Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2008. Mattie was home recovering from his second limb salvaging surgery. After that surgery Mattie was wheel chair bound. Despite the pain and medical traumatic stress Mattie was contending with, we tried as much as possible to give him opportunities to be a child, to experience the season, and though he couldn't run, we tried to be his legs for him.
Quote of the day: This is the finest measure of thanksgiving: a thankfulness that springs from love. ~ William C. Skeath
It's Christmas Eve in Minnesota. A young newspaper reporter, on the brink of being fired, has been assigned a last chance story about a typical family Christmas - his family. He goes home to his recently widowed mother, his crazy uncle, and eccentric grandmother as well as battling siblings and neurotic spouses with no shortage of juicy secrets and family squabbles.
The play received an excellent review (see below), but have you ever watched something so profoundly dysfunctional and said to yourself.... that isn't funny!!!? This is where this play borders on, or at least it did for me. It is trying to address difficult issues in a funny way through family dynamics, but in the end it seemed more grating and trite than anything else. I did not laugh more than a couple of times during the play and found no redeeming moral life lesson, which I would hope for given that it is a Christmas play!
REVIEW:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/BWW-Review-A-NICE-FAMILY-CHRISTMAS-at-GROUPOrep-20161107
They are best known for placing illuminated “Holiday Stars” in their front yards during the Holiday season, the group meets monthly to plan social gatherings and outings as well as to keep updated on what’s happening in their neighborhood and in the city in general. The group is not a formal homeowners association, but rather epitomizes the best what the term “neighborhood” is all about in Burbank.
1 comment:
Vicki , I like that, " a thankfulness that springs from love". An excellent quote, particularly true about family & friends in our life.
I would not have enjoyed the Play. I never quite see the humor in dysfunction. Not all dysfunction is the same but nevertheless it is not funny, even though sometimes there are lines that just leap out and cause laughter. I have seen my share of serious topic where the playwright creates a so called comedy out of true tragedy. People who live in a dysfunctional world, most often are trying to get out of it! However, there are plenty of people who find this kind of humor entertaining. I have been told on more than on occasion in a discussion of a p,at or movie, that Intake story lines too seriously. After all, it was meant for entertainment. I believe one can learn from entertainment and heavy topics like a dysfunctional family could be a learning experience but certainly wouldn't contain much humor.
I find it very sad to realize Mattie was wheelchair bound after the limb salvaging surgeries. I am not sure what I thought resulted after those surgeries considering more than one limb was involved. The picture is beautiful with Mattie all bundled for the weather and the knowledge that youn& Peter did everything possible to be his legs!!!
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