Old movies

Last night I was watching Funny Face and it got me to thinking. I grew up on old movies. I am an only child and there weren't a lot of kids my age in the neighborhood when I was growing up. Then there were the rainy days. On those rainy Saturdays, I knew there was no leaving the house. That's when my movie obsession started.

I was talking to coworkers on Saturday. They were shocked that I appreciated the Three Stooges as women rarely like their brand of slapstick. (Ummm. Isn't that part of the reason the Lethal Weapon series was so popular?) I explained that I grew up around men who think that the Three Stooges are great. They are also known to have long discussions on which Looney Tunes character is truly the greatest. Mix into this a love of George Carlin, the Godfather trilogy, and anything with Clint Eastwood ... Well, you get the point.

When I wasn't around the men in the family, I drowned myself in old Hollywood horror and musicals. For years I thought that Marilyn Monroe was the epitome of female beauty and I hated myself. Then a magical thing happened when I was 10. I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's. So Holly Golightly isn't the nicest of people but she looked fabulous. Even more important, Audrey Hepburn was a stick. This was of great importance to a girl who was the tallest in her class -- and often teased for it. In second grade my nickname at school became "Mama Longlegs" because I was "just like a Daddy Longlegs spider" but a girl. I grew quickly so I had virtually no eye-hand coordination. This meant that I was guaranteed to be picked last for PE. Elementary school was a painful experience. Junior high and high school were not much more of an improvement.

Then I went to college. It was like family friends had promised, the most wonderful place on Earth. I purposefully decided to go to a college at which I didn't know anyone. I knew that I could completely reinvent myself. (By the way, I think I did a great job of doing such. Ask the guys who were at my high school reunion last year.) I knew that I had truly made the transformation when the Dean told me one day my sophomore year that I reminded her of Audrey Hepburn. I can't remember my full outfit but I do remember that I was wearing black leggings and ballet flats. I was also wearing a great straw hat. The dean's comment is one of the greatest compliments I have ever been given.