I have a confession to make. I didn’t start watching James Bond films until Tim Dalton in “The Living Daylights,” so I haven’t seen “Goldfinger.” So when Danni told me that Pussy Galore was quite possibly the hero of the entire film, I knew that she was talking about a “Bond Girl,” but other than that, I was out. So we made a deal. I’d watch “Goldfinger” if she’d watch “Goldmember.” It’s a fair trade, no?
Dan asked me to watch Goldfinger from a feminist perspective, and wanted to know whether I thought the interaction between Galore and Bond was entirely consensual. I just want her to see Michael Caine as Austin Powers’ “fahjah.”
I did laugh walking through The International Spy Museum when I learned that Goldfinger’s first name is “Auric.” It reminded me of my favorite campaign slogan, “AuH2O.” Not that I would have voted for Goldwater, just a great campaign slogan nonetheless. I take clever where I can get it.
So, I just got home from H Street Country Club, so named because it’s a bar with a putt-putt course on the second floor. I was terrible at it, but had a great time… mostly because everyone else was just as good as I was. The thing I love about hanging with Dan is that in addition to making friends with her wife, Autumn, she’s introduced me to so many people. I found my friend Jill’s doppelganger, and her name is Lindsay. Beat that with a stick.
We had this one conversation that doubled me over in laughter. Danni and her friend Traci are both soldiers (although Dan isn’t active duty- she works at State) who basically look like young boys, as do I. I don’t remember how we got on the subject, but we started talking about carding, and I told them my personal triumph of getting carded while buying Sam’s cigarettes. Traci said that she was once told to get out of the deep end of the pool, because you had to be 16. And then Dan hit the home run, when she said that she’d been mistaken for Autumn’s son more than once.
She came in Kings full over Aces, and I just had a busted straight.
It’s been amazing taking all of this new context I’ve been given to work with over the past few years and incorporating it into my daily life. For instance, I can honestly say that I am excited to be Dan’s friend, that I am enjoying taking the chance of being vulnerable and getting close to someone (as much as I can, anyway) without the undercurrent of anything. What I give is what I get, and what I am giving is glowing friend-love, and it is returned. I love that she remembers past conversations and checks in with me to see how I’m doing, without any agenda except genuinely, “how are you?” We’ll still be able to e-mail while she’s in Russia, but no personal comms other than that… so no Facebook, etc. Too much security risk, as you can imagine. The trip is entirely UNCLASS, but that doesn’t mean she gets to check in wherever she goes, either.
To send her off, we all agreed to do a shot, which led to another interesting conversation. I said, “do we want shots, or shooters? My favorite shooter is a red-headed slut.” I think she missed the joke, but she’s strawberry blonde… and incidentally, that IS my favorite. She suggested B-52s. They were out of both Jaeger and Kahlua. So I said, “I think it should be some kind of STOLICHNAYA!” It was really funny to me to say it because I have a horrible Russian accent. In the end, we just had orange Stoli and cranberry juice, a toast to Russia and friendship.
I feel like this entry is jumping around a lot, but that’s probably because I don’t drink much alcohol and I spent most of the night drinking Sugar Free Red Bull and Diet Coke. I’m going to pay for that, I’m sure. Reminds me of the night I went to a bar with AA friends where I proceeded to drink eleven Diet Cokes in a row. I think I was wired for two days after that…. I plan on going to church tomorrow if I can get some sleep in between now and then. If I don’t, I’ll probably write about the scriptures myself. I can fall asleep preaching to myself just as easily as I can fall asleep to someone else. 😛
And on that note, I think it’s time to read for a bit and hope I get tired. Amazon gave away “A Girl Named Zippy” by Haven Kimmel for free the other day, so I got that and bought one of her other novels, one of my favorite books of all time, called “The Solace of Leaving Early.” There’s a sequel to Zippy out now, but I reasoned with myself that I actually need to read some of the books on my Kindle before I add new ones. I’m not finished with Hamilton, but I did finish Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I have a one word review… Meh.
There was one scene that ripped my guts out, and the rest I could take or leave.
Speaking of leaving, have a wonderful trip, comrade. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your return. Your requested review of Goldfinger is on its way…. as soon as I actually sit down to watch.
Stories That Are All True 