Sunday, July 24, 2011

I Open at the Close (or, Back to Black).


Before I begin, I would like to address this photo. It is of a sign on a little side street in Spain. I am not sure what it is, really. Here are a few ideas:

1. School Zone (BORING! But probably accurate.)
2. Beware of Businessmen (in shorts?), They Steal Girl Children
3. CrossFit Class Ahead (don't they carry those kettle weight things?)

So, back to the business at hand. Thanks to my children (yes, I am blaming them), I have seen The Deathly Hallows 2 twice in the past week. At the first viewing, I sobbed so hysterically my husband started to elbow me energetically (even though he had been warned that I would be crying, and would not like to be disturbed). He is uncomfortable at displays of emotion, which is quite inconvenient considering that he is married to perhaps the most emotional person on the planet. The second time I saw the movie, I was also unable to have complete catharsis due to the interjections of the ragamuffin sitting behind me. At EVERY sad or supposedly scary part in the action, he would burst into uncontrolled laughter, yelling out, "That was SO FUNNY!"

And I needed that catharsis. It has been a rough week in general, and add to that the kidnapped boy in Brooklyn, the bombings in Norway, and even the death of Amy Winehouse (no, I am not surprised, yes, it's still sad) - it's enough to make me want to want to crawl under the covers and never come out. See? I warned you that I was sensitive! To prove it further, here is a list of Three Things That Will Always Make Me Cry (But Not The Notebook, Which Was Really, Really, Stupid.)

1. Love deferred, then ultimately denied. These are the kinds of movies and books I love! Couples torn apart by circumstance (preferably World War II) and a. never seeing each other again, or b. seeing each other again, and then one of the lovers coughs into a handkerchief and sees blood and you know it's only a matter of time before they are dead.

2. Men crying. (I can't even think of this without feeling queasy.)

3. "The Song Remembers When" by Trisha Yearwood. The song is about...a song. More specifically, the power of memory, and how hearing a particular song can take you instantly back to a time and place you either remember fondly or would rather scoop out of your head with a grapefruit spoon. I promise the lyrics are more poetic than that. If I had to list all the songs that make me tear up, this would be a long, long list, so I just picked one that encompasses all the rest.

What is it about crying? Why do some people tear up at just about anything, and others are able to play things closer to the vest? That said - I am glad that I am a crier. It can be embarrassing and overwhelming, but you will always know how I feel.

13 comments:

  1. If you ever cried, in public, in my company, other than at a funeral, I'd disown you. Come to think of it, even a funeral weeping fit would stretch my forbearance.

    Tears and snot and loud sobs? Forget it. All I'd allow you would be a moistening of the eyes and maybe a discreet sniffle.

    You have been warned.

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  2. Hello:
    What a very hard line dear Friko takes. You will be fine with us as we see tears, in the case of both men and women, as taking a stand against the Establishment, mainly British, which of course includes Public Schools and going to war.

    Your second 'reading' of the sign has, we feel, to be the best.

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  3. 4. beware of dumbass tourists crossing the street.

    most cathartic movie for me EVER - i had to take a nap afterwards, i cried so much i wore myself out - "P.S. I Love You".

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  4. Friko: Is this part of being an unfunny German? :) I have made progress, I think, because I did not cry when I read your comment. Surely I get credit for that! I will take note.

    Hattatts: Yes, Friko does take a hard line, I am afraid. Thank you for understanding!

    Anne: I love it! And as for P.S. I Love You - FORGET IT. I think I cried hard enough watching the preview for it!!! At least three grown men told me they cried seeing it. Even Gerard Butler is not enough to entice me. I look forward to weeping while watching One Day. The book was decent, the movie looks decent, although Anne Hathaway's accent is all over the place...

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  5. I seldom cry in public, but there are certain situations that cause a weeping fit. Classical music, animal suffering/death, and funerals make me bawl.

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  6. it's important to honor all our emotions — especially the difficult ones. it is only in blocking them that we get ourselves into trouble.

    btw - love your interpretations of the street sign. version number 2 makes it seem creepy, but hilarious at the same time ;-)

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  7. Hormones can make me sob at a tick. lol

    A good cry is great and cathartic as you say. Required every now and then ... with chocolate.

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  8. Medeia: I don't encourage public crying, but I do it anyway! And glad that you admit to crying, sometimes!

    Amanda: The difficult ones are the hardest to honor, sometimes. But you are right, blocking them is worse. I only wish I didn't get a red nose when even THINKING about crying!

    Re: the sign - a bit sinister, no? Just goes to show how we can read whatever we want into a text...well, almost anything!

    M Pax: Darn hormones! Ooh. I've forgotten the chocolate! That may help!

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  9. Maggie, I'm still laughing about your kidnapper businessman sign!

    My top 3 reasons for crying are:
    1. Watching videos of my kids when they were babies (or their preschool "graduation".)
    2. Fights with husband (what is it about THEM that they know how to touch all our "cry" buttons?)
    3. Steel Magnolias (Sally Fields' scene at cemetery.) Closely followed by the end of Love Story and the scene in Juno where Jennifer Gardner meets the baby.

    Hey, I liked The Notebook (the movie, but it may be because I had a little crush on the actor :)) but I guess I didn't like it enough to cry, ha ha!

    Lorena

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  10. Hello, Sister!

    That is a great list! I should do a happy post, next. There are things that make me happy. Although sometimes I cry from happiness, too...

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  11. Funny sign! Also, crying in public is OK, but if wailing is involved, I'd consider getting some privacy. ;-)

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  12. 5. businessman running away the secretary

    6. man spy kicking woman spy in the chops!

    :)

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