Another Year Older….Another Year Wiser?

Yep, that’s right.  I’m another year older.  Yesterday was my birthday and it was pretty good.  My dad and I both had the day off while my mom and brother both had to work (though my brother only put in a half day).  So my dad and I drove down to IL to see my grandparents, after which we went to see Public Enemies.  It’s a pretty good movie and I thought Johnny Depp was great in it.  I wished Christian Bale had been in it more though.  All in all, it was a good movie.  It’s gotten a lot of press around here since a lot of it was filmed around here last year.  Johnny Depp was here shooting it a year ago this last spring.   I posted this back then, but I thought I’d post this again.  This was written by one of the local tv guys in his anchor blog.

Mr. Depp  (or may I call you Johnny?), 

We’re sure excited to have you and your crew here in our area filming "Public Enemies".  I just hope you’ll do us one favor:  Please come back and visit us again in a month other than March.  You see, I worry that you’re not seeing Wisconsin in all of its glory.   In my opinion, March is about the ugliest month around here–a month when Mother Nature should put out a "Pardon Our Dust While We Remodel" sign.  

It’s a time when filthy, sooty snow piles hang on to the edge of our lawns and curbs like piles of garbage the trash collector didn’t pick up.  It’s a time when trees are lacking leaves and the grass is brown, but not as brown as the parts of the lawn that are just pure muck.   It’s a month when garbage and other deposits (thanks, Fido) emerge from disappearing snow piles.  

You see, Johnny Depp, we are caught between seasons right now, and we’re just not looking our best.    It’s sort of like those old pictures of me as a teenager–half boy, half man, trapped between phases of life.

So, please don’t judge us by March alone.   I hope you’ll come back and enjoy a spectacular day on the Memorial Union Terrace in July… when it’s 85 degrees and sunny.  Maybe you can make it to Camp Randall for a late September football Saturday?  Or, could you arrange your schedule to be back here for the stunning beauty of a fresh winter snowfall?  

Johnny, I know you’re a busy Hollywood star, but please consider my request to see us "after the remodel". 

Old Man Winter can be like a house guest who just refuses to leave.   This year, frankly,  he has trashed the place. 
 

The tv guy wasn’t kidding.  We’d had a nasty previous winter and in the movie I could see areas I recognized as Wisconsin and has Wisconsin that March.  I realized as I left the movie that I’ve  genuinely become a Johnny Depp fan 😛

 Anyway…another year older…another year wiser?  I just dont know.   When I blew out the one candle we had, I wished for this year to be better than the last.  The last was filled some nasty downs and some great ups.  I imagine this year will have its own ups and downs as well.  I guess I hope I get better at weathering them.   I realize that this time next year I’ll likely still be living at home as well.  I hope not, but I don’t see my money situation changing that drastically anytime soon.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."