Rant #2,541: The Beat Goes On

Welcome back!
 
It was a good Thanksgiving Day weekend, and a relaxing one too.
 
I am so relaxed that I overslept today.
 
I rarely do that, but I certainly did today, and that is why this Rant is a bit late.
 
I guess I am tired at all that we did—and didn’t do—this past weekend.
 
Did my family celebrate Thanksgiving?
 
Yes we did.
 
First off, I did what I always do on Thanksgiving Day … I watched “March of the Wooden Soldiers,” in black and white of course.

 
It is such a great movie, and the final about four minutes of the film—when the soldiers are used to ward off Barnaby and his allies—remains among the greatest film endings of all time.
 
And then, later in the day, my family and I went to my sister’s house, as we always do, to have our Thanksgiving feast.
 
It was a total of eight of us that were there, and we have been around each other plenty of times during the past months, so we felt there was no reason not to go and enjoy the day. My sister lives just a few miles away, so it wasn’t like we jumped on a plane to get there.
 
It was fun, and it went quickly.
 
Then we had the rest of the holiday weekend to just relax, and that is what we did.
 
Black Friday was a pretty big nothing of a day for us.

 
I did go out a little early to my local record store on the annual Record Store Day on Black Friday, but I hardly bought anything, because there really wasn’t too much that I wanted.

 
You can’t go wrong with George Harrison and Nancy Sinatra, but beyond that, I was in and out of the store in about 10 minutes, if even that long.
 
And then we did not much of anything the rest of the holiday weekend, other than do food shopping and watching some movies on TV.
 
One of the movies my wife and I watched was “The Rose,” the Bette Midler opus based on the life of Janis Joplin, which we watched yesterday.

 
I had not seen this film in about 40 years, or since watching it on HBO way back when, so it was almost new to me.
 
It is very dated, but the film still holds your rapt attention for its more than two-hour length.
 
I later found out something that I did not know about the film, so tidbits that I had no idea about.
 
Jessica Lange was supposed to star in the movie, at least originally, and the film was supposed to be a direct bio pic of Janis Joplin, but her family would not allow any rights to be grated to use her story, so it then morphed into a fictional story about a Joplin-like character, portrayed to perfection by Midler.
 
Yes, the Internet is a valuable tool when it is used in the right way.
 
So my family had fun and relaxed this weekend, but there was something missing from our fun and relaxation.
 
That something was a big toothy smile, a quick wit, and a prominence that was second to none in my family.

 
My father wasn’t with us for this holiday.
 
He passed away on Labor Day, and it is hard to believe that it is two months since he left us.
 
There was a big void at the Thanksgiving table, and even though we ate and laughed and had fun, he wasn’t there with us physically, but I know he was there in spirit.
 
Today, he would have celebrated his 89th birthday like he always did, opening birthday cards and enjoying whatever presents we go him to celebrate his big day, usually gift cards to Burger King, food that he absolutely loved and a gift that he really cherished, believe it or not.
 
He was that kind of guy, enjoying what he called “the good life” with simple things that some might roll their eyes at, but which he truly loved.
 
I miss my dad, and we all missed him on Thanksgiving this year.
 
So on his birthday, I just want to wish him all the peace that he deserves.
 
I hope he is looking down at us and smiling that wide grin that he had as I write this.
 
Happy birthday, dad, we love you, and you will always be in our hearts and minds and souls.