it’s a bird…..it’s a plane…. it’s…

No, it wasn’t any of those — that thing that swooped low and heavy over the sunroof of my car from a tree at the foot of the driveway. At first I thought it was a wild turkey, but when it landed in another tree across the road, I noticed that it had a red head. It looked more like a buzzard.
What it was is a turkey vulture, and it must live somewhere very nearby because I saw it again this evening flapping through the woods toward the lake.
I know when they soar high in the sky, gliding on air currents, turkey vultures look like hawks, and now I know that’s what I often see high above the cliffs. But when one makes its landing approach through a stand of trees, it looks like a big fat ball of feathers hurled from the sky.
It must have a nest somewhere nearby. I wonder if I can find it.

not just another dance movie

calla.jpgI make sure I see just about every movie about ballroom dancing that comes out. Some I’ve seen several times. But I watched one the other day that is worth watching even if you don’t dance. After watching it, you might want to.
I never head of Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School , but my sib rented it thinking my mom and I would like it. My mother loves to watch ballroom dancing. Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, Sean Astin, John Goodman, Sonia Braga, Adam Arkin — the list of great performers goes on. Even Danny DeVito (although I’ll be damned if I remember him in it!) And none of them is a “ballroom dancer.”
There is a line in the movie about dancing “to exorcise my demons.” I guess that’s how it always worked for me. But that’s not what the movie is about, and what it’s about is not just one simple idea.
If you can find it, rent it.