A New Leaf

It’s the middle of August and already I am anticipating autumn. The Labour Day weekend brings on the sense of fall preparations for winter and at the same time “new beginnings”. I suppose this feeling that one is starting over is a carryover from school days. In any event I have vague plans that are slowly shaping in my mind on what I want to do over the next four months. Of course there is the usual, better diet, more exercise, keep the house clean but the big agenda is to write, write, write. Second on the agenda is to keep my temper and I am grudgingly grinning as I sit here with a ball cap on my head trying to keep a pesky mosquito from stinging me! I’ve lain awake since 2:30 a.m. with nary a bug in sight or sound and now as I try to remain tranquil I have this nasty little creature flying into my ear!

That’s it, now I have the mosquito net my friend mailed to me over my head and ears, I look quite charmingly grotesque. There I think I got it, it was a big one!

So what was I saying, oh yes, staying tranquil. Once upon a time I was a mild mannered, gentle little thing and then I turned 43. Suddenly my father started calling me The Rattlesnake which I suppose meant I had been laying in the sun dozing away quietly and suddenly rose up and hissed. Yep, that would be me!

In any event, I am trying to earn the new moniker The Pussycat or The Bunny or something else quite mild and innocuous. We’ll see how far that goes. At work one of the VPs actually appears to run away from me and I keep asking Wendy “what did you say that makes your boss runs away from me?” and she smiles. Then she gives in and says “I just said you would chew him up and spit him out”. “Wendy, for heavens sakes!” and I laugh.

There is a little known movie called The New Leaf which stars Walter Matthau and Elaine May. Walter is a bankrupt playboy and Elaine is an heiress who also happens to be a biologist. In order to save his fortunes and his corvette Walter decides he must marry an heiress and then kill her for the inheritance. Elaine is oblivious, awkward and really charming as this dedicated biologist looking for a new species. Eventually she finds one and names it after Walter’s character. The New Leaf – I won’t spoil it for you if you should get a chance to see it but it makes me smile.