On A Historic Day, I Voted Like Harley

John O'Hanlan: Harley, this is more money than I ever dreamed! Do-do-do you know what I can do with this much money?

Harley Sullivan: We passed some nice looking saloons.

-Jimmy Stewart as John O'Hanlan and Henry Fonda as Harley Sullivan in "The Cheyenne Social Club" (1970)

***

I hunted like hell to find the quote I was looking for from this movie and this isn't it. The film centers on two middle aged cowboys, aptly played by Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda, when Stewart gets a letter from a lawyer saying his brother has died and and has left him some property. The two of them ride off to claim it. They see the lawyer and he gives them a large amount of money and Stewart signs the deed. As they leave to go see Stewart's inheritance, they have a long conversation that includes the above quote, and while it's funny, it wasn't the one I was looking for.

Mind you, this is from memory, but it went something like this: "Harley, all my life I've been a working man, punching cows, and I have always voted the straight Democratic ticket, but now that I am a man of property, I might have to take a look at those Republicans." "I don't know John..." and Fonda scratches his chin.

Well today I voted like Harley. I voted the straight Democratic ticket, right down to the county coroner. I figured a Democratic coroner would be less likely to swipe gold teeth or tell their friends, in detail, about your "equipment". I didn't even know that coroner was an elected official. I know that dog catcher isn't, as in,"I wouldn't elect him dog catcher!" but coroner? I don't recall voting for one the last time.

I got some advice once that said that as soon as I was old enough to vote, do a little research and pick a good candidate and vote for him. From there on out it's easy, because all you have to do is keep trying to vote someone else out. Perhaps there is some truth to that.

While I was alive during the Watergate Scandal, I don't recall much about it other than seeing Pres. Ford take a tumble down the airplane stairs on TV. I know the country at the time felt betrayed, disgruntled, angry, and abused. I'm not so certain that we don't feel that now. I know I do.

Today I am of mixed emotions. I am worried about the future. I am hopeful, and am filled with pride at doing my civic duty. When I took the girls to school this morning I explained what I had to do today and Riley asked me if I was going to vote for Obama. "Yes," I said, "and in twelve years I'll take you with me." "Good," was all she said, and then went on to thinking about being eighteen.

I'd like to just fill pages with venom towards the boneheads who have created this mess for us, but I just don't have the heart. They are in the same boat we are in and everybody has to decide if they want to bail, swim, or fix the boat. We've tried bailing, and there isn't anything to swim to, so let's appoint a new captain and fix the boat.

While I don't know the gentleman above, I can abide by his sentiment. I think we all can. I know Riley does and she is six years old.

Doc

P.S.- The place Jimmy Stewart inherits is a whorehouse run by Shirley Jones and mayhem ensues. Watch "The Cheyenne Social Club" as I found it both funny and informative, not to mention highly erotic. Think of "Lady Chatterly's Lover" as a western with the Dalton Gang thrown in.

My Campaign To Warp Flannery Beyond Repair.

I never realised until tonight how much my relationship with Flannery was affecting her in a negative way. It almost seems like I have been her Charles Boyer to her Ingrid Bergman in "Gaslight". It turns out that according to her, I have been actively trying to drive her insane for ten years, not by my madcap behavior, or my drinking, but by my choices in movies. Again, according to her, I am responsible for introducing her to the FIVE WORST MOVIES EVER.

This is a pretty heavy thing to lay on a guy who has been your loving husband for ten years, has fathered both of your children, has labored to see that you are outfitted with the lifestyle that you have become accustomed to. I stand accused of ruining a small part of her life, and on reflection, perhaps I have.

In the stretch of a heartbeat, she rattles off a list of films that are better left on the shelf that I have made her sit through, and it is an impressive list.

First, is the film Beerfest, that I reviewed below. She said this film didn't make her throw up, but it left the vapor of bile hanging at the back of her throat. She went to great trouble to emphasize how she hoped that this wouldn't become a new habit of mine. Okay, the film contains scenes of blatant chugging of LARGE amounts of beer, and for those with a a weak tummy this can be unsettling.

Second, "The Kiss". When we were courting we both worked for a phone bank for a major copier business and it left me a lot of time to read. I would read the daily newspaper cover to cover and six magazines a day. One day the film reviewer recommended a film by saying, "It is a necrophiliac film, but it is a tastefully done necrophiliac film." I was intrigued by the idea that there could be a tastefully done necrophiliac film, so we went after work. She squirmed while driving, but we went. It was one of two theaters I have ever been to that served beer and wine with the popcorn and the candy. I had a cold Guinness and watched a film that is better left to the imagination. We saw it credits to credits, and when the house lights came up, an old man in a black overcoat and scarf stood and exclaimed that we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

Third, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This was a turkey that Sean Connery did and it wasn't his first, try Zardoz. This film stinks on ice, it is that bad. No amount of multi-million dollar effects could save it.

Fourth, "Caligula". I rented this movie because Flannery has a degree in Classical-Medieval Studies and she knows all about the Romans. I don't. I didn't know that Caligula was an emperor who was a bad sort of guy, I just recognised the name and plucked it off the shelf. It had Malcolm McDowell in it, how bad could it be? He sold senator's wives as prostitutes to raise money and that wasn't the half of it. He was a nasty man, but I didn't know. I just thought she might like something Roman.

Fifth, her first response was "Last Man Standing" but in the same breathe, she retracted that. She stuttered and stumbled and couldn't quite fill in the blank and left it at that. I'm sure it will be filled in later.

It was never my intent to warp my wife, but I can see where a strong case might be built. In no way can I defend these choices, other than to say I was as only slightly more informed than she was, but that doesn't relieve me of my culpability. I have led her down the garden path more than once, only to discover that it was not the garden I intended, but I have two words for you:

"Notting Hill"

Worst piece of cheese I have ever seen, I cannot knock this film enough, and yet we own a copy of it.

I regret nothing, and if I cause her to go mad, well so be it. It is grand to keep a madwoman about, as you will never suffer from boredom, or a lack of good movies, but just as a good rule of thumb, let her pick.

Doc