I'm officially into my second trimester now, and while the nausea has somewhat drifted quietly away, my emotions are still at an all-time ripeness.
David and I were having a conversation about old Disney films (I had remembered Big Red as being the sequel to Old Yeller, but it isn't. It is Savage Sam. Now I need to see all three in a row again, to remember the different plot lines. And David needs a new copy of Big Red in paperback, just like when he was a kid). Anyway, one thing led to another and I was tracing the early career of Kevin Corcoran who plays Arliss in Old Yeller and Savage Sam and Francis in Swiss Family Robinson (and who I thought for some weird reason was a child Kurt Russell...), and when I mentioned that he also played cute little Jimmy Bean in Pollyanna, David replied that he had NEVER. SEEN. POLLYANNA.
He didn't even know Pollyanna is played by Hayley Mills! His response to my exclamation of that fact was, "Really? I thought Pollyanna had dark brown hair."
***SHOCK!!***
Well, this would not do. So as we were driving to a friends' house Sunday evening to play games, I proceeded to tell David the synopsis to Pollyanna, to explain to him just how good of a film it is (everywhere in Lubbock is a standard 15 minutes away, which is a pretty good amount of time to summarize books, films, or why a certain Led Zeppelin song is better than all the rest. We take turns tutoring each other on all the important things in life via our drives together).
I told David all about how Pollyanna is basically an L.M. Montgomery character: backwoods orphaned girl goes to live in huge old mansion filled with very traditional old ladies and an aunt dangerously on her way to replace said crotchety old lady; orphan's charming personality and gumption melts everyone's hearts, and everything good that happens happens in nature, surrounded by trees and wildflowers and Sunday picnics. It's basically the kind of story that makes me hope that Spooky is a girl so that I can relive all the magic of Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon with her, when she gets to the age when the moon is magical, and fairies probably do sleep in daffodils.
Anyway, I described all the great characters and Pollyanna's Glad Game, and--oh dear, I'm tearing up again just writing this post out again....David, I hope you are laughing with me wherever you are reading this--when I got to the end of the film, and I tried to explain to David about what happened after Pollyanna snuck out of her top-floor room to go to the charity picnic carnival party, I choked up...I couldn't finish my sentence. My lip was quivering, and I just kept repeating, "When she went to the climb the tree and climb back through her window, she...... she.... she....." and then I full out started to cry.
It was so unexpected and so RIDICULOUS that David and I both started laughing. I laughed and wiped my tears and sighed a bit, but when I went back to tell him about poor Pollyanna, I started to cry AGAIN.
So David started trying to guess:
"she....got caught?"
shaking my head, crying
"she....decided not to climb back up?"
more head-shaking, crying getting louder
"she....fell out of the tree?"
nodding and bawling
"she fell of the tree, and....she broke something. An arm? No? A leg?"
fierce nodding, fierce sniffing
I tried to explain to him that the real tragedy was how it broke Pollyanna's heart, because she was going to be paralyzed, and she couldn't even play the Glad Game, and she didn't even want to leave her room. But then, oh, then everyone showed up, and carried Pollyanna down the stairs.......oh, how can any of you remember this film and not start crying over the beauty of it?
Anyway, this was an all-time emotional breakthrough for me: crying over a 15-minute film summary. I've gotta make David watch this movie with me. I'd suggest we buy a box of Kleenexes, but I think I'll just take a towel out of the closet and use that.
9 comments:
Yep. It's happening again. Last week while sorting through our movies I discovered that Ben had never seen "Pollyanna." So we're doing that soon. I'd recommend we watch it simultaneously and Skype during the process, but I'm not sure I'll be able to handle your weeping without joining in myself ... or, you know, spending the whole movie mocking you.
Ha! Jade, it IS happening again--you really are my legitimate E.T./Eliot connection. Only it's more impressive with you because I never carried you in my womb. (That's not gross to say, right?)
Well, we ought to synchronize our Pollyanna viewings SOMEHOW. And if you make fun of me for crying through Pollyanna, we'll just follow it up with something scary and I'll make fun of you for not being able to keep your feet on the carpet.
Wow.
Since I am pregnant also, and have been crying more than ever in my life, including previous pregnancies, I do feel for you.
But I might mock you if we were watching it together. Sure, it would only be to keep myself from crying, because I tend to harden my heart when other people are around . . . but still I would mock.
It is a wonderful anecdote. I love it when you post.
I need to ask Allen if he's seen Pollyanna. We both have Old Yeller memorized by heart, but I haven't seen Pollyanna in years--I love the last picture of this post.
How did my brother get out of our house without seeing Pollyanna? We all watched it many times. Everytime I make a layer cake I think of the 3-layer cake slices they sell at the bazaar. Every single time. And that they had chicken every Sunday.
Funny you mention that movie. I had never even heard of that movie until a couple of weeks ago when my roommate bought it. The only part I saw was when they said she was paralyzed and now I never want to see that movie. DOWNER!
I'll have to synchronize it too...Kevin's never seen it either!:) You make me laugh Em!
HA!
This hurts my soul a little bit. I miss you guys.
(Shhhhh, I'm not here.)
I've already watched this twice since you sent it for my birthday. And to think I made fun of it when I was cool and hip. (The worst insult I could throw at someone was "She's such a Pollyanna.") Oh, for shame.
Sharon, I love that you have already watched Pollyanna twice. David's mom sent a copy of it for my birthday a week after I sent one to you (which I thought was pretty appropriate/karma-rich timing) and I had to watch it immediately. I had to think of you while we watched it, and how we tried so hard that one Sunday to watch it on a broken VHS.
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