A couple of lighter posts…(then I really will work on some promised heavier posts. )

This past Sunday, Katie and I took a few minutes out of our very busy lives to go to the local art house theater , the Cinema Center, to attend one of the events in a 2-day "Lombard-a-palooza." Carole Lombard was born here in Fort Wayne and lived here until she was all of 6 years old, when the family moved to California.  Her childhood home is now a B & B.

They screened My Man Godfrey on Sunday and To Be or Not to Be on Monday. Also present was a Ball State University professor who’s written a bio of Lombard, as well as a slew of other books on 30’s American film.

Katie, of course, lives off of her Netflix cache and does things like read biographies of Cary Grant and James Cagney.

(I warned her when she started on that particular path – watch out – you are going to be disillusioned. "I know, I know," she said, and bravely perservered. She was disillusioned, a bit, but that’s in no way a bad thing. The one she couldn’t finish, though, was the book she checked out on Bing Crosby – that was too much, although I think the book she grabbed was written by a close friend of Crosby’s first wife, and was definitely skewed in her favor, which might be perfectly justified, considering his treatment of her.)

So we went – and lo and behold, there was even food – the event must have been sponsored by someone, because tix were cheaper than usual, but there was a very nice spread that was included in the price.

Would Katie be the youngest there? Of course – and she knew it. But there was one youngish guy – early 20’s, amid all the other oldsters.

The prof gave a short intro to the film and the genre of screwball comedy – and there was to be a panel discussion afterwards, but we didn’t stay for that. The film continues to delight – with such a strong social satirical edge as well. (For those of you not familiar with the plot – "Godfrey" played by William Powell, is living in a dump on the edge of the East River, when he is found by a couple of rich girls, including Lombard, engaged on a scavenger hunt – one of the items they are to find is a "Forgotten Man." Powell goes along as Lombard’s Forgotten Man, she wins, and then brings him into her home as a butler. Hilarity ensues, although all is not what it seems. One of the elements that takes the film into another realm, aside from Lombard and Powell, is the mooching presence of "Carlo" – the matriarch’s protégé – constantly eating, singing the same meaningless dirge on the piano, and so on.  It’s funny but it also, subtley, kicks the social satire up a notch – the wealthy indifferent to the poor outside their door, indulging a slacker whose only function is to flatter them…)

Katie had seen the film before, and still enjoyed it – she said, "I felt I was the only person laughing sometimes…."

So, you combine that with her attendance at the local Catholic high school’s production of The Man Who Came to Dinner…and you see that perhaps all is not lost. When I took her and her friend home from the latter, they were both raving about how great the play was…keep hope alive.