Saturday, June 24, 2006

Detroit Proper



When I lived in Detroit proper, I stayed up late almost every night and watched the street through my window while I typed at my computer, my office being a corner area off what some might call a sitting room. Television sets glowed blue throughout the night, and I could see right into the house across the street so clearly that I could make their wall art, the most notable piece being the famous poster of Black Panther Huey Newton in a wicker chair holding a machine gun. I'd been mildly obsessed with the Panthers throughout my youth and my favorite birthday card ever (which I received on my 18th birthday) had a picture of Wally and Beaver from "Leave It To Beaver" and Elridge Cleaver standing between them. Inside it read, "Happy Birthday from the Cleavers."

I've always liked guns (blame that on Texas if you will) and sometimes I'd sleep with one underneath a nearby pillow if nobody else was in the house. I could reach out in the middle of the night and touch the cold metal and feel better even though I knew statistically that the gun in your house was far likelier to hurt you than anybody else. The nights were long under such circumstances and sometimes I'd wake up and drift from room to room, wondering where I was, catch a glimpse of myself in one of the many windows and startle, as if I'd seen a ghost.

Michelle's Spell of the Day

"Never under any circumstance give a nervous woman a pistol." James Thurber

A television show that require heavy drinking:

Beverly Hills 90210 -- The suspension of disbelief required to imagine that Ian Ziering is in high school while looking 38 and suffering from a receeding hairline makes this a hard drinking show from the get go. Add to that fact that the "kids" stay at California University for at least eight years without taking any courses and you really have to guzzle. Still, you find yourself peversely engaged and hating yourself for it. On a serious note, God rest Aaron Spelling's soul who created it and died today.


Benedictions and Maledictions

To Hopeless in Bloomfield Hills:

Your situation sounds tremendously difficult. Robin's smart observation on the comment board is an excellent jumping off point -- why should your married boyfriend change his behavior? He's lucky enough to have someone to support him (his wife) and someone to love him (you). It might require some work and compartmentalization for him, but it's a pretty good deal as far as deals go. For change to happen, a person has to be running from something or running to something. My advice (and nobody ever likes this advice so don't worry if you cringe at first) is to tell him you need a month to sort things out in which you won't be able to see him. If this man has an addictive-like sway over you, this will be mighty hard. But it will give you a sense of what your life would be like without him (you might be surprised at how much better you feel) and it will most certainly make him miss you. At any rate, you'll get some perspective and power over the situation that you don't have right now. If he loves you and you have the strong bond that you purport, then he'll decide that maybe it's best to give up the wife and give life with you a try. A month (maybe start this at the beginning of July) feels like forever -- but it's not. Hold yourself to it and tell yourself that you can always go back to the way things were at the end if that's what you really want. During this month, rent all the movies and read all the books you can on the subject to keep yourself from calling him or having any contact. Start with Woody Allen's Matchpoint. I'll have more suggestions as the month continues and anybody who wants to can chime in on the comment board!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Michelle,

another lovely post. I like the thought of you being armed and dangerous, Thurber's joking aside. And behind you, I think I recognize those buildings -- in fact, I work in the RenCen.

Bravo!

Anonymous said...

Michelle,
You're so adorable! Love today's post. Good advice for Sister Helpless, and we could be a support group: be strong Bloomfield, you deserve better, and you might "call the shots."
xo
Cindy

Anonymous said...

Old Aaron and his pipe. He entertained a lot of people.

Anonymous said...

Today's quote: World freedom without individual freedom is a pipe dream.--anonymous

Anonymous said...

Today's 2nd quote: That something is everywhere and always amiss is part of the very stuff of creation.--Annie Dillard

Anonymous said...

Au Canada. C'est magnifique.

Anonymous said...

Great advice, Michelle! And Hopeless, I hope you take it; what you learn from it could be priceless! Love the post & picture, too, M! You have such an enchanting smile! Love, R

ZZZZZZZ said...

that is such a beautiful picture!

Anonymous said...

This really ticks me off that we have to do HOMEWORK on this movie. Is this another of those Roarrock tests. Why can't we work in class like ... OK, I'll do it. But I just better get an A or higher on my review or I am going to be reallypissed.

Anonymous said...

Woody Allen? Is he still working? I thought it was over for him when he was jinxed by Sony Lee. I guess I have to ante up if I want to be in for this hand. It's your bar and your deck, Michelle.

Anonymous said...

Let me get this strait. Our analysis of Woody Allen's Matchpoint is going to help somebody with a relationship problem. Is this the "life follows art" school of do gooding? Not that there's anything wrong with trying to do some good. It's just that I so seldom get the opportunity. This Matchpoint thing could work out.

Michelle's Spell said...

Dear Mr. AR,

Woody Allen's latest is a brilliant film, easily his best since Deconstructing Harry (a movie that is by lore based on his deep hatred of Philip Roth). I'm guessing Woody Allen knows as much about adultery as an entire squadron of therapists. At any rate, everyone should see the movie for the great acting and writing if nothing else (Woody isn't in this one as a character so it's a very big departure from his usual films). Hey, it beats that vile Dr. Phil, right? For a great Woody Allen interview, check out last December's Vanity Fair.

Anonymous said...

I saw Matchpoint and couldn't agree with you more, Michelle. It was an awesome film about adultery and obsession! And who knows more about it than someone who has lived it?

Anonymous said...

Dear Michelle, Thanks for turning me on (to Matchpoint). Woody foreshadowed the ending by having Chris Wilton reading Crime and Punishment in one of the opening scenes, the quintessential novel of the perfect crime; at least in the original version,Raskolnikov gets away with murder. The opening of the tennis volleys, the back and forth across the net, also foreshadows the uncertainty of the plots outcome: will the cops get Wilton or not. Remember, he threw away the housekeeper's ring, but it missed going into the river by a hair, like a tennis ball hitting the top of the net. We think Wilton will lose the match, but fortuitously, another crime is committed and the perp has the housekeeper's ring on him. Wilton gets off with a triple murder. The real victims are Nola, the unborn child and the housekeeper. Based on the film, "hopeless" should break off the relationship as reasonably soon as possible. The ramifications of continuing the affair could be deadly, morally as well as bodily. Thanks for the opportunity, Michelle. I'm looking forward to your next spell. I guess you can tell that you've become spellbinding to me. Sorry for the lack of paragrphing.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE Vanity Fair. Hitchens, Dunne and that Graydon guy are my favs. I remember Scarlett on the cover, although I didn't like that particular cover, not the nudity part but her cadaverous coloring. Saw her in a film with Bill Murray set in the Orient, directed by Coppola's daughter. Scarlett is hot, no doubt.

Jason said...

I just watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and it was effin great.