A Weekend at the Lake

It's been a lovely weekend, sunny and cold at night, fairly warm, for this time of the year, during the day. Friday night, instead of going bowling, we made french fries, using the deep fryer, and watched the movie, A Serious Man, a Coen brothers film. It was not the usual Coen brothers, with little overt violence, though their is lots of middle class suffering, I suppose. The film seems set in the early 50's, in a suburb like ....ville, on Long Island, and revolves around a seemingly geekish father, professor, and cuckhold. A black comedy, we must witness his unhappiness and the inanities that seem to befall him, from his wife's asking for a divorce, to the death of her lover in an automobile accident, to the constant bickering of his kids, his uncles invasion of their house and couch (he seems to be be depressed and sexually repressed), to a student who hassles him about a grade, and his nervousness over whether he will get tenure. Small, sometimes annoying things happen to him, and we are not sure whether to laugh or feel sorry for this poor fool, seemingly a magnet for bad luck, or God's sense of humor. The opening line: take all that happens with simplicity offers some guidance I suppose to the fact that life is unpredictable, filled with potholes, mostly, and what can never count on anything. The movie doesn't really end, just stops after he is quietly told he will be happy about the results of the tenure meetings, at the same time, his doctor calls to have him come to his office, to talk about his x-rays. As he hangs up the phone, the film ends, but, we assume, his suffering, man's suffering, with no answers, no guidance, no voice or explanation or God, will continue. It's hard to say I liked the the movie, though I did empathize with the father, as he was a good guy, someone who wanted to be a good father husband, teacher, but it was not to be so. On Saturday morning, we met a group of people to walk through the Elms Flats watershed with the Chautauqua Conservancy Head, John ?. Most of us had snow shoes, though a few had skis. Since there was no path, we had to bushwhack through the woods, and because of the lack of trail, we often found ourselves in holes, 2/3 feet deep, though if you were careful and second in line, you might avoid them. We wandered for about an hour or more, creating a circle, mostly paying attention to the path, to avoiding ruts and tree stumps, not the woods. Occasionally, we would stop to smell the roses, enjoy the quiet, view, trees, and snow, but mostly, we moved on. Everyone, however, seemed to enjoy the trek, as it was sunny, fairly comfortable, and it's always fun to walk in the woods,especially one that seems so untrammeled. We met a couple from Mayville, Jim and Bev Lannon, who seem to have very similar interests to us, with children and grandchildren, living in Ohio. Saturday night we made pork snitzel,with brussel sprouts and salad, and watched a bit of a movie, but then changed back to the Olympics. Evie has gotten into the book, The Help and I was enjoying Lark and Termite, so we decided to read and go to bed earlier than usual. Sunday morning we met Ron and Linda at Dobbins Woods, and I cross country skied while they snow shoed through the woods. Fortunately, there was a nice track to follow, for both skis and snow shoes, so it was an easy hour walk, with sun, snow, and great cypress pines, to create shade, filter the sun, and give the white a nice contrast of green. We then went to Ron and Linda's house, for bloody mary's, egg/italian sausage cassserole, and biscuits, and we ended up talking over the Pitt/Villanova game. They are leaving tomorrow for Pittsburgh, so we won't seem them for a couple of weeks. The afternoon, lazy and delicious, was spent napping, reading, and just taking it easy, as we think about our dinner, Lex's chicken. The sun has just left the lake, no longer lighting the ice, though it certainly is not yet dusk. I can see fishermen still off of Long Point, and a couple of people are actually on the ice throwing around a frisbee. It's that kind of day. This is usually the hour we arrive back in Hudson, and I have to begin getting ready for dorm duty. No more of that, I suppose, as it's amazing to contemplate another week of leisure, doing what we like during the day, and just hanging out. I wonder if I will get tired of this eventually and look for something more serious to do? Time will tell, I guess.