Happy Ending Please

I was having lunch with friends today and the subject of movies and books came up. We all agreed we wanted a happy ending—in a romance that is, though I suppose we’d take one in real life too. This isn’t a surprise considering we all write romance but I’m sure we aren’t alone. So why is it that now a days we have to watch and read everything (including romances) with one eye closed, waiting for the ball to drop, or the gunshot to explode or the cancer to hit? Why can’t our heroes and heroines have their happily ever after?

Have you seen the promos for Nicholas Sparks’ latest movie The Longest Ride? It looks right up my alley—hot cowboy type, cute girl, guaranteed romance. Yes please. And yet I haven’t watched it because I don’t know who’s going to get the ax. I’m sure it is coming because in far too many of Mr. Sparks’ works he’s reluctant to give his couples a happy ending. My theory is that if they get to walk off into the sunset in one piece he’s written an honest to God romance and men don’t do that. In fact, most mainstream creatives don’t do that.

If we spend a good chunk of our lives pursuing and then maintaining love, why is it that watching and reading romances so shameful? Why can’t Nicholas Sparks be a true romance author and be proud? Why not give us romantics the happily ever after we crave? I read romance because I adore watching couples fall in love and create lives together. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Happy Birthday Clueless, Dammit!

I don’t have any children, so I have the luxury of not having daily reminders that the sands of time are sliding by me. When I do get reminders, it can be very jarring. I can firmly remember the first time pop culture made me feel old. It was over ten years ago and I was working at a middle school. Walking down the hallway one day I overheard a conversation about Wham. I’d smiled to myself listening to the girls talk about a group I loved, until I heard a girl refer to them as an old group from the 80’s. Old group, what! Wham was the bomb and very relevant. And then I realized that they hadn’t had a hit in a couple decades. Ouch. Damn pop culture, reminding me of my mortality.

I felt it again today. Innocently perusing the net, I stumbled on an anniversary story. The movie Clueless turned twenty this weekend. Yikes! Dionne and Cher can’t possibly be twenty years older. Because if they are that means I’m 4…. Well, I’m certainly older than 40. I loved Clueless back in the day and will stop and watch a scene or two (or the whole movie) when I catch it on tv. Knowing all of the crazy fashion and catch phrases are twenty definitely makes me feel past my prime. Ouch again. I suppose I need to remind myself that age is all in one’s head or even remind myself that aging is a good thing—the alternative is not something I want to experience any time soon. Hmm, maybe I need to rent Clueless for old time’s sake. And who knows, I might just have to mosey over to YouTube and catch a Wham video J

Crushing

 

Amanda Peterson’s tragic passing has oddly brought back fond memories for me. In the last week stars have been tweeting about how she was their first crush and reminiscing about their younger days. I too gazed at Can’t Buy Me Love with stars in my eyes. My heart didn’t beat faster for Amanda, though she was certainly a cute girl. Oh no, I only had eyes for Patrick Dempsey. That’s right, I loved McDreamy long before he ever set foot in Seattle Grace. His dark curly hair, bird chest and all around nerdiness made my heart go pitter pat.  I even insisted my mother take me to Can’t Buy Me Love on opening weekend just so I could get my fill of Patrick.

He wasn’t my first crush though, no that title belongs to Robby Benson—remember him? Well, I do and just thinking about him still makes me feel squiggly inside. Remembering his awe-shucks smile is all I need to be thrown back into my younger days. And that’s what crushes of yesteryear do, they make us feel young again.  I was sad to learn of Amanda’s death, she died far too young. But in my mind she’ll always be young, beautiful  and somebody’s crush.