My party was fun. It meant so much to me to see everyone there – to look around the room and see all the family faces … in my space!! Siobhan was there, Kerry and Adam, Liam and Lydia, Marianne.
Kerry immediately began to re-organize my closet.
“So.” She said, staring at the controlled chaos. Long long pause. “What’s happening with that pile of shoes there?”
“Uhm … nothing’s happening with it … it’s, uhm, it’s a pile of shoes …”
hahahahahahaha She should hire herself out. I am telling you. She’s a genius of organization. So now I need to go get a tall hamper, some kind of shoe holder – either to hang from the clothing rack or a stand-alone piece – and a couple of other items. All of which can be obtained at an organization store nearest me.
Other party moments:
— We IMDB’d no less than 15 people.
— Red Sox talk.
— We discussed junk drawers. Liam shouted, “It’s a man’s prerogative to have a junk drawer!!”
— Lydia told us about her latest job, which sounds very exciting. Funny story. It also involves IMDB. I cannot imagine a universe without IMDB.
— Red Sox talk.
— I have no “N” on my laptop keyboard because the whole thing is falling apart. Kerry must have noticed this early on in the night, but said nothing about it. 2 hours later, the subject of laptops came up. I said, “Mine tends to overheat …” Kerry interjected, calmly and kindly, “You also have no N.”
— Kerry told a tale of her afternoon with a certain ex Red Sox player and his wife. It involved playing Catchphrase in the breakfast nook. She played Catchphrase in the breakfast nook with … a famous famous ex- Red Sox player. Marianne was SHOUTING across the room. “I HATE you. What – you can’t text me? What am I, chopped liver? I can’t BELIEVE I haven’t heard this story.” Kerry would continue on with her story … and Marianne kept interjecting: “I HATE YOU. I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU DIDN’T TEXT ME DURING THIS WHOLE THING.” Kerry kept telling the story. Marianne shouted, “YOU PLAYED CATCHPHRASE IN THE BREAKFAST NOOK. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS.” hahahahahahaha
— I love my family because we all revere Freddie Mercury so much that it’s almost a religious experience. Nobody tries to be logical, nobody tries to say, “Yes, but …” Nobody ever says the worst phrase in the history of the English language: “Well, yes and no …” (Ew. When anyone greets my wild enthusiasm about something with a tepid “well, yes and no” – I immediately want to yank the giant STICK out of that person’s ASS.) So no, there is no “well yes and no” with us, in terms of Freddie. We LOVE the guy. We LOVE the guy. We all just had a HUGE Freddie Mercury and Queen love-fest last night. Something about Queen just gives me goosebumps – nobody like them. Nobody like them. I played them “Barcelona” – just because it’s not very well-known – even though when Liam and Lydia and I went to see the Losers Lounge tribute, they did THAT SONG. He wrote it for the Barcelona Olympics – and it’s this big sweeping opera-esque song … a duet with an opera singer. So at the Losers Lounge tribute, they got an opera singer to come down to Bowery Ballroom … oh, it was awesome! Anyway – we listened to “Barcelona” last night – just … randomly RAVING about what a feckin’ GENIUS the guy was. How BIG he was. How full of LOVE he was. You can tell. There’s not one bit of him that holds back – or hides who he is. John Wayne always said, about acting, “If you’re going to make a gesture, just make it.” Good or bad – just MAKE it. The only way you can tell if it’s the wrong gesture is if you do it 100%. MAKE the gesture. Don’t sketch it in, don’t do it halfway, don’t hold back. Make it. Be willing to fail. Be willing to look foolish. Freddie Mercury didn’t know how to NOT “make the gesture”. You can hear it in his lyrics, and also in his voice – how he sings, how fully he is present. It also helps that he just has to have had one of the most amazing voices in rock and roll history. Just in terms of natural talent. Truly an extraordinary performer. Nobody like him. The O’Malleys love Queen.
Obviously.
— Red Sox talk
— The talk turned to a certain cult and a certain baby having just been born into said cult and I started to talk … and then stopped. “Okay. Look out. I am now going to completely DOMINATE this conversation.” And I did.
— Hilarious, though. I made some WILD claim about the couch-jumper. Something that I believe, in my heart, is true. Liam said, “How do you know that?” He expected me to back it up with documentation at LEAST. In a fervent tone, I replied, “I’ve just got a feelin’ in my gut about it.” hahahahaha Sheila. That’s not valid.
But oh, it is fun!
— Red Sox talk.
— I just loved looking around and seeing them all there.
— As they left, I heard Liam (for some reason) say something about translating “Oh Canada” into Spanish. hahahahahaha I love my family.
Jean and Rachel and Regina and Ian and Emma and Tom and Betsy were all missed!! I’ll have to plan another one.
Oh, and we didn’t run out of food. I had plenty. Phew.
Sheila — Sounds like SUCH an amazing time! I’m glad.
And here’s a random weird thing — the N on my laptop has disappeared, the actual letter on the key — ppffft! — gone. I feel a little lost.
Why is this happening to us? What conspiracy is this??
I am glad the evening turned out to be such fun! There is nothing like gathering friends and family around you and just having a good time.
I get the goosebumps just reading about Freddy Mercury. And “Barcelona”… what a song! It never ceases to amaze me how this rock&roll guy just sang along an OPERA singer (she is Montserrat Caballé, a Catalonian singer). And he not only stood his ground, he was just AWESOME! The combination of those two voices, his passionate singing… what can I say??
Two things jumped out at me. Number one, I am dying to know what you said about the couchjumper. Two, you said:
Good or bad – just MAKE it. The only way you can tell if it’s the wrong gesture is if you do it 100%. MAKE the gesture. Don’t sketch it in, don’t do it halfway, don’t hold back. Make it. Be willing to fail. Be willing to look foolish.
Two actresses immediately came to mind when I read that and they’re both comic actresses: Jennifer Aniston (she does it with facial expressions) and Julia Louise Dryfuss as Elain on Seinfeld. : )
Glad you had a good time. I have family envy.
I think you’re really spot on with those two actresses … they’re great clowns. In the true sense of the word. Like Lucille Ball was a clown. NOTHING half-assed, or self-involved – whatever they’ve got to give they just GIVE it.
I read bits about your Freddy Mercury comments to Conor. He nodded approvingly and said, “I’m with Sheila’s family.” So, now you have my son, too. Sheesh, first my girl, now my boy…
Conor is soooo cool.
The party was awesome. Great food, great fun, great talk. Wish we did it more often. Loved it!
When I lived in England (1987), Barcelona was a hit. When the staff and I would be doing our morning chores we would blast BBC radio and when that song came on I was always Freddy and another staff member was Monserratte (sp.) Cabelle. I would be rocking out in the kitchen and from a far away bedroom you would hear Jenny’s operatic soprano singing back. It’s one of my favorite memories from that time.
Bets – you’re the one who introduced me to Barcelona! I remember when you came back from England I came over to your house – and you had a perm – and we sat in your room and played the autoharp. No, just kidding. But we sat in your room and you took out your VINYL record of Barcelona and played it for me. i still remember the cover!!
I still have the vinyl – it’s a 45 and was one of my going away gifts when I left England.
Did y’all discuss the return of Johnny Damon to Fenway that occurs today?… I’m sure he be greeted as the hero of the Red Sox he was in 2004, right?!
;)
The Yankees should open up a Traitor’s Wing of Monument Park – Boggs, Clemens, and Damon. Give them retro plaques – huge mutton chops and cravats and monocles, like Professor Moriarty or something.
Sheila – sorry about your “N” but it sounds like a rockin’ time. Nobody parties like the Irish.
Call me a goof, but all of a sudden I’m thinking of the soundtrack to the first “Highlander.” Go Freddy.
I love that you turned “IMDB” into a verb.
Emily – hahahaha we laughed about that too. How quickly IMDB has become not only essential but a VERB.
JFH – We actually talked a lot about Mirabelli -and today comes the news that he’s been re-acquired to catch for Wakefield.
Please, oh please do a big, fat Freddie Post. Oh God Sheila. Even with my icky Dial Up, I’ll be posting like a lunatic.
I mean, exactly. MAKE the gesture. DO the getsure. Be ready to fail.
Brilliant.
Just wondering how you all feel about last year’s Queen+Paul Rodgers mini- tour and cd…….
got to admit I dug it……..
Freddie Mercury RULES! What a voice. I wish I had half the balls that he had!!
I just wanted to remind you that Yanks rule, Sox drool. ;P