Five Minute Friday: In Real Life…

I swear there’s a hole in the week!  These Friday encounters seem to be coming round in ever faster cycles and I can barely stay afloat. This has been a strange week of writing – not really wanting to do much of it. Maybe because I goofed with the writing retreat I’m terrified/excited to be attending in a couple of weeks and didn’t figure out how to sign up for a workshop. So…now I have an ‘assignment’ in a workshop that is more terrifying than any of the others!!!  I’ve spent some time trying to rough out what I might submit. Therefore, the blog has gotten short shrift. I will try to dig back in soon – I promise.

In the meantime, I will do my best to cooperate with Lisa-Jo’s weekly invitation to just write it out, without worrying whether it’s right or not. The theme this week? “In real life…” You just might find out a few things you’ll wish you hadn’t. Who knows?? 

GO:

In real life, I’m a sucker for a happy ending. In fact, I might just have to admit that I’m a bit of a romance-aholic. I adore anything Jane Austen, including “Becoming Jane,” which many critics panned. The original BBC 5-hours+ “Pride and Prejudice?” Don’t even get me started. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched that one. 

But then, I adore the newer versions of these things as well. In fact, I may one day have to blog about the spirit-raising power of a well-told/acted/filmed romance. In the midst of the deepest personal anguish I’ve about ever walked through, my drug of choice? Yes. Jane Austen movies – over and over, fast forwarding to the good parts. Sighing and crying and thanking God for beautiful writing, beautiful acting, beautiful cinematography. 

I mentioned this once to a colleague, many years my junior, who had lost her dad while she was in college. I felt sheepish admitting this pattern, but she just smiled a sad smile and said, “I distinctly remember coming home from the hospital during that last week, putting Sabrina into the DVD player and hitting ‘play’ at least 5 times. It was better than sleep and it brought a tiny measure of relief.” 

Don’t ask me why this is so, I just know it is. 

So while I’m admitting things here, I might as well add – ahem – that I think Tivo is one of the best inventions of the last 50 years. Yes I do, too. I can record the things I love and fast forward through all the gunk in between scenes.


And you might be very surprised by what I love.


However…the 5 minutes are now up.


STOP.

P.S. In addition to police procedurals (yes, I am addicted to reading detective fiction, too), there just might be a show with the initials SYTYCD on my Tivo list. Thankfully, it has a very short season.  :>) 

So if any of you lovely and loyal readers happen to be fans as well, here is a clip from the older BBC P & P – the lake scene.
Enjoy:

P.P.S. In reading this over, I find myself astounded to see that I have responded to a prompt about ‘real life’ with reflections about fiction! Just about as far from reality as you can get, eh? Hmmm…wonder what that says about me??