Culture Club

I'm really good at puttering. I can kill an entire weekend (okay, I usually DO kill an entire weekend) puttering around the yard. Dealing with firewood, mowing, shoveling, raking, whatever. I can pretty much tool around from sun-up to sun-down. We're locked into The Winter That Killed The Spirits Of the Northeast, and I'm ready to just roll with the punches. More snow? Guess I'll shovel the roof.

My Wife has slightly higher expectations for how to spend the weekend.

Thank goodness.

So here's the rundown of how My Wife brought a little culture into our lives this weekend.

Friday night, we watched Sling Blade. In my defense, I brought it home from the library. But I also brought Con Air and Men in Black 2, either of which I would have gladly zoned out to. My Wife chose the Oscar winner. Good choice.

(A side note: as an avid movie buff, I must say that you NEVER go wrong choosing a 'great' movie [say, Shawshank Redemption or American Beauty] over an easy-to-watch movie [like Wedding Crashers or Armeggedon].)

So I hadn't seen Sling Blade in about eight years, but it was even better than I remembered. Of course, we were both crying by the end and thinking about how we, as a society, measure the value of each other. Those are the kind of thoughts that a great movie should stir. And to think I was quietly hoping she'd pick Con Air. That's exactly the reason why it's better that she chooses the flick.

On Saturday, we met up with one of My Wife's students and had a double-shot of enrichment. First we traveled to the art theater in Portland to see the French film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. (Please note what I wrote above about seeing 'great' films.) It was truly thought-provoking and inspiring. So much so, that the next day I bought the book that the movie was based on. Then, we spent two hours at the Portland Flower Show. In addition to seeing lots of pretty flowers, I got some tips on improving my lawn, gathered some ideas about building the perfect birdhouse, and realized that I need to get a birdbath. Good times. Most interesting about the whole day was talking to an incredibly bright 18-year-old student. I learned more from her in an afternoon of casual conversation than she could ever hope to learn from me. As we worry about the state of education in America, we need to remember that there are still students like this in schools all across our country.

And, to top it off, we returned to Portland on Sunday with two of My Wife's friends to visit the Portland Museum of Art. Yes, that's right: the Museum of Art. Now, forget that fact that my mom is an art teacher. I just don't go to art museums. Not that I don't THINK of going. It's just that in the end... well, I'm usually too busy doing something with firewood or snow. So, after five years of talking about going to the Portland Museum of Art with not much belief that it would ever happen, all of a sudden I found myself there. And it was fantastic. Among many other exhibits, there was an amazing installation by a Maine sculptor who creates unbelievable art out of nails and spikes. Nails and spikes. Now that's my kind of art. It was very cool. And, I might venture to bet that we'll go again. In less than 5 years.

It was certainly an enriching weekend, all thanks to My Wife. (Although, in my defense, in the middle of all this high-brow action, I did manage to climb up on the roof and clean of the two feet of snow and ice that were about to collapse into our bedroom.)

If you haven't seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, you need to. Right after you re-watch Sling Blade.

And go to a museum: art is cooler than you remember.