Grey Gardens

So, I saw the previews for the new movie about Grey Gardens starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. It reminded me that I had been wanted to see its inspiration for several years - the 1975 documentary of the same name about "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale - which I took time to watch yesterday.


Big Edie and Little Edie are a mother and daughter who lived together in the Hamptons with cats and raccoons in a filthy mansion crumbling around them. They live in a constant orbit of one another... even when Little Edie is outside for a moment or in another room, you can hear her mother calling her from the room where she is bed-ridden. They operate co-dependently and bicker constantly about things like who is a better singer, or what Little Edie should wear. They cook on a hot plate in their bedroom, and reminisce on their aristocratic past. No wonder this film is a cult classic. How rare to see such an inside and personal view of people who are living in insular world impervious to society at large. They have some parallels to Miss Havisham in "Great Expectations" - but with much more joie de vivre.

Little Edie is notable also for the amazing costumes she puts together - always including some sort of turban formed out of a towel or a sweater that she fastens with a brooch. She is a larger-than-life personality and hugely dramatic. I read that Big Edie was a follower of Christian Science, which believes that reality is in your mind. I wonder how much "religion" had to do with their neglecting certain realities of life.

It was a story that made me feel thankful at the direction my life. You know how sometimes you see very clearly how the line between sanity and insanity, or reality and fantasy is very very thin? When life revolves around covering your fears, or focusing on "what could have been," sanity and reality become ephemeral.

Throughout the past decade, I have made pivotal changes choices that took me on the path I am on now. It could have easily gone another way, and this film both frightened me at where things could go, and inspired me to embrace eccentricities that make us individuals.

Enjoying NYC

Life has been good. My sister Karin moved in with me, so Katrina the cat has been really happy having two mommies. We've also had several guests, including former Roomie, Yumi, so it's been a lovely full house. What a contrast to a very lonely 2007-2008!

Songs and words have been flowing more easily. I have been feeling a completely different relationship with art and creativity, and realize that by living my life to its fullest has helped me way more than practicing or striving. How cool is that?!

Lately I have had the pleasure of seeing many inspirational performances:

Last month I went to see the Fab Faux - awesome to see all those Beatles tunes performed so faithfully. As a personal aside, I briefly met Kevin Bacon there in the VIP section!

Last week I went to see forty-year revival of HAIR - it was terrific. Made me miss Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park. I totally flashed on seeing the Grateful Dead. Trippy. It was a little weird seeing Broadway-style actors as hippies, yet they somehow captured the zeitgeist of the 60s that defined a generation. Sasha Allen is a big star - it's just a matter of time before more people know it.

Karin and I got hooked on Roswell - a TV show from the 90s that I missed at the time. It totally rocks. I love the entire cast. Jason Behr as Max is heartbreakingly wonderful, as is Shiri Appleby as Liz who is so believable and likeable. Katherine Heigl as Isabelle shows her star quality and talent even 10 years ago, Majandra Delfino is funny and real as Maria and she and her love interest, Brendan Fehr perfectly capturing Michael, steam up the small screen. What a great show with messages about humanity and life, and a large amount of heart.

Next month I am looking forward to a small family reunion in NYC for Pete Seeger's 90th birthday at Madison Square Garden.