Montgomery, Ala., 1958: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is sprawled across the booking desk at a police station as his stunned wife, Coretta, looks on. He was arrested for loitering at the Montgomery Courthouse and released when his identity became known to the police. (Charles Moore / Black Star)
Yesterday we loaded up into two cabs and headed to a quirky tourist place called Jungle Spa. I ate some of the best Mexican food ever, handmade tortillas rice, beans and potatos stewed with poblanos chile. We were witness to a little folk dancing that reminded all of us of the maypole at Becca and Ben’s. These women did a much better job that the 50 or so of us in Montana, but just as soon as they invited audience participation the maypole started looking a lot more knotted and familiar.
My mom summed it up best in her TripAdvisor review:
We were very lucky to experience the Sunday Market, a nice array of traditional Mayan food, dancing and a massage unlike any that we have had, all in one day! If you are looking for a generic run of the mill spa then go somewhere else. This is truly a unique experience. You will be surrounded by a gentle breeze and the sounds of the Jungle.
We’ve settled in to our comfortable little Casita Blanca on the beach. Bannack loves the sea. He stands at the patio door, forehead against the screen, staring out at the water. He convinced my dad to take a swim and they were out in the salt for at least 20 minutes swimming laps. Funny how well a baby sleeps after playing in wind and waves under a wide Caribbean sunset.
Here’s a little Christmas card from Kenny who’s been stationed in Afghanistan since around August. There is Kenny, bating Santa with cookies and beer.
Christmas cards and stocking hung on the wall. Announcements board and lots of food that people get sent to them and don’t want so they leave out for others to scavenge from at their leisure.
Also Kenny was promoted to Sergent a few days ago. When I asked if that was like an orange belt in karate, Kenny set me straight, “it is the lowest level leadership position on the enlisted side.”
In the summer of 1995 I spent two weeks in Red Lodge, Montana with my friend Kurt and our families filming a movie. I was Dougy and Kurt was Ralpho, we were the school yard bullies in a feature called Amanda. This week I watched it for the first time.
Amanda stars Kiran Culken who plays a Montanan and a pipsqueak, Biddle Farnsworth, who starts to go blind in one eye after falling from a horse. That is, until he meets Seven, a magical black blacksmith and his horse Amanda, a massive (18 hands) animal who may be an angel. Seven forges Biddle a pair of magic metal eyeglasses that improve his vision.
I definitely remember our production assistant, Michael who smoked all the time. I remember that we ate in a separate tent from the “extras” and had catered hot food where they had only sandwiches. I remember the problems with recording my line that I spoke in that scene, far away from you and the boom, and they had to wire me with a mike which kept malfunctioning. I remember Kieran and playing video games next to Macauley in our hotel. I remember how our moms were sitting talking with this woman about how stressful it was to be a stage mother, and then an assistant came over and said, “Mrs. Culkin, they’re ready for you.”
The whole experience was incredible and overwhelming in all the best ways, but for all these years, if ever the subject came up, the story ended with a big question mark because the movie was never released in the US.
Thanks go to my brother-in-law for finding the DVD. After hearing the stories my sister* and I had about the filming he refused to believe that it was still unavailable on video. After a quick search he found it for sale from this reputable online store. Easy as that. *You can see Sara in pink dress waking away from Jenny in the outside scene.
I’m thinking of trying that hairstyle on again though, I think it suits me.
