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I loved this movie, “The Savages.” I loved it a lot. Each character was so flawed and yet I liked them, I felt for them, I rooted for them. This is what we writing teachers call “round characters.” The elderly father had been abusive, had abandoned his children and was demented and kind of mean. But he was also bewildered and vulnerable and had his small moments. When he’s standing in the aisle of an airplane with his pants down, you really feel for him. Or at least I did. The brother and sister character had also made some unfortunate choices and their lives were not going all that well. But I felt for them both deeply.

The storyline, about a brother and sister putting their elderly, estranged father in a nursing home, sounds depressing as all get out. And while much of it was sad, it wasn’t depressing. It was moving. It was a very worthwhile way to spend a couple of hours.

I was happy to go on a date last night. We had a very wonderful dinner at a cute little Italian place, and snagged our table RIGHT BEFORE the crowd showed up and had to stand on the sidewalk for an hour. On Saturday night, my mom and spouse had a basketball-game date, and each of my girls had friends sleeping over. I was so the odd one out. I was glum and lonely. I wanted to go out and have fun, too! I was glad it was finally my turn last night.