Hat Trick!

Today was the 4th game of the Winter session for Richard's roller hockey team, the Gremlins. This is a new team for him because his previous team, the Rangers, disbanded after several players outgrew the league and not enough players were left.

So far, the Gremlins have a perfect record: winless. However, Richard had a banner game today scoring three (3) goals (that's called a hat trick in hockey)! Today's game was the first one that they did not lose 11-1; it was the first game that went the entire game and was not truncated by the "mercy rule." His mom and I are really proud of Richard's persistence, dedication, and his growing skill.

After the game, we had lunch at our local Boston Market restaurant. It was a good choice because earlier in the week Richard visited his orthodontist for his monthly tuneup and consequently had a bit of difficulty chewing (pun intended). So he was looking for soft, easy to eat food: meatloaf, mac & cheese, and creamed spinach. He also sampled some of my chicken salad and a bit of my sweet potatoes.

The Wedding Singer

During the Christmas break, Richard helped out his school friend (M) on an all teen production of  the musical version of The Wedding Singer. He helped set up the lights and other stage stuff. Lynn even helped a few times during pre-production. There were three performances; Richard helped out on the Thursday show and also helped with the post-show "clean up" (e.g., take down the lights, etc.).

When Richard first told me about the show, I immediately thought of the 1998 Adam Sandler movie (although I had never seen it). I'm not much a fan of AS because his work typically involves too much gratuitous vulgar language and situations, in my opinion. However, my curiosity drove me to my local library to borrow the DVD of the movie.

I was pleasantly surprised when I watched the DVD: I enjoyed it immensely! Despite the occasional, expected lapses of good taste, it is essentially an old fashioned screwball comedy that is reminiscent of the plots of many Fred Astaire movies. The movie is firmly in support of life-long marriage.

Upon reflection, I wonder if our society's values have deteriorated so much since 1998. I don't think today's society would support a new movie with the values found in the 1998 Wedding Singer.

I also enjoyed all the humorous jokes about the 1980s culture and times. These jokes will pass over those who weren't around in the 1980s.

Overall, "the Wedding Singer" is a warm, humorous movie with decent values that would be appropriate viewing for older teens and adults.