The Truth About Breakfast Platters, Christy, and Kids on the Lawn

After ordering a breakfast platter at McDonalds I paid and at the next window they handed me a sack breakfast.

"I had a platter," I said nicely.

"Oh, you were the platter. Please pull up and we'll bring it right out to you."

I pulled up and waited. And waited. And waited. After 10 minutes and watching 4 other customers behind me leave with their breakfasts, I called McDonalds on my cell phone. (I must be getting old, because I am the easiest person to get along with and I never used to do things like this. I know what comes next. It's yelling at kids to get off your lawn even though you let them play there for years.)

"McDonalds, this is Christy," she drawled in a raspy, southern, I-smoke-10-packs-a-day voice.

"I'm ...still...waiting on my...breakfast platter," I said firmly, channeling William Shatner.

"I'm bringing it right out to you (rasp rasp)."

"You've served 4 other people that were behind me."

"We were waiting on your eggs (hack hack)."

At this point I figured NOBODY else that ordered after me had eggs with their breakfast, because if they had, they would have been on MY platter first. After all, people don't expect eggs for breakfast at McDonalds and I must have been the first to order them even though it was mid-morning.

Christy was trained in dealing with somewhat irate customers.

"Here you go, sweetheart. Have a nice day."

"Thank you," I said, pulling the tied plastic bag through the window and setting it on the seat beside me.

Arriving home I untied the top of the bag and opened the platter lid to find a robin's egg sized blob of yellow scramble next to some hot cakes, sausage, and a biscuit. One wonders if they didn't have the heat up high enough to cook the poor thing faster...

Warm Summer Days

I created the melody for this 3 years ago. Unlike most of the music I hear in my head which is pop and country and usually starts with lyrics, this one started with a melody and frankly it was to remain that because it's unique sound and upbeat style seemed impossible to match to lyrics.

Then, about 3 weeks ago as I was listening to the melody, the lyrics below started coming into my head. I've spent the last 3 weeks editing the melody to add a couple of bridges to handle the lyrics. The melody is in the video below.





Warm Summer Days
Music ©2008 Steve Anthony
Lyrics ©2011 Steve Anthony

[V1]
The sun comes up: the rain is gone.
Warm summer days; each other’s arms.
Our hearts beat out a symphony,
and our trembling souls,
get lost in you and me.
You whisper in my ear.
Your words are all I hear.

[Refrain]
Warm summer days that we spent by the shore;
warm summer days that made us want more;
warm sandy beaches beneath the sun’s gaze;
your love reminds me of warm summer days.

[V2]
Soft clouds roll by; high in the sky.
Warm summer days; just you and I.
A breeze blows gently through your hair,
and your sparkling eyes,
can lead me anywhere.
You take me by the hand.
We lay upon the sand.

[Refrain]

[Tag]
Warm summer days; each other’s arms.
Warm sandy beach; you and your charms.
Warm summer days beneath the sun's gaze,
your love reminds me of warm summer days.

Karma At The Movies

[It's true that what goes around comes around. A friend reviews my review of Ebert Presents at the Movies. The blog post title is mine but I promise I did not write what follows.]

Steve Anthony Presents Ebert Presents at the Movies
[Fridays; PBS. Check local listings.] A Review of a Television Review

It’s true; we can never go home again. But Steve Anthony manages to take us back in time to those days where there were only 3 channels to choose from and no one had heard of TIVO® or even a VCR! He presents a time when people actually went out to see movies regularly. Before pricing, television alternatives (Netflix® comes to mind) and busy lifestyles got in the way of a grand night out. At the movies.

I found his review of “Ebert Presents at the Movies” insightful, accurate, and complete. It certainly has this reviewer’s reviewer setting his DVR to make sure I don’t miss a minute! While there were some technical errors in grammatical structure with Steve’s review, and some word choice that seemed inappropriate for the intended audience (I don’t think the average person would use a word like “apropos” for example), his review took me across the years and back in time. Many people can remember and relate to “Sneak Previews”, and the path that Ebert and Siskel pioneered. I personally remembered how sad I was to learn of Gene Siskel’s passing.

Steve’s review is a discovery process. Complete in historical fact, engaging dialog, and intriguing comparisons. The new hosts seem very intelligent and informative, and I’m looking forward to continuing my movie discovery process with their reviews in the forefront of my mind. I enjoyed Steve’s review extremely, and would highly recommend any further reviews he chooses to publish as “required reading”. Steve did his homework well, and produced a review that was compelling, and will not soon be forgotten. Thank you, Steve. I cherish those memories. And look forward to evening adventures! At the movies.

Steve’s review earns 5 out of 5 Stars! ☼☼☼☼☼

Ebert Presents at the Movies [Fridays; PBS. Check local listings.]

A Television Review by Steve Anthony

It’s true we can never go home again: Home changes, the landscape around it is altered by the sands of time, and most importantly, the people that made it home - including ourselves - morph and mature, move away, or pass on. Every-now-and-then however, we can recapture the flavor of home and provide the mind with enough familiarity and memories to make it content. Such is the case with PBS’ “Ebert Presents at the Movies” that premiered January 21, 2011. It is only fitting that "At The Movies" returns home to PBS where it all started, and continues to provide us with not only an entertaining look at today’s movies, but opinions about them that are well rounded and informative.

For those familiar with the original, “Sneak Previews” that began in 1976 with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, and later became “Siskel and Ebert at the Movies,” it seems like old times as the new show opens with bright lights and music, combined with warmly reminiscent pictures of Roger and Gene in the balcony; cleverly snapped from an animated reel of film. When the end credits roll, a brief clip of them from 1975’s “Opening Soon at a Theater near You” which was locally aired in the Chicago area, leaves us wanting more and seems apropos as it wraps up a show presented by new and youthful hosts, Christy Lemire and Inatiy Vishnevetsky.

For variety, the show even ventures outside the balcony to hear from correspondents and a film technical expert. Even the master himself, Roger Ebert, makes a brief Hitchcockian appearance in his own show; content to leave the new hosts to their work as he introduces them and others involved with the new program.

Lemire and Vishnevetsky are apt hosts and fit nicely in the balcony setting as they, like their predecessors, narrate clips on the big screen before them, then discuss each film good-naturedly but not always agreeably. One might not take to such youthful hosts speaking to what is most likely a largely mature audience; however there is no mistaking their professionalism and ability to communicate the good and bad points about each film, and do so pleasantly.

Make no mistake; this is not some re-imagining, remake, sequel, or even a prequel that didn’t need to be made. “Ebert Presents at the Movies” is familiar yet fresh and it serves a purpose, particularly in today's economy where movie goers need the ability to spend their entertainment dollars wisely. There have been many movie review programs on television, including several incarnations with Ebert, but this program is a direct descendant of the real McCoy and rightly deserves to wear its name.

There are literally hundreds of channels and thousands of programs on television but few make us really not want to miss them each week. Television and movie fans ultimately make their own choices on what to watch on TV or what movies to see at the theater, but “Ebert Presents at the Movies” is well worth watching or at least a reminder on the cable box or DVR, and a weekly trip home to PBS before turning off the TV to go out to the movies.