The Itis

Have you ever heard someone say that "they got the itis?" Well, it is a condition that is caused by eating too much. It causes you to be extremely full to the point of where you can barely move and you become extremely sleepy. This condition is somewhat like an epidemic that manifests generally on holidays and special occasions where food is of principal concern, Thanksgiving being the worst of them all. I say all of this in order to state that I was a victim of the itis this Thanksgiving and I have no regrets. If you cannot indulge yourself on Thanksgiving then when can you?

For a variety of reasons, I decided to spend Thanksgiving in Midland and eat dinner with the Johnson family that I have met since moving here. The family is a group of African-Americans that relocated here after Fred (the patriarch) took a job at Dow. Anyways, I went out to there house which is gorgeous but in the middle of nowhere. The food was delicious which was part of the reason why the itis got me. I just couldn't stop eating everything was equally delicious in its own right. For some that is called gluttony but for me it is a great Thanksgiving dinner.

While I was at the Johnson house battling back the itis, there was a Godfather marathon on AMC. If you know anything about the Godfather movies, you know that they are around 3 hours a piece so a marathon really can consist of Godfather and Godfather Part II. Which coincidentally is what AMC was showing. Due to this marathon, I woke up on Friday, went to Wal-Mart and purchased the Francis Ford-Coppola Restoration Editions of the Godfather Trilogy and I only paid $40. Following the purchase, I proceeded to watch parts 2 and 3. When I was watching them, I realized what makes them so great. It's not just the plot or the acting, it is the screenwriting. Mario Puzo finds a way, specifically in parts 1 and 2 to make every character who has dialogue significant to the progression of the movie. Have you ever watched a movie and wondered why that character or a set of scenes were included in the movie? In the Godfather, I never thought that. At the end of the movie, every character had done something significant to, in part 1, to help Michael Corleone become Don and, in part 2, keep the Corleone family together. Even the flashback to Vito Andolini's transformation into Don Vito Corleone was relevant to the current plot because it shows the importance of Clemenza's death. This is why the Godfather is so great excluding Part 3. If you don't believe me, you should watch them.

By the way, I also purchased the Special Edition DVD of 300 for $6 but I have yet to watch. Now I an off to watch the rest of Fantastic Four on F/X and look out of my balcony door at the developing blizzard.