Oscars at the Enzian

Posted on by Thor

The Enzian Theater held a “Red Carpet, Bright Lights Oscar Watch Party.” Terry got dressed up in high heals that structurally resemble the Eiffel Tower. I decided to dress up with a suit and black shirt. Although the Enzian parking lot was close to full, there were only a few people at the Eden Bar. Terry had read somewhere that the theater wouldn’t open till 7:30PM so we had a half hour to kill. The bartender didn’t notice us waiting to order a drink but he did notice a 20 something pair of college girls who sauntered up to the bar after us. I wanted a beer but all the beer taps were out. The bartender was very apologetic. I settled on a white wine. Dina Peterson greeted us at the bar. She was meeting friends who were saving her a seat inside.

It turned out that the Enzian was already packed. I wanted to sit on the sides of the theater so I could sketch the audience. All those seats were reserved for members.  There were only a few seats in the far back corner of the theater where I would have only been able to sketch the backs of peoples heads. I decided to stand at the front of the theater to sketch the patrons in the pit. When the Oscars officially began, the theater went black. I fished a book light out of my bag and continued working. About the time Brave won as the best animated feature film, my sketch was done.

I joined Terry at the back of the theater. We were sharing the table with another artist named Dan Tilstra. He does watercolor certificate borders for Florida Hospital. The intricate work is a market I had never considered. His son wants to someday become a Disney Animator so he asked me to show him my sketchbook. His son seemed to think that working for Disney was an impossible dream. I assured him that anything is possible if you work hard enough.

 Kristen Stewart arrived at the Oscars on crutches. Rumor is that she stepped on a glass that cut her heal. Presenting, on stage, she looked completely wasted on pain killers and smiled with disdain. Her hair stylist did a horrible job, making her look like a hot mess. My favorite moment was when

Jennifer Lawrence won the best actress award and then tripped trying to climb the stairs in her Dior Haute Couture dress that billowed out from her hips like a parachute. Hopefully the designer will take note and realize that women do have to be able to move when wearing a gown.

The ceremonies went on agonizingly long and by the end of the evening there were more car commercials than winners. When Ben Affleck accepted his award, he said in a flurry of emotion to Jennifer Garner, his wife in the audience, that, “I want to thank you for working on our marriage for 10 Christmases,” he
said. “It is work but it is the best kind of work, and there’s no one
I’d rather work with.” You just knew he would be sleeping on the couch that night. By the time Argo won as the best picture, I couldn’t wait to escape the theater. My ass was in agony from sitting so long. Dear Academy and advertisers, Argo f*#ck yourself.

Eye Rinse

Posted on by Thor

On Sunday October 21st, Terry was doing her laundry, trying to remove a stain from a white garment. She was using some bleach and she dropped the jug on the washing machine. The bleach splashed up in her face and some went in her eye. She rinsed her eye under the sink faucet and then started reading  medical internet sites to be sure she was alright. The site said that you should always go to a doctor if you get bleach in your eyes to be sure there isn’t any permanent damage to the membranes. She asked me to look at her eye to see if it was blood shot and it was.

I drove her to a Centra Care Florida Hospital Urgent Care a mile or so from her home. A sign above the receptionist desk read something like, “We continue Christ’s tradition of healing ministry.” Terry said there was a similar sign blessing her from above the toilet. Apparently chemical spills like this take top priority in triage so we went right in after filling out some paper work. Thankfully the place was fairly quiet. Terry sat on the examining table and a male nurse took her blood pressure and asked her a few questions. She was asked to put a hand over each eye and read an eye chart. I’m not sure how she did on that test.

The doctor gave her eye drops which numbed the nerves in the eye. He then put a little red dye in her eye and inspected her eye with a magnifying glass and black light to look for abrasions or damage. He then advised that she have an eye rinse. A saline bag was hung above her head as she lay on the table. A white plastic contact lens was fitted with a clear plastic tube. Terry wears contact lenses sometimes so she was brave as the doctor put the device in her eye. I don’t think I could have done that.

She had to lie there for about 20 minutes or as long as she could stand the procedure. The saline solution ran from her eye an then down her face soaking the pillow. It was a forced one eyed cry. Most people get very uncomfortable and call out to stop the procedure. Terry went for ten to fifteen minutes before she stopped. A fifteen minute rinse is what the internet site advised so she felt it was enough.

Finally, she was given an ointment which she was to squeeze out onto her lower lid. She would have to use the ointment three times a day for seven days. After this we went to see the movie Argo. I loved how Alan Arkins character would say, “Argo f*ck yourself” when he spoke about the movie. It was a very suspenseful film and really well made. We both gave it a 9 out of 10. That night, I watched The Walking Dead on AMC. Zombies died when  crowbars, machetes and re-bar were shoved into their skulls through their eye sockets. This happened again and again as zombies were slaughtered. Terry refused to watch.