Winning Time...Week 6

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Pat Riley/Adrien Brody & the vines!

Welcome to week number six of my year-long commitment to write about myself, disclose too much information and give specious advice :)

I’ve just returned from a contentious meeting with the school district where we had to argue for an appropriate education for our son. All parents go through hell for their children at times, but parents with kids who have different needs are really put through the paces. I can generally find humor or artistry in many disastrous scenarios. I once picked up my son’s friend at his house and his father was in a tizzy. The kid’s family was getting a new roof and the night before we’d had a surprise summer rainstorm (not so long ago it was rare to get rain in the summer here in So Cal!) The kid’s father showed me a video of the rain pouring in during the night. I said, “Oh my god! It’s like a rain forest!” because the video and sound was so cool. His bitter reply “Yes. And baby grand pianos are so cheap that it hardly matters.” Oops! Sorry. See what I mean? I sometimes get distracted by beauty or humor.

But oh my goodness these school district meetings are bleak and humorless affairs. I can find nothing funny or fun to talk about afterward.

Since I’m a bit exhausted, I’ll just focus on one item here today.

My Friend Mary

My Friend Mary advice this week is simply my own personal dilemma that I asked Mary to weigh in on. I know that this may seem silly but…

Q: I have some rather lovely and interesting looking vines coming into my she-shed office. Is there any problem with just letting them in?

Mary: Are you nuts? Yes! Besides possibly bringing in bugs, it’s unwise to let vines take over anything! Get a potted plant instead. Or maybe some fake greenery that you can hang. They make the fake stuff look really good these days.

Okay.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that he got to the point in his life where it hardly mattered what he read because whatever it was he derived the lesson he needed from it. I can’t find the quote for you, but I know it’s in Emerson: The Mind on Fire. I can relate to RWE this week:) I’m watching Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (big props to Quincy Isaiah who plays Magic Johnson so well). And in episode 3 we have Pat Riley (played by Adrien Brody) dealing with vines encroaching on his garage workspace. The story is that Riley is apparently going through a crisis where he’s past his pro basketball player days and is now trying to make an audition tape in order to be Chick Hearn’s commentator sidekick. Riley, of course, is not yet a Lakers legend. He gets frustrated. And then he goes crazy on those vines. Watch:

I wonder if the writers for Winning Time also have a she-shed and have dealt with this!? Of course, I’m a little freaked about the symbology and what it means about my life. But…

Today I’ve conquered the vines and hung a nice potted plant. No chainsaw needed and the building is still standing. Winning time, indeed! Thanks for the advice, Mary (and Winning Time writers Max Borenstein, Rodney Barnes and Jim Hecht).

In other news I came home from that brutal school district meeting and discovered that a short script Cyn Nooney and I wrote advanced in the WeScreenplay Short Script Lab competition. So that’s kind of fun news. And I hope it’s winning time for us!

I meant to talk about trying hard or not. But I’ll do that next week. And I’ll also share a recipe. I heard from several people that you liked the watermelon salad. Remember, you can leave comments below and you can also email My Friend Mary questions to victoriaclayton@substack.com. Thanks for reading! Please share this newsletter with friends!