Okay, gang, I have a brand new rule!! I just made it up last night as Bill and I were settling into the family room, getting ready to watch Gus Van Sant's awesome film from 1991, My Own Private Idaho.

My rule is that, if I ever start thinking about getting married again -- guy or gal, doesn't matter which -- and they don't understand or even like My Own Private Idaho, then I won't marry them. But if they in fact love it and totally get it, then I'll marry the person posthaste and most likely live happily ever after (for the 2 or 3 years I'll probably have left by then).

This is seriously one of my favorite films of all time. And people either totally get this film or totally stare at it blankly, going, What the fuck??? My second husband was one of the latter types and, as is well known by now, the marriage didn't exactly work out. When we were living together but not yet married, I rented My Own Private Idaho and went scurrying home to the apartment on West End Avenue, eager to share with him one of my "favorite films of all time", but he sat there as we watched it and said, "I'm not getting it -- what is the big deal here?"

That should have been the giant red flag that conked me on my noggin... but it wasn't. We got married anyway. And of course, to be fair, that film should have been a giant red flag for him, as well. Being married to me was no picnic, gang! (Well, it was kind of a picnic, but the kind of picnic that turns rapidly into the Picnic at Hanging Rock.) However, he and I needed just tons and tons and TONS of red flags all over the fucking apartment before we realized, many, many years later, that we'd each have an easier time of it in life if we didn't have to constantly pick our way through all these freakin' red flags... (sigh)

Okay.

So. Bill had never seen My Own Private Idaho and I looked at him for a moment last evening and I then declared: "You are going to be one of the people that gets this film, Bill. Let's watch it!" So we did, and he was.

What a wonderful, wonderful film, gang. If you think you might be one of those folks who gets it and you haven't seen it yet -- by all means, go get it and find out!! And on that note, have a SUPER Friday, gang!! Wherever you are and whatever you wind up doing!! Thanks for visiting! See ya!