happiness, and other impertinences

So, we (TWIS, aka This Woman I'm Seeing) watched Prairie Home Companion last night, which was much better than I 'd hoped--but then, you can always count on Robert Altman to attract a great cast, and it was cool to see the radio actors I love from the regular program, like Sue Scott.

Anyway, I suggested at the start of the movie that perhaps TWIS would gain a better understanding of My People. See, I live around her people--I see them all the time. (Not that I've met the family--it's early days, folks.) So, I've witnessed the bluntness, the open affection, the high energy, the occasional loud-mouthedness. My People, on the other hand, well, they're a quieter breed. Self-contained. Good, honest, polite-to-your-face kind of people.

At one point in the movie, Garrison Keillor (he of the face made for radio) says of Norweigans that if we feel happy, well, just hang on for a few minutes and it will pass. And that cracked us up. Because I've had a bit of trouble lately enjoying a new romance for what it is. Fun. Exhilarating. Happy. My brain wants to zoom ahead: Danger, Will Robinson! Look at all those red flags!! What if? What if? What if?

So, I'm just having a good time. Really. And I trust that I am such an inherently pragmatic person that whatever comes my way, I'll handle. After all, what's the point of all this smartitude if I can't put it on autopilot?

How Could I Not Know This?

Syracuse has a Sons of Norway lodge! They have a Syttende Mai festival and everything!

One problem: that May 17 party always arrives at the end of my academic year. Meaning I'm fried and not paying attention to social events. So, I'm putting it on my Goggle calendar. Next year, dammit, I'm gonna be eating lefsa and celebrating my Norskness.

You may laugh, but I'm living here in the land of Italian-Americans. Well, other folks, too, but lots of Italian restaurants and Catholic churches on every corner. So sometimes I need confirmation of my paleness and particular brand of guilt. Cultural solidarity, you know?