lessons learned....

starting with the obvious. This movie should not be seen. We knew that when we went- Dennis really wanted to go see a movie, as there is no longer a blockbuster near us, and this was the only movie out that seemed interesting and that was not a cartoon. I warned Dennis- "baby, this is going to be a really bad movie."
And we weren't surprised although I guess I was surprised by a)how I wasn't the only one in the theater groaning and saying "that's just gross!" out loud or b) by how many teenagers were there. I was surprised by how many parents were there. This movie is PG-13 but it was interesting that a lot of parents brought kids under 13. Don't get me wrong- there wasn't any blood, real violence, or obvious sex, or really terrible language (you see worse on the Comedy channel). But the innuendos were pretty strong and I just didn't think it was appropriate even for say, my 13 year old step daughter- she probably wouldn't get the jokes anyway. I think there were many jokes that people didn't "get" or find funny.
So when I saw these parents leave, giving each other that look of "I can't believe we just paid to see this" and "I can't believe I took my kids to see that" (one women was complaining as she walked a group of little kids to the exit, about how sexual this movie was.) HELLO they stayed the whole way through!!! If it was too much for the children, (and these were CHILDREN) then why didn't she make them leave and get a refund? Why couldn't they have gone to see Curious George or the Pink Panther? (We wish we would have gone to the Pink Panther!) That was just absurd to me, more than the absurdity of the movie itself. Do not bring children to a movie where in the previews the jokes are gross and the innuendos aplenty.
Anyway, don't see it. There are times when you might laugh but you will be ashamed that you laughed.
Second Lesson: Don't use a remote control when it's been tossed around and is being held together by duck tape. Our TV remote has seen better days. It has no back and we hold the batteries in with a post-it note and duck tape. And it always falls on the floor. Well, last night I touched it to change the channel and the thing was BURNING HOT. We don't know exactly why, we are thankful that there wasn't an explosion of battery acid all over my face, and the thing has been dismantled of its' batteries and is no longer in use. But the lesson is that you shouldn't wait to buy a new remote for the TV. (And Dennis still won't buy one because he thinks it's a waste of money.)
Third Lesson- I haven't been sleeping lately and I've noticed that this is what's holding me back in my eating habits. This is another obvious lesson (they are all obvious but whatever)- I eat more at night when I should be sleeping. I don't know if it is insomnia or what, but it's annoying.

Finally,
goodbye to Don Knotts. A funny man (the mayor in "Chicken Little" and the TV repairman in "Pleasantville" and then all of the old TV shows and some funny movies I remember watching with my grandmother) who I thought would never die, did die. "Live well, love much, laugh often."