With Apologies to Marie Kondo

Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest.
By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.
Marie Kondo

There’s no getting around it. I have too much stuff.

You know that scene in The Jerk when Nathan (Steve Martin) is leaving and he’s just picking up stuff on his way out…I don’t need anything…but I need this…but nothing else…except this…

You get the idea. If not, watch the movie.

Oddly, or not, Nathan’s girlfriend wife is also named Marie (Bernadette Peters). At one point, when things are falling apart, she says “I don’t care about losing all the money. It’s losing all the stuff.”

I don’t need more stuff.

I would not, however, snark at more money. But that’s not what this post is about.

Since I retired…I did mention that I retired didn’t I?…I’ve been trying to deal with the stuff.

Earlier this year, I already took down a significant number of prints from my “Ego Wall” in my home office.

When I retired, I brought home enough to fill another wall, plus a large collection of safari animals. That collection grew out of my college obsession of collecting lions, an homage to Aslan.

You see my problem. Actually no you don’t because we’re not inviting people in until we clear this stuff out.

Don’t judge, we have company coming in mid-October and we have a deadline. That’s what’s leading to the stress.

I’m snarking a bit about Marie Kondo and her KonMari method, but I’m also beginning to wonder if she’s on to something.

My problem is, at some point in time, all of this stuff gave me joy.

I have a plastic bin full of t-shirts that I’m not wearing, but I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to.

I have boxes and boxes of paperwork…some of which prompted this post because I’m going through them…slowly.

If you want to be a blessing, send a shredder.

I have books that I will never read. The problem there is that, as a writer and a reader, it’s hard to think about giving them away.

I have memorabilia from shows I’ve been in or directed. I’ve got a whole box full of scripts and show notebooks.

I’ve got writing files.

You get the idea.

So Marie, I’m sorry for the times I’ve snarked at your “things that spark joy” comments.

I get it, and I’m all about making the hard decisions and getting rid of stuff.

Except I need this…and this…and that’s all…well, I need this…

Send help. But pack lightly.

Mini Review – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Don’t say it.

Not even once.

Yesterday I took advantage of discounted theater prices and saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

I won’t beat around the bush. I didn’t care for it.

I have to admit, part of my wanting to see it was a sense of nostalgia from seeing the 1988 film, which I loved for its quirkiness and maybe most of all, the dinner scene.

I was hoping to bring back some of that nostalgia with the 2024 release. I did not.

Okay, so the plot is decent. Lydia Deetz, now a mom herself, has to rescue her daughter. No spoilers there. That’s a common theme.

It just gets weirder after that.

At one point, I contemplated just leaving. I have never in my life left in the middle of the movie. I may have left in the middle of a theatrical performance before (and wanted to many more times). I wanted to give the movie the chance for redemption.

I will admit that there were two scenes with some redeeming value.  No spoilers. I’ll just say this: choir and train.

Being a man of a certain age, I usually don’t get snax during the movie. This time I got a small popcorn and a lemondade. Lemonade because some years ago Regal switched from Coke to Pepsi products. I still haven’t forgiven them.

That said, when nature called…well, not actually a call since I had dropped my phone under the seat and had to wait until after the show to retrieve it. But, when I needed to go out, I didn’t even feel like I had to wait for the Aragorn/Arwen kissy scenes to go.

If you know, you know.

As for the actors, I was happy to see Michael Keaton back in the role. Sure, he’s 73, and sure the character is several hundred years old, but it’s nice to see a 73-year-old carry off such a challenging role. As for Winona Ryder, I haven’t seen her since the last season of Stranger Things. I think somebody needs to give her a sammich.

If you were a fan of the 1988 film, I won’t tell you not to see it. See it for the nostalgia.

That’s what I did, but I still found it disappointing.

I wrote on Monday that I’m still sorting out this retirement thing. I suspect I’ll be seeing a lot more movies in the future.

Fortunately, there are discount tickets.