Assisting communication between people who do not speak the same language must be rewarding. I never spoke Spanish well enough to translate sentences into English. However, I often translated English for speakers of English from other geographical areas. Let me explain.
I worked at a research lab in California. Two dozen scientists from a lab in Tennessee were hired to assist with experiments at the lab in California. Because Californians are convinced they don’t have an accent, they are at a loss when they encounter someone who speaks English that they cannot understand. I found their reaction hilarious.
I grew up in a bilingual situation. My Dad’s people were from Kansas. My Mom’s people were from West Virginia. The West Virginia accent is very similar to the Tennessee one. This meant I had a superpower I was unaware of, until now.
Word traveled fast that I could translate Tennessee English into California English on demand. Admin staff would drag a Tennessee person to my desk and make them repeat what they didn’t understand. Most of the time, I caught on right away. People were astounded. Of course, I enjoyed this. As time passed, my services became less and less necessary.
Why am I telling y’all this? I came across a photo that brought it all back to me:
The Academy Awards were once an elegant, dignified ceremony. The Host was always entertaining and fun.
Watching the Red Carpet was like an appetizer. Sometimes it would begin before noon. Hours of “fashion” to enjoy and make fun of. It was the activity my daughter and I could do together without our baggage getting in the way. It became our “thing.” One year, we could not watch the awards together. That was the year we watched and commented over the phone. Our husbands thought we were nuts.
After my granddaughter was born, we inducted her into Oscar Mania. We added dressing up like we were there to our agenda. We took turns being interviewed on the Red Carpet. We would do a serious one. Then a silly one. Year after year, our tradition continued. We inducted a second granddaughter. Then we incorporated the “Oscars Spa Weekend.”
Nominated actors (a.k.a., us girls) could reserve a suite at the Marvelous Greenfield Mountain Retreat in the Stanislaus National Forest. There, they would be pampered, catered to, and escape the paparazzi and other prying eyes. Many took advantage of the superior spa treatments, especially the Norwegian youth serum, which tightens facial skin and eliminates dark circles caused by lack of sleep before the big event.
The morning before the event (closer to the afternoon), clients were served a fabulous brunch, then were escorted to their planned activity, before getting gussied up for the Red Carpet. Activities could be yoga, meditation, or massage. Bubble baths, followed by a facial, were a favorite among the younger crowd.
My daughter between her daughters
Last year, we all dressed to the nines and went out to the Oscars. Nevada City’s movie theater was streaming “The Oscars.” Seeing them on the large screen was fun. But something was missing. The theater was filled with dressed-up people, who were excited among themselves. Yet, the BIG excitement of the Oscars was not there.
It occurred to me then that the Oscar Ceremony was different. The entire atmosphere had changed. It no longer felt elegant and high-class. Somehow, things got more casual and less special. A few years ago, the seating arrangements changed into round tables like at a wedding reception. That was weird. I’m glad they adopted the row-by-row seating again.
The not-cool-at-all tantrum that Will Smith threw caused quite the negative impact. And not just to the Academy. All corners of the globe witnessed the event. Chris Rock must have gained a lot of kudos for keeping his cool. I wished that Jada had slapped him (Will) silly before he got up from his seat. I was embarrassed to watch this unfold At The Oscars. It reminded me of the Ricki Lake Show.
The 2026 ceremony was non-political. A pleasant surprise. One silly musical number would have been OK. Several of them, I lost count, were annoying and forgettable. The Oscar winners were people I did not know. I recognized 3 actors. That really saddened me, because I’m a movie buff and watch thousands of movies. I was really thrown by the number of people who were lost in the last year. I knew a lot of them.
Next year, who knows? The 3 musketeers did not get together this year to walk the Red Carpet or give speeches. I suppose that is a sign that the Academy Awards have lost their magic for us. Once we mourn our Oscar fun, we must rise up and adopt a new “thing.”
The movie came out in theaters in 1971. I was a tween. It had to be rated PG for my parents to allow me to see it with my BFF. I was completely taken aback by Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand’s breakup towards the end of the film. I think I was too young to understand all the forces behind their relationship. To me, love was everything you needed to make things work.
The world was going through change after change in the 70s. I felt overwhelmed and frightened when I was away from home. So, I wanted to stay home. My outgoing friends changed everything for me. Without their encouragement, I would still be sitting in my bedroom crocheting and listening to pop radio.
Whenever these friends began to notice I had a crush on someone, they were merciless. Like my freshman year, when I had a crush on a guy in my science class. A Sadie Hawkins Dance was coming up, and my BFF decided that I would ask my crush to this dance.
“It’s perfect!” she tells me. Girls are supposed to do the asking. I agonized over the scenario for days. I finally asked him, just casually, when we were changing classes. His locker was next to mine. I barely looked at him; I was so nervous. He seemed nervous, too. When he said yes, I stopped breathing. He smiled and said he had to run, but we could work out the details in science class.
Holy Crap! It did not occur to me that he would say ‘yes’. Now, I was freaking out about the dance itself. I had not thought this thing through. Since I was ‘the man’ on this date, I had to pick him up and drive him home afterwards. I did not have my license yet. This meant my father would be chauffeuring us. My father, with his comedic wit and eagerness to embarrass me.
Sigh. I lived in terror, knowing it was going to be bad. I was going to be nearly humiliated with embarrassment. I did not know in what form this would happen. Those who knew my father can sympathize. The only certainty was the fact that Dad would not miss this opportunity.
Dad behaved himself during the ride to the dance. He told us, “Have a fun time.” I was too nervous and shy to have a fun time. I believe my date was also shy and nervous. Conversation was limited, but we did dance. Fast songs and slow ones, too. I felt like I was in some kind of shock the entire evening, and it was over too soon.
Now it was my Dad’s turn to have his fun, and he said nothing. Until I returned to the car, after seeing my date to his doorstep.
“I can’t believe you didn’t KISS him!”
I was not sure how to respond to this. My lips were virgin. I hadn’t been kissed or had kissed anyone else before. I panicked. I chickened out.
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