Movies I saw in June: Ballerina, The Phoenician Scheme & Thelma

The movies I saw in June featured lots of cool women, including an assassin avenging her father’s death and a nun whose father keeps escaping death, but my favorite woman to watch was a plucky 93-year-old determined to find a scammer who stole $10,000 from her.

The assassin was the main character in Ballerina (Seen in the theater, 6/10/2025), which I will give a “B” because I found it a nice mix of two franchises I enjoy: John Wick, because it was set in his universe, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because our main character is small and scrappy, constantly underestimated by her opponents yet always winning because of her resourcefulness in turning anything she can reach into a weapon, which in Eve’s case was usually hurled at her opponent’s crotch.

Ballerina had all the things I love about John Wick, like inventive fight scenes that are often funny — particularly one involving another woman and a pile of plates — and lots of analog touches like switchboard ladies using old-school headphones, plugs, typewriters and printers to receive and broadcast the latest assassin bounties, or having the big bad’s lookout, “The Eye,” be a man who scans the mountainside for intruders with a balcony full of vintage brass telescopes.

Fun fact: This movie reminded me a bit of the 1990 French film La Femme Nikita, which I argue is the gold standard of “young woman learning to be an assassin” movies. And at least one person making Ballerina agreed, since Nikita herself, Anne Parillaud, is given a cameo in the movie. And if you haven’t watched Parillaud in Luc Besson’s movie, you should rectify that as soon as possible, as I can still see her “angry dancing” to Mozart 35 years later.

And while I enjoyed the love story in Nikita, I appreciated even more that the makers of Ballerina did not give Ana De Armas' assassin a love interest, or even a sex scene, staying true to the John Wick formula.

The nun was played by Kate Winslet’s daughter Mia Threapleton, who spends most of the movie as an oval of eyes and freckles, yet still manages to nearly steal the show from the ever-charming Benicio Del Toro in The Phoenician Scheme (Seen in theater, 6/14/2025.) I give this movie an “A,” but freely admit to adoring Wes Anderson films ever since falling in love with Rushmore in 1998. So if you don’t enjoy his droll and whimsical (some might say precious?) style, then you will likely not enjoy this latest effort; but if you also admire his creations, then The Phoenician could jump into your Top Five, as I think it was one of his funniest.

Fun fact: My husband and I saw a 9:35 a.m. showing of The Phoenician Scheme, which was definitely the first time either of us has ever gone to the movies before 11 a.m.! And since we were the only two people in the theater, I asked the usher afterward if they would have still played the movie if we weren’t there, and he said, with more than a touch of annoyance, “No.”

6/20 & 6/21/2025: The French Dispatch, 2021 (DVD, rented from the library). Grade: B-. I never thought I’d give a Wes Anderson movie anything less than the top grade, especially one that is reportedly a “love letter to journalists,” but this movie did not completely charm me like his others. In fact, it was so dense and academic that we stopped watching halfway through the first time, then finished it the following day. And I’m glad we didn’t give up on it, because the second half featured the best chapter, a delightful romp featuring one of my favorite actresses and people, Frances McDormand. (I probably should give it a C+, but I can’t go below a B for either Wes or Frances.)

6/27/2025: Thelma, 2024 (DVD, rented from the library) Grade: A+, because I adored this pretty perfect little movie written and directed by Josh Margolin, who obviously had a 90-something woman in his life that he adored while making this film, which is a loving-but-honest portrayal of an elderly woman desperate to maintain her independence from the family members who desperately want to keep her safe.

The plot is very basic, with our main character played by the marvelous June Squibb getting swindled over the phone by someone pretending to be her jailed grandson needing $10,000 for his bail. After learning she was conned, Thelma gets inspired by an article about Tom Cruise's latest Mission Impossible movie and embarks on her own seemingly impossible mission to reclaim her money before her frantic family can find her. Structured somewhat like a Mission Impossible movie, this tiny but mighty film is a fun caper with a great script full of respectful nods to the indignities of aging. And if that isn’t enough to recommend it, how about getting to see Richard Roundtree, John Shaft himself, playing Thelma’s partner in crime? Yes, I found so much to love about this movie.

Fun fact: The very end features footage of the real-life “Thelma,” perhaps the most touching brushstroke in a loving portrait of an elderly woman determined to keep going outside on her own two legs for as long as she possibly can.

More movie reviews: 

Mission Impossible 8, Columbus.

Sinners, The Accountant 2.

Last Breath, Black Bag and The Substance.

My Grandmother's Journals: June, 2000. Grandma has heart surgery the day before my move to Seattle!

My husband and my grandmother in 2012.

So much happened to my grandmother and me in June of 2000. While she was in the hospital discovering she needed open heart surgery, I was preparing to leave my life in California — my boyfriend, my job and everyone I knew — to start over in Seattle, a city where I knew no one, did not have a job, and had only visited once before when I flew up to find an apartment in one weekend. 

And the day before I was to drive north with all my furniture and my cat, my sister called me in a panic to report that our grandmother was in the hospital after having heart surgery. “Don’t you check your messages?!” she exclaimed in a 5 a.m. phone call.

Since my sister was living in Phoenix and I was only about two hours away in Benicia, I drove down to Santa Cruz while the boyfriend I broke up said he and his friend would continuing loading the U-Haul truck for me, a truck they were already planning to drive to Seattle for me! (Long story short: His kindness and respect for me during my move and the following year proved what an incredibly decent person he was, and we eventually reunited and got married after he moved to Seattle a year later.)

But back to my grandmother, who never shared with me her health problems until she was already in the hospital, though she was struggling with pains and sleeplessness when I came down to spend the day with her after announcing I was moving two states away. 

It’s a visit I remember vividly, especially us sitting on a bench at one my favorite places, Capitola Village, and enjoying some ice cream together. And how she graciously told me “I am glad you are spreading your wings,” even though she could not have been happy I was moving so far away.

The journal entries below are from the tiny notebooks my grandmother recorded all of her days in. See those notebooks and learn more about her incredibly full life in this video:

May entries.

Thursday, June 1, 2000

Awake 6, stiff. French Open at 7.

Andre vs. Karol Kucera. (Wears 1 black, 1 white sock.)

Agassi blister on toe, won first set.

Got ready for mattress.

To Longs, got canned apricots. To fruit stand, home.

Swept a bit, ate snack.

Mattress arrived 1:30 p.m.

To show, “Mission Impossible 2.” Tom Cruise very athletic? Showed emotion, face expression.

Home 4:30. News, JAG, Lehrer.

First night new bed. (Took them 2 minutes.)

Friday, June 2, 2000

Awake 5:30, stiff. Fog. Used heating pad. 

Up 7, breakfast usual. Strawberries!

8:30 to Goodyear, left car. To McDonald’s for coffee.

To Longs, line at cholesterol. Walked home.

Talked to mechanics about slit in seat cover, gave me 10% off 447 to 403. Wrote check.

To longs, food. Home, news.

TV: JAG, Lehrer. 

Bed, fitful sleep til 3, then 4 hours. Pillow under leg helped!

Heat both arms, leg. Face.

Wrote Mina, sent booklet on Lewis & Clark.

Saturday, June 3, 2000

Awake 7. Stiff, but got up. Exercise helped.

Breakfast usual, chores. Added to Mina's letter.

Put green t-shirt on my seat in car.

To Longs, mailed letter to Mina. Had cholesterol/diabetes test. A+

To library, email from Justine and Andra. Replied to both. Got info on West Nile Virus.

To fruit stand, home. Tennis.

Got video, “Three Kings.”

Sunday, June 4, 2000

Bad sleep again. Pillow some help.

Rested til 9:30, ate breakfast with CNN Headline News.

Wrote letter to Carla.

Tennis: Venus won, Pierce won.

To Hollywood Video, returned Three Kings.

To KFC for pie. 

Home, ate. Slept, read paper.

TV: News, Ebert.

Bed, read. Hardly any sleep! Woke cold.

Monday, June 5, 2000

Up 5-6-7. Took Motrin, better. Rested til 8:30.

Breakfast same, out 10:30.

To Outdoor World, got thermal top and bottom.

Mervyn’s new mattress pad.

Home. Lunch, papers, crossword, etc.

TV: L & Order, Lehrer, MSW, hockey.

Mail: JC Penny bill, letter from Mina. Put tabby to death, bad teeth. Could be cause of liver?

Watched TV late, miserable night. No sleep.

Tried couch, not good. New mattress cover helps.

Tuesday, June 6, 2000

Awake 8:30, up 9. Breakfast same.

Took Tylenol late, 10:30.

To Longs, BP, got TV Guide and visor.

Home. Hot today!

Lunch, salad.

TV: JAG (2), bed, crossword.

Slept 12 -1:30 couch, bed 1:30 to 3:30.

Wednesday, June 7, 2000

Tennis 6 a.m. Magnus Norman vs. Safin. Norman had blisters, Safin broke 3 racquets.

Took 600 mg Motrin.

To Longs, got Motrin, apricots.

To KFC, sandwich.

Home, reviewed for when legs started, in case go to doctor.

Some TV: Lehrer, MSW, news, Bio Vivien Leigh. Sad.

Took 200 mg Motrin.

Thursday, June 8, 2000

Tennis 5 a.m. Conchita over Sanchez, Pierce over Hingis.

Rested til 10, to library. 

Checked email, message from Andra. She got job! Responded re tennis results.

Home. Ate lunch, read papers.

Mail: ads.

Legs relatively quiet.

TV: JAG

Bed, slept 10-12-2-4-7.

Took Motrin, 200 mg. Feel like having hot flashes.

Decided to check with Doctors On Duty. 

Friday, June 9, 2000

Gas meter to be changed. Smith to re-light pilots.

11:30, plumber left.

To bank for balance, Drug Emporium for BP, paper.

To Doctors on Duty, Osteo-arthritis. Paid $53.

To fruit stand. 

Home, lunch. Ate tamale, lettuce.

Watched tennis in a.m., Norma won.

Slept good.

Saturday, June 10, 2000

Up 6 a.m.  Legs stiff, hurt. Took aspirin.

Chores, Sat! crossword.

Tennis 12 p.m. Mary P vs. C. Martinez, 2 hours, 25 mins.

Ellie called, gas not right at her placed. Called Margaret.

To Kmart, gasoline $13.92!

Ate pie, ice cream. Plus salad to take home.

Mary won, $500,000. Good.

Took Celebrex at 11.

Woke stiff, sore.

Sunday, June 11, 2000

Up 8 a.m., watched a bit of men’s tennis.

Hingis in stand, clapping for Magnus Norman. Last game long, 7 deuces. 

Norman lost, speech credited opponent. Hingis should listen.

To show, “Up at the Villa.” Good. Talked to man there for Hamlet.

Home. Salad, crossword, Ebert. Read Murdoch.

Monday, June 12, 2000

Up 5 a.m., took Celebrex. Makes drowsy.

Did money stocks, talked to Ellie.

To Trader Joe’s, food. Got paper, coffee.

Home 11:30 a.m. Sleepy.

Threw away three stuffed animals: Elephant (France), Dolphin (?) and Scottie (Greece?). 

Worked on thermal pants.

Mail: Letter from Carla.

TV: Old JAG.

Terrible night, no sleep til 2 a.m.

Tuesday, June 13, 2000

Up 8:30. No wheat.

Chores, made bed, etc.

Got paper.

Sister Grace arrived. Was in Chicago. Sister 95, brother 91.

Haircut. To 1.5 inch.

To library, checked book on arthritis, books on drugs. Vague info! Got 2 books.

No email.

TV: Lehrer, JAG, news.

Bed, aspirin 1:30 a.m.

Wednesday, June 14, 2000

Up 9:30 after breakfast. No soybean milk! Skim.

Walked a bit, hot on East Cliff.

Kmart, ate. Patio 100, 10:30 a.m.

Home 12:30. Rested, read paper, some of book.

TV: Lehrer. Cable TV out of sync: 23 USA is 42, no 22. 21 is OK.

Justine called. Moving to Seattle, by 30th.

Back to cliff, cooler. 

To Trader Joe’s, got sorbet.

Thursday, June 15, 2000

Up 6 a.m., part of time on couch. 

6:30, took Tylenol. 

Breakfast. Fog blew in, cooled off.

To Drug Emporium, got paper, TV Guide, diuretics, cold liver oil pills.

Stopped at bank, McDonald’s for coffee.

Home, lunch. Tuna, lettuce

Called Cable Co, check 19 for new. No! Nothing at 2, but 5.

TV: Lehrer, some news.

Took aspirin and Melatonin at 9, nothing.

Friday, June 16, 2000

12 to 2:30 on couch. Slept, exercised, back to bed.

Woke 6? Rested til 7. Stiff, took Tylenol. Out 11:25.

To Longs, got paper, BP, 155, Xerox.

To Aptos library, looked for Bev adds, not found. Talked to Erin, chef. Gave him Andra’s website.

Ate Kmart. Veggies, chicken, roll.

Home, ate soup, toast. Watched Murder She Says.

Justine called, be here tomorrow.

Took pain relief + melatonin, moved to couch, 11 to 4 a.m. Slept.

Saturday, June 17, 2000

Awake 7:20. Chores, breakfast same. 

Cold, foggy.

Justine arrived 11-12? Called from town, came and got me.

To Logo's, sold 5 RLS books, $4.88! No Iris Murdoch.

Ate Erik’s Deli.

Ordered book at Santa Cruz Book Shop. $14.94, about 4 days.

To Lighthouse, sat on bench. Lovely day.

To Capitola, got ice cream.

Home, checked CDs. Washed legs. Helped? No.

Took melatonin, also drops. Up 3 a.m. Slept 2 hours.

Sunday, June 18, 2000

Up 7:30, aspirin: 11:30, 3:30, 7:30, 11:30, 3:30.

Started on clothes, box under bed. 

Worked in yard.

Watched golf, relaxed some time in afternoon, then after Tiger won Pebble Beach.

Slept 5:30 to 7:15, up. Some pain, not much!! Had REM sleep.

Crossword, 10 news, 11 news. 

Slept on couch 12-2, then bed. Slept OK til 6:30.

Monday, June 19, 2000

1 aspirin 6:30, 2 8:00

Walked around 6:30, not bad stiffness.

Ready 10:30, to Trader Joe’s. Got Fiber cereal, also papaya enzymes!

Mailed Penney's bill, got paper.

To fruit stand, Goodyear. Can’t do anything re wheel.

To Burger King, got big fish.

Home 11:30 read papers (2), crossword.

TV: Lehrer, news. Got clothes ready for laundromat.

Bad night. Took two melatonin. Sleep deep.

Tuesday, June 20, 2000

Up 7, breakfast same.

To laundromat 8:30-9. Ate Burger King.

Home, left clothes in car. Rested.

Ate soup, fruit. 

Took Motrin 6-10-2-8. 6 p.m., pains low.

Wear pink long leg warmers.

Called hospital re support group/dr for fibromyalgia.

Mail: Master & fone.

TV: JAG (2), news.

Wednesday, June 21, 2000

Take back book, get new menu for Cable.

Check email, also pull up for fibromyalgia.

Up 8 a.m., ironed clothes for Goodwill.

Out 12:30, first Drug Emporium: BP, TV Guide, Excedrin.

To Cable, got menu.

To library, got diet book. Can’t get email.

Ankles are swelling.

Call from Santa Cruz bookstore.

Coughed up blood.

Pain in chest, no sleep. BP: 150-78

Thursday, June 22, 2000

Get book. Took aspirin 2 & 6.

No sleep in night, maybe 6 to 7.

Tea, breakfast same. Shower, hair.

To Santa Cruz Book store, cashier said her mom, aunt had fibromyalgia.

To Drug Emporium, BP only 118-55.

To KFC for dinner. Heavy, hungry.

Tried sleep, no go. But later did.

1 aspirin 2-6-10. 

Worse night.

Friday, June 23, 2000 (1st day in hospital)

Called carol 10:10. Asked her to take me to doctor.

Her grandkids are with her, Britney came.

To Urgent Care, EKG, blood tests, X-Ray chest. Took long time.

Carole came back, taking girls to swimming pool.

BP 110-50. Decision to take me to hospital in ambulance. 

Rick driver. Did not like Dr. V’s IV set-up, replaced it with one Dr. F did not like.

Another EKG at hospital (Dominican), blood tests. Nurse nice, young man from Hawaii.

Did not eat much today. BP 131?

Ate ice cream, Jell-O. Slept good.

Saturday, June 24, 2000 (2nd day hospital)

Awake 5, BP good. EKG showed electrical discharge same.

Watched videos of heart operations.

Carole called. Went to parade on Seabright.

Daughter came down, took girls for a time. Carole has cold.

BP 124, then 98. Got cold.

Soft tissue pain, back. legs, arms.

Watched Panetta interview, Jesse Ventura.

Sunday June 25, 2000 (3rd day)

Awake 1 a.m. Lorne, young man. More blood tests. BP 106.

Had prune juice. B.M., worked good.

Breakfast Cream of Wheat, decaf. Good.

Carole may go by home, see if Justine left phone number.

Tried to call Prudy, not correct calling card #

Make out check for Justine, $1,000. [She gave me this to help with my move. It was incredibly helpful and I was incredibly grateful.]

Dr. G: Do new invasive test tomorrow to determine heart attack. 

Woman at desk said she had to notify social services tomorrow.

Took medicine to slow heart.

Monday, June 26, 2000 (4th day)

Call social services.

Tests at 5 a.m. EKG, blood, vital signs, etc.

BP 108-80.

CArole to Monterey with girls. No dinner.

Dr. G stopped by. Canceled test, for stress!

He here at tray time, told nurse I did not have to eat.

Imodium. Started diarrhea?

Keep off oxygen, get rid of water.

Slept without pain, 10-12:30. Pill til 4:30.

Tuesday, June 27, 2000 (5th day)

5:25 a.m. Tea, 138 pounds.

BP 106/64, earlier 112?

Took shower, felt good. 

Called Carole: Mail, nectarines, messages.

Gave directive to nurse for no intrusive injury.

BP 96/46.

“Case Management.” Call every day first week.

Wednesday, June 28, 2000 (6th day)

Early again. Dr. G decided on anagram, then open heart surgery.

Triple bypass, out about five hours.

3 small veins, out of it late Wednesday.

Thursday, June 29, 2000 (7th day)

Better today, sat up in chair. 

Justine came by from Benicia, went to house and got change of clothes. Returned at 6.

H called her at 5 a.m. or so. I had put note on Justine’s machine.

Justine heading to Washington, drove down, arrived 3 p.m.

Friday, June 30, 2000 (8th day)

Problem with Dan, night man. No pills.

Christy said she’d order, but forgot?

Not good day.

Wrote checks, walked.

Ate, later bile up chuck.

Movies I saw in May: Mission Impossible 8, Columbus, Extraction & Extraction 2

Movie poster for MI:8.

The movies I saw in May included only one seen in the theater, one seen on DVD, and two seen on a streaming service:

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning (In the theater). Grade: Solid B. I stopped watching the Mission Impossible movies after that ridiculous scene (maybe in the second installment?) where Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, and a foe are driving straight at each other on motorcycles, then both jump up and start grappling in midair – a sight that made my eyes stick in mid-roll for at least a week.

But I came back to the series for Mission Impossible: Fallout, which was enjoyable and certainly visually stunning, then found myself venturing back to the theater for Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning, though somehow I completely missed MI: Dead Reckoning, Part One. But no matter, they filled me in on all I missed from MI:7 with quite an exposition dump at the start of MI:8.

Final Reckoning is quite long, just a bit shorter than Oppenheimer. But while I never felt the length of Oppenheimer, I felt the length of this movie. A lot. The first hour is schlocky, the second hour slowly gets better before featuring the best sequence, which has Hunt diving into a sunken submarine and being forced to strip to his underwear again (I forget how many times total they showed us what great shape Cruise is still in), and the third hour has the best action, though it features a dueling-planes battle almost as ridiculous as the dueling-motorcycles one.

Columbus (DVD, rented from the library) Grade: A. I don’t remember ever hearing about this movie, though it came out nearly 10 years ago in 2017. Maybe a lot of other people never heard about it, either, because it has possibly the least-intriguing cover art ever, something my husband described as “looking like a boring training video.”

And for some, the movie itself might be quite boring, as not much happens. Just a lot of soothing and artistic visuals interspersed with lots of talking, mostly between a young woman living in Columbus, Ohio, and a Korean man visiting the city because his father had a stroke during his visit and is still in the hospital there. The two main characters meet over a cigarette and strike up a friendship that changes each other's lives in that way only a chance encounter can do, as often you need a stranger to finally convince you to do the thing that everyone else, including your inner voice, have been telling you to do.

My only gripe about the movie is that if you decide to have a character's smoking be important to the plot, you should really make sure the person portraying that character can believably smoke. Otherwise, people like me get pulled out of the movie with every puff pulled off by someone who very obviously has never smoked cigarettes.

Extraction & Extraction 2 (Netflix originals) Both get an A-. I watched these out of order, because my husband said the second one was far superior. So of course I preferred the first one! Both are definitely worth a watch.

I enjoyed the characters and their relationships much more in the first movie, though the second one includes one of the best fighting scenes I have seen in a long time, with Chris Hemsworth's Tyler Rake fighting off an entire prison full of inmates attacking him with whatever they can find, and being saved multiple times by the woman he is “extracting,” who bravely whacks anyone she can reach with a shovel, her fists and her feet.

Having women join the fighting is my favorite thing about the second Extraction, as some of the most brutal and inventive hand-to-hand combat scenes feature Rake’s handler, played by the beautiful and badass Golshifteh Farahani, fighting off multiple attackers more than once after being cornered in seemingly-impossible situations.

So, wait: Maybe my husband was right after all, and the second was better? Impossible! Either way, this review will self destruct after reading.

Bonus: My grandmother’s reviews for the movies she saw in May of 2000:

Mumford, rented from Hollywood Video, recommended by (Roger) Ebert: “Enjoyable.”

Dreamed of Africa: No review

East/West: “Thought good.”

Center Stage: “Excellent.” (Justine here: I loved that movie, too!)

Small Time Crooks: No review, though she notes that Ebert liked it.

Movies I saw in April: Sinners, The Accountant 2

Movies I saw in April: Sinners, The Accountant 2 and Havoc

Movie poster for Sinners.

The movies I saw in April were a very mixed bag, with the first being pretty dang perfect, the second pretty disappointing, and the third pretty much a complete waste of time.

The pretty dang perfect one was Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack, twin brothers who buy an old saw mill in 1930s Mississippi and spend one very eventful day turning it into a juke joint. Like a more musically inclined From Dusk Till Dawn with a pinch of Footloose and a handful of Mississippi Burning mixed in, this movie both looks and sounds great, especially one sequence that effortlessly blends many decades worth of music and dancing styles together into one masterful and gorgeous minute of cinema.

Also impressive was the job Jordan did portraying subtle differences in the twins' personalities, but even more impressive was how the filmmakers made it appear as if there were actually two of him on screen without relying on any of the cringe-worthy effects usually deployed when one actor plays dual roles.

The pretty disappointing movie was The Accountant 2, though likely mostly because of my own expectations. I loved the first movie so much that seeing the trailer for its sequel made me squeal out loud in the theater, and I can't remember being more excited for a second installment since maybe The Empire Strikes Back.

But while Empire is easily argued to be even better than the original Star Wars movie, I found nothing about The Accountant 2 that was even as good as the first, let alone better, as one trailer promised. But if you liked the relationship between the brothers that Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal play in both movies, their few good scenes together could be enough to recommend this movie. Otherwise, the best thing it has to offer is Bernthal strutting around in his underwear.

As disappointing as The Accountant 2 was to me, however, it was a cinematic masterpiece compared to Havoc, a Netflix original starring Tom Hardy and Timothy Olyphant. The movie sounded so promising that it achieved the near-impossible feat of getting both my husband and me to agree on watching it, but the promise faded so quickly that we almost turned it off. And by the end I felt like I sat through a violent video game that I wouldn't want to play, let alone just watch being played.

And while Hardy and Olyphant can usually make even the most despicable cads charming, the only character I found worth rooting for in the movie was a young female cop with only a few scenes, though she did manage to star in just about the only scene I liked.

Movies I saw in March: Last Breath, Black Bag, Novocaine and The Substance.

Finally, here are four much shorter reviews my grandmother gave the movies she saw nearly 25 years ago in April of 1996:

• Flirting with Disaster: "Gross, explicit."
• James and the Giant Peach: "School is out, audience was riveted."
• Last Summer in the Hamptons: "Good, felt real - not actors!"
• Mulholland Falls: "Violent. Nolte and Melanie Griffith."

My Grandmother's Journals: May, 2000. "Read paper, ate corn, did crossword."

Grandma, left, and her lifelong friend Mina in their 20s, circa 1939.

Grandma at the laundromat: “No TV!! Dryer took quarter!”

Welcome to the days of my grandmother, who wrote down each morning when she woke up, recorded everything she ate, noted any phone calls or mail she received, then reviewed any movie she went to see before settling down with the television and a crossword puzzle in bed.

That was cool. 

Because her journals are just about my favorite things to read these days, and have become one of the best forms of free mental health medication I can find these days.

The entries below are from May of 2000, when she was 84 and living alone in a trailer park. But don’t feel sorry for her, because she was the most fiercely independent person I have ever known, living in one of the most beautiful places I have ever known: Santa Cruz, California.

 

See some of her journals and learn more about her long and full life in this video:

April entries.

Monday, May 1, 2000

Breakfast cold cereal + fruit. 

Sorted out T-Bills & money. Vacuumed all.

Lunch 12:30. Law & Order.

To bank, deposited check from Joan. $41.36

Mail: Letter from Myra, Schwab (2).

To Carl’s for shake.

Home, Ellie stopped me. Needs cataract. Said Harry A dead and Gordon died heart.

Said I would pick her up after eye operation.

Called Myra. Some TV: JAG old, no second part of Friday’s.

Bed. Crossword, etc. Not good sleep.

Tuesday. May 2, 2000

Up 7, cold. Breakfast oatmeal.

Ready by 9:30. Put oil in car.

Very warm. To McDonald’s, English muffin.

To library. Man named Ray let me ahead of him. Checked E Mail. Message from Carla.

Lunch here. Read “Billy the Kid,” finished papers, etc. Crossword.

TV: JAG (seen), L & Order (seen), 2nd JAG new.

Bed, some TV. News til 11:30. Slept good 4 hours, rested.

Wednesday, May 3, 2000

Cold, heat. Breakfast oatmeal.

Swept, mopped bath, kitchen.

Out 11 a.m. Longs, BP OK. Got 3 items.

To library. “Ray” there. Got govt info for auction of 5-year Monday, 10-year Tuesday.

Called Schwab, money not ready. 5 days! Call Friday.

Wrote Carla, walked to corner PO Box.

Shower/hair. Called Mina, she got Notting Hill.

TV: JAG, West Wing.

E Mail hit by “I Love You” virus??

Slept late.

Thursday, May 4, 2000

Awake 4:30, then slept til 8:30! No melatonin.

News about new virus affecting E-Mail.

Out 12:25. To Kmart, bought TV Guide & small tissue box. Ate lunch there.

Very warm.

To Hollywood Video, got “Mumford.” (Recommended by Ebert.) Enjoyable.

Called Justine. She got package OK, enjoyed small ring. Sounded tired, bored.

TV: JAG old, Frasier (2).

Friday, May 5, 2000

Call Schwab for money.

Up 8 a.m. Called for checks. Said mail tonite?

Wrote notes to Carla, Justine. Wrapped book, video.

To post office, $1.13 each.

To Hollywood Video, returned Mumford.

Ate at Burger King.

Called Schwab, talked to woman. She checked, will mail.

Wrote Mina.

TV: News, Lehrer, JAG, etc.

Saturday, May 6, 2000

Awake 6:44. Breakfast poached egg.

Changed coolant in car. Power out 10:30.

Returned video, checked BP. Got new “Cover Girl.”

Home. Read paper, ate corn, did crossword.

To mall for panties, found at JC Penney. “Jockey” sports, $10, 25% off.

Electricity back 7 p.m., off 91/2 hours. 

Bed 10 p.m. after some news.

Sunday, May 7, 2000

Up 7, breakfast oatmeal. Ready 9.

Laundromat, washed rugs.

To Penney’s, got new rug for bathroom.

Home, lunch, TV. Bullitt again! 1968, Peter Yates director. 

TV: Forgot Ebert! L&O, old; X-files, dumb.

Read Murdoch, slept fair. 10:30-11:30-1-3-6:30.

Monday, May 8, 2000

Breakfast 7, oatmeal. Packed vitamins.

5-year auction from Internet.

Used heat pad.

Worked a bit on thrift shop donations.

To Drug Emporium for 3 Cover girls. To Trader Joe’s for groceries.

Home, lunch. Worked in yard, pulled weeds. 

Mail: Mobile home newsletter.

Tuesday, May 9, 2000

10-year auction. 10 a.m. oil change.

7 a.m. breakfast, car to Good Year.

Home, used weed killer, wrote Prudy.

Got car. To credit union, paid bill.

To KFC, got pot pie.

To library, checked auction. 10-year not there.

E-mail from Justine, answered.

Home, rested til 2 p.m. Read papers.

Louis Prima Documentary on, taped 3 hours. 

Bed, not good sleep.

Wednesday, May 10, 2000

Up 7, cold. Heat lamp til 8.

Breakfast TJ’s Oat Bran, easy on stomach.

Got Thrift package together.

Ready 11, to Goodwill van.

Then library, got online, E-mailed Justine.

Checked 10-year bonds, 61/2. But cost 1001.53.

To Albertsons, got stamps. To Kmart, mailed $15 to World Savings.

To BofA, deposited 22,184.44

Home, checked with bank, balanced.

Justine called. Sort of agreed to meet at tent.

Thursday, May 11, 2000

Get money from World, afternoon.

Up 7, breakfast. Warm.

Worked on pant legs.

To Aptos library for Muni fone, Exploratorium. Also ads.

To Wendy’s, then show: “Dreamed of Africa.”

Home, tired.

TV: News, JAG (old).

Bed 8, slept til 5. Legs hurt. Is it nodes?

Spent time calling library and Wendy’s for plastic purse, was in purse!

Friday, May 12, 2000

Up 5 a.m., Radio, heat. Cold.

Breakfast, finished pants.

Bank balanced ($1 missing??) No. Wendy’s 4:55.

Walked on cliff. Wind, cold. 

To fruit stand, donut/coffee.

To library, sent email to Justine

To Kmart for gas, 14.43.

Mail: Check from Schwab, letters from Andra, Carla

To bank, deposited check.

Home: News, papers, JAGs. 

Bed 8:30. Slept. 

Saturday, May 13, 2000

Up 6, cold. Heat.

Breakfast same, washed some.

First to Longs, got paper, looked for elastic. None.

To Carl’s for coffee.

Then Gottschalk's, got Jockey pants, purse. To Hart’s for elastic.

To library, message from Justine. OK, stay home. Will go with another.

Legs hurt.

Talked to Lois, Oscar in home.

Home, news. Bed 8:30.

Sunday, May 14, 2000

Up 7, usual breakfast.

Massaged left leg, seemed to help.

Did crossword, etc.

Walked cliff. Windy, cloudy.

To Santa Cruz Bookshop, got two books: American Slang, and Collins World Atlas. 

To show, “East/West.” w/ Catherine Deneuve, Sandrine Bonnaire. Thought good.

Home 4:15.

TV: News, etc. Slept 7-9, watched X-Files.

Read papers, slept 11-12-3-5-9

Monday, May 15, 2000

Up 9, breakfast usual. Legs better.

Spent time looking at Slang/Slagerman’s report on nodes?

Paid Blackwell’s, to Longs for pix (2).

Checked balance at bank.

Home, mail.

TV: Lehrer, news, JAG (saw).

Bed 8. ?

Tuesday, May 16, 2000

Awake 7. Cold. Heat on, back to bed til 8:30.

Breakfast oatmeal.

Wrote checks, notes to girls. $107.47 each. Noted how much total they received: $1,416.57

To Trader Joe’s for groceries, checked bank balance.

Took aspirin and legs were good!

Mail: Only ads.

TV: Usual, 2x JAG.

Bed 9:30. Heat lamp first.

Slept 3 hours heavy. 

Wednesday, May 17, 2000

Awake early. Cold. Rested 5-8.

Usual breakfast. 

To post office after writing letter to Andra, sending book of slang.

To Drug Emporium, got TV Guide & BP.

To show, “Center Stage.” Excellent.

TV: News, etc. JAG (saw), West Wing: ends with assassination attempt, who is killed?

Mail: Postcard from Mina

Thursday, May 18, 2000

Up 7:30. Breakfast oatmeal.

Shower, hair. Cut it close.

To fruit stand, library. No messages.

No mail.

Hot today.

Ate tamale (TJ’s), changed sheets.

TV: News, JAG, Mystery 8 - 10.

Bed 10:30.

Friday, May 19, 2000

Up 7:30, cold. Heat, rested until 8:30.

To Drug Emporium, BP. 

Got coolant, took metal to Dump.

Ellie said her grandson “met a girl,” moving to Vermont. Suggested she have a hearing test.

Back to Senate Mattress, ordered “non-turn,” Simmons, $216

Lunch Kmart, home 3 p.m.

TV: News, Lehrer, JAG, Law & Order Special Victims Unit. Not great, 2 people to leave.

Sleep not great: 1-3-5-7

Saturday, May 20, 2000

Up 7. Warm. Breakfast orange, oatmeal.

Called Mina. She has no doctor’s appt til June 1.

To get paper, mall for coffee. Man with survey.

Home, watched tennis, some TV.

Rested, feet up.

3 p.m. to art supplies, got refill for pen.

To library, read medical book. Veins?

Home, papers, watched old movie, Margaret Rutherford.

Crossword, bed 9:30.

Sunday, May 21, 2000

Up 7, usual breakfast. To be warm.

To show, “Small Time Crooks.” Woody Allen.

Art fair on Pacific. Did not stop.

Home, read “Green Knight.”

Justine called, may come down next Sunday.

Watched Ebert, he liked “Crooks.”

No TV til 9, X-Files.

Not good sleep. Took melatonin, aspirin. 10:30-12:30-2-4-7

Wednesday, May 22, 2000

Awake 7, breakfast usual.

Hot again, 84 degrees at 10:30.

Out 8:30 to laundromat, no TV!! 5 minutes for 25 cents. Owner gave me .25, then dryer took quarter!

To gas, 4 gallons for $7.05

To bank, got $200. To Trader Joe’s, no papaya.

Home. Rested, TV: Quantum Leap, Law & Order.

Mail: Fone, letter from Myra, Visa bill.

Packed vitamins and some for tomorrow.

Lunch at 4, Lehrer at 3. 

Crossword.

Thursday, May 23, 2000

To Mina’s Take grapefruit!

Left 9 a.m., stopped at Gonzales rest area. Gas in Santa Maria.

Ate at Andersen’s Pea Soup in Buellton. 

Hit 405 at 5 p.m., 91 about 5:45. 91 very crowded, slow.

To Mina’s 7 p.m., bed 9.

Read papers, etc. 

Legs good. No nap for Mina. 

Friday, May 24, 2000

Slept pretty good. Up 7.

To cat clinic, cat ill.

Breakfast at “Spire.” Loud talker next, then child.

Home, more talk.

To chicken place. Milk.

Watched video of “Being John Malkovich.”

To Kathy, daughter, left 9.

Talked til 9:30, bed.

Saturday, May 25, 2000

Up 7, breakfast. 

Out for gas, mailed letter. 

Back, read. Mina slept til 1:30 p.m.

Vet called, need more medicine. Took cat to clinic.

To Radio Shack, got info.

To Plantation for lunch/dinner.

Back. Lehrer, Red Shoes.

Bed 9:30. 10:30-11:30-4-7.

 

Sunday, May 26, 2000

Up 7. Breakfast.

Talked til 11:30.

Lunch at Polly’s, 5.70 + 1. 

Got papaya enzymes.

Back, watched Dorsey Bros video Mina had. Tape broken.

TV: JAG.

Bed 10, slept OK.

Got some things ready.

Monday, May 27, 2000

Up 6:30, washed. Left 7:30.

Hit curb, light bad.

Got on 60 to Pomona, then 71 to 210. Had to slow before 138. Highway work last about 1 1/2 hours.

Took Market Street from Salinas. 

To Albertsons 4:30, got paper. Roads not great.

Justine called, called back. She not coming. To Phoenix next week.

Unpacked, etc. Sleep 10 p.m. 

Tuesday, May 28, 2000

Awake 6:30. Cold. Put heat on.

Breakfast, more arranging things.

Called Myra at G’s 8:50 a.m. She called Tues, drove here, saw car in Harry’s.

Turned mattress, washed few clothes, took recyclables to garbage.

Walked to Albertsons for milk, TV Guide and bananas.

Home 12:10 p.m.

Jerry Giesler died at 75.

TV: Ebert rerun, interview with Clinton, Murder She Wrote old.

Bed 8:45.

Wednesday, May 29, 2000

Up 7, breakfast same. 

Wrote Mina, sent copy of AT&T divestiture. Also pix of C to Justine to show H.

Watched tennis, ate lunch.

Brought in garbage can, Myra drove in.

To post office after Longs for copy, got paper, mailed letters.

Read papers, crossword, walked to corner of Portola.

Home, ate, X-Files. Bed.

1 a.m. took aspirin, slept til 3. Good. 

Thursday, May 30, 2000

Up 7, Cold, used pad. 

Forgot tennis! Rained out.

Showered/hair.

Washed black pants, called Goodwill, Thrift Shop.

GW wants mattress and box springs, Thrift Shop will take Tuesday.

Lunch at Kmart.

Home, TV, read papers, crossword, etc.

Bed after 11 p.m. news. Not good sleep.

Friday, May 31, 2000

Rent paid. 

Up 7, French Open. Agassi won, first set very good.

Myra and G. visited Larry.

Balloon in tire, left car at Good Year. 

Walked to Drug Emporium, BP. Got candy & TV Guide, pills: Tylenol arthritis.

Lunch McDonald’s

Call from Good Year, new tire on, can take car. 

Walked up, hot. Paid, still need work: $447.79!!!