Month: October 2017

City Hoppers

by

If I had to go on a cross-country road trip with one of the characters I would, hands down, pick Daisy Buchanan. In my eyes, Daisy is a fun loving, free spirited, spontaneous person. She is extremely naïve and I think I would get a good laugh out of spending time with her.

We would start out in Daisy’s stomping grounds, New York City. She would show me her favorite restaurants, visit her apartment on the Upper East Side, and we would spend hours shopping around SoHo. After a day in the city we would set off for the wild west, Daisy’s chauffeur is doing all the driving of course. We would start off in Pennsylvania to visit the King of Prussia Mall, the second biggest mall in the United States. Then we’re really headed off into uncharted territory, the Midwest. Though we all know things got a bit out of hand when Daisy ran over Myrtle Wilson, I think this wild side of her would lead us to have some great adventures out in the open planes of the Midwest. We would make a quick stop in Chicago to grab a slice of deep dish pizza, Daisy’s first time having street food, and of course to go to Millennium Park to see the bean.

Though she would only want to stop to see major cities, I would drag her along with me to Yellow Stone National Park, and she would discover the beauty of nature. And once were in Las Vegas, forget it, we would have the time of our lives. Daisy would be right at home under the shimmering lights on the strip and in the bustling casinos. We would spend the night in the most luxurious suite at the Venetian, ordering room service and going for a dip in the pool.

After a couple of wild nights out in Las Vegas, we would wrap up the trip with some star gazing at the Hollywood Walk of Fame and few lazy days out on the beaches of California. I think Daisy would be the perfect person to go on a cross-country road trip because there would never be a dull moment with her.

 

Wedding Crashers: Tom Buchanan Edition

by

In the movies, weddings always seem to play out according to that same ridiculous script: one protagonist is about to marry some jerk, and the other protagonist is there just in time to stop it. Do priests or rabbis or ministers actually use that “if you have any objections…” line? Do people actually wait until the wedding to object other than in the movies? I don’t think I’d ever have it in me to spoil someone’s big day like that, no matter how much I objected.

One exception though. If it was my sister marrying Tom Buchanan, I’d be tipping pews and smashing wedding cakes in objection.

 

Where do you even start with this guy? I guess before you dive into the heavy stuff, you concede that he is a spoiled, pompous, arrogant sack of bricks. An Ivy League diploma–probably still framed on the refrigerator–afforded him a first class education in deceit and infidelity. He treats his wife, Daisy, like property, a trophy testament to his enormous wealth. 

But maybe you can look past all that. Afterall, he’s got a decent hairline and a whole lot of money. He was a star on the football field. Sure, he’s an insufferable loser on the surface, but maybe underneath that big hulking mass of self-importance is a genuine guy with a big heart.

 

 

 

 

Then you get to know him in all his racist, misogynistic, and abusive ugliness. He cheats on his wife and breaks his mistress’ nose without batting an eyelash. He effectively murders another man, Gatsby, by refusing to accept the consequences of his own actions. His deflection of George Wilson towards Gatsby is proof that he is both a master manipulator and a spineless coward. How could anyone let their family member marry a man that so clearly lacks regard for any life other than his own? Nick’s final description of Tom is ‘careless’. That, to me, is one of literature’s great understatements. Tom Buchanan is toxic, cancerous, and murderous. For all his wealth and status, he is among the poorest souls in American literature.

With any luck, my sister will have realized all of this long before picking out a white dress. If not, I guess I’ll hold on to hope that weddings these days still follow that old script.

“If anybody has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

 

Image result for i object gif