Where All The Women are Strong and All the Men Goodlooking

This ending of the week was dedicated to things I love to do that others may consider dorky, borderline fogeyish.

It started on Thursday when I attended a yuppie version of a Stars Hollow moment (quintessential small town quirkiness that can be found anywhere if you look for it). My Dear Sweet Mother, Refreshing Sunshine, My Sweet and I went to a gala hosted by the local National Public Radio, celebrating the opening of A Prairie Home Companion. The crowd would never have been mistaken for 50 Cent groupies - or Swtichfoot fans for that matter. I am sure that we will show up on one of NPR's PR material to prove that people less than fifty years old really do listen to them. There were two people who were probably younger than us, but with their preppy striped skirts with lmatching waistcoats and no nonsense haircuts, they were early twenty-somethings with forty-something souls. The others in the audience were sixty-somethings with fourtish-souls, so it worked out well.

This extravaganza included a wonderful homage to a PHC/Midwestern spread - complete with noodle hotdish and jello with fruit. They also were sure to include servings of powder milk biscuits and ketchup, two fictitious sponsors of the PHC radio show. And of course there was a raffle (very Midwestern) and an auction (very NPR). The raffle was a hit, mostly because Refreshing Sunshine won something. For a buck a shot you have a chance to win something kind of cool for next to nothing. You gotta know the value of a dollar, so what's not to like about a raffle.

The auction, on the other hand, did not go over so hot. Granted the auctioneer admitted that she was not a professional, but she as an NPR professional should have known how hard it is to get people to donate hard earned money, especially people who listen to radio shows that revel in Midwestern values like knowing how to hold on to your money. Don't start the bidding at $300. Three hundred dollars, my goodness do you know what you could get for three hundred smackers if you shop right?!? Plus there was no entertainment starting way up there. If someone is going to shell out a bunch of money there needs to be drama. Is the woman in the pink outfit going to outbid the balding man? Is the wife going to convince her sugar daddy to make another bid? Or is the wife going to let him know where he'll be sleeping tonight if he goes any higher? That is what we want in an auction. Then it gets down to the final two bidders who have a secret rivalry between themselves and they sure as heck are not going to let the other out do him. That is how you get your high-end bids that exceed $300. But we want to be a part of it, so start at $10 so we have some fun before we prudently bow out and watch the others act out the drama.

The movie was for the most part, excluding Lindsay Lohan and The Dangerous Woman storyline, quite enjoyable. "What a kind of flat recommendation is that?" you may be asking. Well, to give it higher praise would go against the grain of Prairie Home Companion. That would be considered putting on airs. The stories told in the back stage portions of the film were wonderful slice of life humor that Garrison Keillor is known for giving his audience. So go enjoy a film that is like sitting in on some old friends sharing the stories of their lives.