Wow, I’m not sure where to begin about this film.  The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a documentary film about a man named Daniel Johnston, his life, his art, his music, and his struggle with bipolar disorder (manic depression).  Daniel Johnston has had a very colorful life and has become somewhat of a cult hero over the years for his music, his art and his open struggle with mental health issues.   He grew up in West Virginia and came on the music scene in Austin, Texas in the 1980’s after a stint of running off to live with a carnival.

Daniel has been in and out of mental hospitals over the years and yet has been able to grow and maintain a steady audience for his music and art due to the purity of his work and the raw and unfiltered emotion he relays to his audiences.   And, clearly, also due to some people in his life that love him, believe in him, and have worked tirelessly on his behalf.

Now, as a parent of a son with bipolar disorder, this movie really struck a chord with me.  I can very much relate to Daniel through my experiences with my son and the interviews with the parents just about did me in.  Every time the dad would tear up or cry, I would cry.   If you are a parent of a child with bipolar disorder you will not help but be able to relate to these parents.  The dad will move you greatly.

I highly recommend this film.  If you are not close with someone with manic depression/bipolar disorder the film might seem quirky and odd to you.  However, if you can relate the Daniel or his family in any way, you will be moved by the film.  Daniel and his family now live in Waller, Texas.

God bless Texas.

With Rye away we are spending some time catching up on our movie watching.

We watched ‘Crazy Heart’ the other night.  It was my second time seeing it and Don’s first and I can’t tell you how much I love this movie.  I think for me, because I grew up for half of my life in Houston and spent part of every summer at a ranch in New Mexico, the movie feels like home to me.  The scenery, the old Suburban, the dress of the characters, the genre of music, the personalities of the characters, all of it.  I knew many a person just like the character Jeff Bridges plays and also many just like the character Robert Duvall plays.  Dead on.  They were both really great in this movie.  And I love the music and especially the theme song ‘The Weary Kind’.

Check it out if you haven’t already.

My dad’s parents were great grandparents.  Well, not great grandparents in the generational sense but in the sense that they were  great to have as grandparents.  My grandfather, Papa, was a hard working, reliable, quiet and reserved man.  He started in life with nothing and made it big, so to speak, by being a part of the Texas oil boom and being in the right place at the right time during the rise of the Texas based oil giants.  My grandmother, Momo, spent her life as a stay at home mom and wife who, once may grandfather starting rising up the corporate ladder, spent a great deal of time involved in PTAs, school based activities, and corprorate/ home entertaining, of which there was a lot of in the oil industry.  She was an outspoken woman who although could be quite opinionated at times, was great fun to have as a grandmother.  She was very colorful.  And she was the type of grandmother that when you came to visit,  put everything else aside to spent time with her grandchildren.  She taught us endless card games and tile games and we would spend hours playing them with us when we were at her house.   It was a ton of fun.

My grandfather retired at 50 years old and so by the time I was old enough to spend a lot of time at their house (that I was old enough to remember) they were both home full time and were both around for all family and holiday occasions.  With that, it is one such occasion that I could not help but think of last night and actually had me cracking up out loud, as it always does.  Here’s how it went.

I can’t recall what the actual event was (it was either Thanksgiving or Christmas) but all of the family was there.  That means both grandparents, all 3 kids, and all 4 cousins (we are not a big family).   Anyway, they had a huge kitchen and we were all in the kitchen as the meal was being cooked and we were all standing around snacking and discussing whatever we were discussing at the time.  I can’t recall the topic of conversation.  And that’s when it happened.

For whatever reason, Momo and my aunt got into it over something.  They start bickering and going back and forth, back and forth until finally my grandmother blows and says some explitives and blasts my aunt a new one (like I said, she was colorful).  At that very moment, my cousin, who is a big guy and was in high school at the time and was a male cheerleader, jumps back as if done by automatic response and goes into cheerleader stance.  He throws his legs apart, starts gyrating his hips around and gyrating his arms about in from if him in true cheerleader fashion and chants,

“Momo ain’t takin’ no crap!”

I swear to you, everyone in the kitchen immediately burst into hysterical laughter.  It caught everyone so off guard that to this day I can’t explain to you how funny it was.  Well, everyone but Momo and my aunt, that is.  They were still fuming.  But as we continue to laugh, he does it again.  And we all laugh more.  And then again.  And we laugh again.  And then we all join in and start cheering,

“Momo ain’t takin’ no crap!”

Well, Momo, being the woman she was, didn’t let this go on too long.  She put a stop to it and we all dispersed from the kitchen.  But to this day it is one of my funniest memories of being at their house.

I hope to never forget it.

________

The cheer arm movements of swirling the arms around in front of one’s chest he did are just like the ones in this short SNL video clip.  Just to give you a visual (I’ve shortened the clips so it’s only at most a minute long).

My grandfather was raised on the King Ranch.

My dad has a Ford F-150 with King Ranch interior.