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PSNH still sucks. I vow to not let this theme die even though my power has been restored. I do know that as of Christmas Eve there were still some 2-3 thousand customers in the Peterborough area that were still without power. I can only imagine what they were feeling, and how difficult PSNH made things for them by not providing them with any status information or updates as to what was being done to restore their electricity. I did hear that there would be an investigation into their “communications practices”, but I don’t expect much to come from it. Who knows though – this was a cluster-f*ck of biblical proportions, and I imagine that someone’s head needs to be on the block for this. Let’s start with the exulted “Project Managers” who didn’t bother to tell anyone who was answering the phone Jack-shit about what was going on. Interesting postscript to this saga. In the almost 2 weeks (now) since my power was restored, I’ve had umpteen calls from PSNH asking if I had electricity. From time-to-time they’ll just leave a message to that effect on the machine. Don’t know if my constant verbal and blogging tirades gave me any prominence, but I’m egotistical enough to hope that’s the case! So, just to make sure the searching engines are primed appropriately… “PSNH Sucks” “PSNH Incompetence” “PSNH Incompetent” “I Hate PSNH”
I wanted to take a few moments to talk about some of the great Christmas movies we’ve watched over the last couple of days.
Holiday Affair – Staring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh. A drifter/would-be shipbuilder charms a widow and her precocious son around the Holidays in New York City. A contrived meeting – he’s temporarily employed as a toy salesman and she’s a comparison shopper who ultimately gets him fired – lead to her dumping her long-suffering fiance to follow Mitchum and his dreams to California. Short, but a ton of fun and Mitchum really carries the day here. Lighter fair, but one of my favorite Holiday romances.
Silver Bells – Starting Tate Donovan and Anne Heche. Centers around a widower with two children who owns a Christmas tree farm. Every year he treks to NY City to sale the trees. Heche plays a widow who has pretty much given up on Christmas. The older son wants to be a photographer, which puts him at odds with his father. In a fit of pique, the son runs away, and lives on the street for the following year. Heche’s character takes care of him from time to time, allowing him to study for his GDE in the building in which she works. Ultimately, father and son are reconciled, and Donovan/Heche hook up as well. The title centers around a contest that the paper is running where people are asked to identify a photograph of “Silver Bells”. The photo is, of course, taken by the son. A pretty predictable movie, but a lot of fun, and Heche actually looks attractive.
The Bishop’s Wife – Starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. Grant is fabulous as Dudley, an angel sent to assist David Niven’s hapless Bishop who’s busy blowing things with his family, including wife Young as he pursuits the ultimate vanity construction project, a new church. Dudley falls helplessly in love with Young, but knows it cannot be. Meanwhile, he helps show Niven what is ultimately important in life – namely appreciating the things you have and loving your family and friends – the true meaning of Christmas. Incredible performances all around here. Remade in the ’90’s as “The Preacher’s Wife” with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington. Often overlooked in the Cary Grant oeuvre, I think it’s one of his finest roles. It’s my wife Elisa’s favorite Christmas movie – we watch it every year on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
RJ's Musings 