What do those two expression conjure up in your mind? Well if you are in my age category, these phrases have been used for years to denote a deadline that is rapidly approaching, the sense of urgency needed to complete a task.
This is a two-part blog: First of all let’s explore the origin of these expressions.
Down to the Wire
There is a wire strung above the Finish Line on race track so that a camera set above the wire can photograph the contestants as they cross. Most often used in reference to horse racing where two horses may cross almost simultaneously. The camera captures the image of one horse winning by a nose. The metaphor has extended to other races such as political elections where the candidate can win by a nose, get nosed out and finish out of the money.
Back Up Against the Wall
I was surprised when I did the research about the origins of this phrase. I stated that it had more to do with a deadline when actually it’s more like making a last-ditch effort (before the deadline?) to win/complete because retreat is unavoidable. It literally means when your back is up against the wall you have no choice but to persevere because you have backed up as far as you can, and are now against the wall with the enemy advancing.
So what is part two and how are they related? It’s now Thursday at 4:00pm and the Easter hat has yet to be made!!! YIKES! Time is running out like a pin hole in a water bottle – NO, actually I think I am now in the pin-hole-in-a-balloon stage and it’s about to whiz right past me.
I’ve made several Easter bonnets over the years, sometimes re-working a previous hat into a new creation, sometimes inspired to start from scratch. So what’s happened to me this year? I believe these are the inside/outside forces that are counter-attacking my creative efforts; I’ve been slightly down and out, mildly depressed for the last couple of months (don’t ask, there are so many reasons and none to be aired in the blog) and BECAUSE of that I, as has been my life-long nemesis – Eat. It has been a sugary binge of cookies, cheesecake, and ice cream, preceded by two of my favorite food groups, peanut butter and bread. Ok, we should probably also throw in the pasta, cheese and nuts into the mix. This all adds up to an extra 10 lbs so I’m not feeling like I want to dress up (probably won’t fit anyway) for the Parade and so who needs a hat?
Additionally I’m annoyed at my daughter because she can’t find the flower ring I made for Finley last year. I planned on re-doing it with pink roses. Now I have to return the roses and I guess Finley won’t have an Easter bonnet. But as my husband reminded me, what’s important to me is not necessarily important to my daughter.
Lastly, we have the inevitable holiday celebration/dilemma/debacle that hounds most non-intact (read divorced) families. I understand that she is in the middle so to speak, so instead of Peter and I and Chiara and family strolling along the Avenue, a rather unwieldy number of participants will be converging for Brunch, Parade and supper – that’s not exactly what I want to do. Besides, we’ve now been invited to join a fun group that takes dressing-up in period clothes very seriously for a drink at The University Club and also meet up with them at a predesignated spot where a mutual friend and superb band leader, Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra is going to perform on Fifth Avenue. So I think we’ll go to the Parade with my son, maybe meet up with the family gang on Fifth Avenue but if not, we’ll see them all later for a light supper. BUT of course, I MUST stop typing and go create the hat 😦
Finley and Gigi on the Avenue 2011
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Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
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UNA NOCHE – It’s Only 90 Miles
Posted in From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, New York Speaks, Only in New York, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Cuba, Elio, Film festival, Miami, New York, Raul, Tribeca Film Festival, United States on April 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »
FREEDOM!!!
That’s what they say…. it’s only 90 miles away! FREEDOM seems so close yet it is another world and century away. I had the great joy of viewing UNA NOCHE at the Tribeca Film Festival last week.
UNA NOCHE takes us to Havana Cuba where we get an intimate glimpse into the lives of three young adults. They are poor, discouraged, desperate and oppressed. Their lives are minimal, sometimes miserable and they reveal life in Castro’s Communist Cuba, sometimes not so bad and sometimes very.
It’s the story of three teenagers who try to escape their island home and life of poverty. Actually, only one of the three yearns for freedom from oppression and he longs to reunite with his father, who left years ago and has never been heard from again. It’s Raul’s fantasy that’s the impetus of the expedition. He can’t do this on his own, so he entices Elio, his friend and obsessed admirer to take on the task of building the raft. And then there’s the very pretty Lila; She is deeply attached to her brother Elio, her own savior in a chaotic household. Her teenage angst is fueled by the scorn some cliquey classmates and the knowledge that her father is cheating on her mother.
Overall the snapshot of life in Cuba that we see, is quite dismal. The fact that it is a police state is quite evident and the dark side of Socialism, the black market flourishes. As one line in the movie states, “Nothing is for sale in Cuba and you can buy anything….”
The movie is a powerful 86 minute drama and I don’t want to be a spoiler. The film and its actors won awards at the Film Festival– well deserved!
However, it was the disappearance of the two twenty-year old actors, Javier Nunez Florian and Anailin de la Rua de la Torre, a real life couple who portray the brother and sister in the movie, that has gotten more press than the film itself. The three actors were invited to attend the Tribeca Film Festival. When their plane landed in Miami for a layover before flying to New York, the two disappeared. When the plane landed at JFK airport, it was discovered that their luggage was empty, implying this was a pre-meditated plan. Indeed it was, as now 10 days later, the two have surfaced in Miami and announced their intention to defect and have hired a lawyer to assist in their claim for asylum.
I wish them the best and hope they are successful in their desire to remain in America. I’ve been to Cuba and although life as depicted in the film is somewhat exaggerated for effect, and I understand that although things are loosening up since Fidel stepped down, it’s still basically a repressed society.
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