Trixie is cringing. Because of the title…she knows what’s coming…anyway…
If you’re normal, like me, when you hear “Mississppi”, you think, “Rocket Scientists, for sure”.
So, as soon as I crossed the Louisiana border back into The ‘Sip, I went straight to The NASA Infinity Space Center (pic related)
I’m just kidding. I had to pee and this NASA Space Center is part of the Rest Area.
They say you can put the rocket scientist into Mississippi, but you can’t take the Mississippi out of the rocket science. They have a remote submersible that they named “Rufus”…and they even misspelled his name (pic related)
They have a boat used for military infiltration by elite SEAL teams painted in woodland camouflage like they are on a coon hunt (pic related)
I tease Mississippi because I’m bored. I’m on the Gulf coast and it is raining (pic related).
But the truth is, I love the rain. I also love the fog, the snow and twilight – any period of limited visibilty, really. It quiets my mind and the world – gives it that “kind of hush” Herman and his Hermits sang about. I also love the ocean for its power and enormity. And, when rain meets the ocean – it is nature meets nature – so meta.
A chilly, autumn rain is the most romantic setting. It helps you to appreciate warmth and makes you focus on beauty that is close at hand. For a moment you have to take your eyes off the horizon and look at what is here.
One of my favorite memories is standing with Trixie in a shelter on a hiking trail in Shenandoah. The world was subdued and gray. The air was cold and wet. Her hand was warm and dry. And we stood there until the end of time just appreciating the solace.
So, here I am again. Cold autumn rain. No Trixie to reach to anywhere but in my thoughts.
Eventually my thoughts drifted to another of my favorite memories. Most of you know this story – I like to tell it every couple of years lest I be doomed to forget. But, this time I’ve brought visual aids.
Early in our relationship, we were still getting to know one another, she told me that when she graduated high school she moved to Ft Lauderdale. While sharing her memories she mentioned that she might have been in a movie once when she was 18. She was at the beach when a film crew showed up to shoot a scene and they needed extras. If they were interested, they were to dance a Conga while the female lead sang a song entitled, “We Go to the Beach Because It’s Fun”. And it is.
She didn’t know the name of the movie or if was even released. It was just an anecdote told in passing. No big deal.
It became my life’s mission to find that movie (aaaand…pic related)
The beach extras were given two instructions:
- Have fun!
- Don’t look at the camera.
Yes, she is in it for a quarter of a second. Yes, she has fun. And yes, she never takes her eyes off the camera. The movie is rated R. But wait! It gets so much better!
First, let’s watch. She is in the shot at about the :17 second mark. She is not in the rest of the scene.
Ok, so there was that. After they shot this scene, the film crew packed up and left.
The rest of the movie was filmed in L.A. I have no idea why.
And, it (the movie) is awful. Truly. The acting, the editing, the writing…awful. Unwatchable on all levels. The only reason to see anymore after Trixie’s big scene is because of…The cameo.
Let me set it up. Our young hero is in search of his dream girl (ha! Should have stayed in Lauderdale). He is about to make it with a hot young prospect but needs a bottle of Dom Perignon to get her to come across (this was before date-rape and “alcohol=no consent” was a thing). The only bottle in town is held by a drunk in an alley…let’s watch…
Did you see that thug on the motorcycle!?
That was Ron F.N. Jeremy! The Hedgehog himself! Greatest artist of his kind! The hardest working man in show biz!
So, now when you hear me talk about the time Trixie made a movie with Ron Jeremy when she was 18, you will know I did not make it up.