Author: Matthew Groff

  • Hurting the Toy’s Feelings

    Yesterday, on the way home from picking my kid up from school, she told me that she wanted to update her room. The issue, from her perspective, was that her room looked to “little kid,” and she wanted her room to look “older.”

    I did let her know that I understood that she was getting older, and her room needed to reflect that. Unfortunately, if she was looking for us to buy her a new bedroom set, that wasn’t happening anytime soon, but I would be willing to help her clean and reorganize her room to reflect what she was desiring it to look like.

    That was acceptable to her, and we started working on it as soon as she was done with her homework.

    To be honest, we were just shuffling stuff around – putting that under her bed, putting this on her shelf. Occasionally, she’d throw something away, but it was rare. I found so many candy wrappers. Clearly, she been squirreling away a large amount of candy.

    The biggest shock of the afternoon was that she wanted to box up her dolls, doll clothes and accessories, and put them away, up on the shelf. I knew this day was coming, but I didn’t think it would be today. At some point we all put our toys down, not to pick them up again with the intention of playing with them. I don’t know when it happened to me, but I know that by the time I was in junior high, it was sports and video games – no pretending with toys anymore.

    But the kid did ask me if this was going to hurt the dolls feelings, that she was putting them away up on the shelf. I was like, no, they’re always here when you need them.

  • Things Happened on This Day

    As someone pointed out to me this morning, it was four years ago today that COVID was declared a National Emergency. You know, “The Day the World Changed.”

    Not to be glib about it, but I have now lived through three “Day the World Changed” moments. First was 9/11, then Trump’s Election, and COVID.

    I bet if you ask other people, they’ll add to, or take away from my list, but suffice to say, it’s been a lot to take for the past twenty years.

    Personally, I have to add the day I got married, and the day my kid was born to “World Changing” list.

    Again; lot’s has happened in twenty years.

  • Can’t Deny It

    I’m a 90’s kid at heart.

    And 1996 was a good year for music, too.

  • So, That Was the Oscars

    I’m a sucker for the Oscars. Not award shows, just the Oscars. As a theatre guys, I don’t much care for the Tony’s. But if it’s the Oscars, I will be there for all their hokieness, and over the top showmanship, and fake glamor. Because at the end of the day, the Oscars are nothing more than a room full of very successful and rich people giving each other gold trophies and saying, “You did very good last year!”

    For about five or six years in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, I was seeing every movie that was nominated for all the major categories. It was when I was living my poorest life, but I always found a way to scrape the money together and get to the movies. Living outside of Dallas also afforded me a couple of arthouse movie theatres, so I was able to take in international movies, independent stuff, as well as midnight and cult films. I was also lucky enough to have a solid group of friends that was committed to seeing these movies. We debated endlessly about what were the best films of each year, and we were a very film literate group, most of us worked in video stores, so we did know what we were talking about.

    But when you constantly see good and great movies, you start to understand that the Oscars truly don’t award the best movies of the year. It’s a popularity contest. Sometimes it’s a fun popularity contest, but it always is, and forever shall be, about who is the most popular.

    It’s probably been 12 years since the last time I saw all the movies that were nominated for best picture, and that was due to my wife gifting me tickets to a two-day marathon at a theatre in Manhattan that showed all the nominated movies. (And that was the best experience, because it was nothing but great movies. But don’t forget your tissues.) But I still get a welcome level of enjoyment from the Oscars. Movies are wonderful make-believe and brilliant storytelling when in the right hands. It does feel that good movies are on the rise against, and the ‘splosion fests are on the wane. I’ll catch most of the best pictures streaming on this or that platform, which is fine. Though, to be in a movie theatre with an audience enthralled by a movie is a bit like a religious experience; one that I do miss.

  • ODDS and ENDS: The MET, Spring, and Knit Blazers

    (4 out of 5 dentist recommend…)

    The kid is on Spring Break, which translates into Dad needs to keep the kid occupied. That’s not a complaint, I do enjoy the time we get to spend together. And when she has extended breaks, I make a point of taking her to a museum. This time it was The MET’s turn. I have been there at least half a dozen times in 15 years, and if you’ve been then you know it’s too big to cover in one day. Though me and the kid do try to see it all. I hope these excursions help broaden her perspective and understanding of the world. When my dad took me to museums when I was her age, they really did feel like a treat, and a chance to experience, or at least see, the world outside of our suburban surroundings. It had an impact on me.

    I know Spring is on its way, and right on cue, and I’m ready for it. The first set of flowers are popping out, as are the buds on the trees. I’m looking forward to ditching my winter coat, and opening up the windows. And the old men pot smokers have returned to the park benches. The cycle continues.

    So, my new fashion obsession is the “knit blazer.” I have no logical reason to obtain a knit blazer, as I rarely have any formal occasions in my life these days; even casual formal occasions like going to work. But I can’t shake this image of myself as a casual formally dressed middle aged man who is about town. Maybe the marketing has worked on me, or maybe I really do need to wear a blazer while I do laundry and make dinner.