Long Trailer Musings

This isn't going to be a movie review or anything...just some thoughts relating to one of my favorite movies.

This past weekend, my family and I had the joy of going camping in a gorgeous area, ending with a drive up to Mt. Hood. I had never been there in the summertime, and the scenery was breathtaking!

However, we had to wind around some steep cliffs a few times...with me on the "view" side. Having seen The Long, Long Trailer...oh, about 75 times...you can imagine the scene that popped into my mind. To steady my nerves, I started talking about the movie to my husband, quoting line after line. He's seen it a few times too (but not 75) so he knew what I was talking about.

"This reminds me of the scene where they're pulling the trailer up the steep cliff, remember? They are both petrified, but trying to talk about something-anything- to keep their minds off of it.
Desi's character, Nicky, says, 'What's that book you're reading?'
Lucy's character (Stacie) informs him that she quit reading it when she realized that they had seen the movie.
'They didn't make a movie out of that, did they?' he asks, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
'Well, they didn't call it that...' she says, slowly.... her eyes nervously glazed, looking out the window.
Then she describes the movie that they saw ...
'and then she threw the drink in his face, see, and..." her mounting fear increases so much that she drops her sentence in mid-air.
Nicky pipes in, sort of to her rescue, 'Was that the one where...' "

OK, here I don't have the complete quote memorized, so I improvise a bit, as I also look nervously down the cliff...
" 'Was that the one where the woman didn't know she had a brother who wanted to marry the other woman?'
'Yes. But then the woman went back to the party...'
'Which woman?'
'The other woman.' Lucy's glazed eyes turn to sheer terror as she glances down below the side of the car into the canyon below, and adds frantically, 'Not the one who didn't know the brother!'
'You mean the one who knew the brother?!!!" he yells in return."

I start go giggle as I finish trying to quote this whole favorite scene of mine. Hubby is concentrating on driving along our own little cliffs, but I glance over to see a humorous smile playing on his lips.
My seven year old, who was listening to the whole thing, asks me about five minutes later..."So, what's that book you're reading, Mommy?"

She's such a card.

Oh...and one more reference to this movie took place.

Last week, my seven year old spotted a long trailer and pointed it out to me. (Can you guess she also likes this movie? Like mother, like daughter!)

"Can we get one like that someday?" she askes.
"No, that would cost way too much money," I answer. "Much more than the trailer cost in the old movie."
"How much did the trailer cost in the movie?" she asks.
I'm trying to think, when hubby suddenly answers, "$8,000."
"Wow, I'm impressed- you remembered how much it cost!" I exclaim.
So this week, my girls and I were driving to an errand, and I reminded them that it was the anniversary of the day Daddy and I had met. (We celebrate that!)
I added, in an excited voice for drama, "I wonder if he'll remember!"
My little girl thought for a moment. "I don't know if he will, Mommy. But he sure remembers the price of that trailer!"

But...to place the proper ending on this story, he did actually remember, surpising me with roses that night.

I guess I can relate to the couple that Lucy and Desi portrayed, who squabbled a bit now and then as they traveled through the curves and mountains of life, but who loved each other passionately. And, of course, see some wonderful beauty along the way.