L month has been a challenge, but we still managed to do, see or read things which we would never have done if not for the ABC Life.

2 points – Movie Theme: Loneliness

Laura: Everyone longs for meaningful connections with others and when that is denied, loneliness is often a constant companion. In the movie Dear Frankie, we meet two lonely characters: Lizzie and her deaf, nine-year-old son Frankie. Moving from one city in Scotland to another, Lizzie rarely finds time to make friends, while her son’s loneliness mainly stems from a longing for his absentee dad, who he believes to be away at sea. Frankie’s only relationship with his father is through an exchange of letters, which he cherishes. However, it is really Lizzie who is sending the letters, and when this charade is threatened to be revealed, Lizzie must find a stranger to impersonate the dad. The movie moves slowly but its strength was in the acting. The main characters all could say so much with just a look or a gesture – and that kept my interest and earned my admiration. The movie lingered in my mind for days after and led me to realize that my opinion on movies can fluctuate, often settling in on a more favorable note than I had first thought.

2 points – New Author

Barbara: for my new L author I picked up a book from my bookshelf entitled Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren. Although this is the type of book I almost never read – it’s a light love story where you know every single thing that’s going to happen as you’re reading it plus it is the antithesis of a book club book – since I’ve been reading books for four separate book clubs, I sometimes need a break from heavy discussable books and just want something that I can read without hardly thinking. Surprisingly this one wasn’t bad, and I was able to read it in two days. Not exactly a recommend, but not a full out pan.

2 points – Movie

Barbara – This isn’t quite an “L” theme but it is the movie Laura was named after so I just had to watch it.  I never had seen the classic movie Laura nor had I read the book it is based upon but any time I hear the song it automatically makes me think of it and wonder why not. So, I decided to correct that omission. I found the movie quite charming. Dana Andrews as the detective reminded me of Columbo with his seemingly innocent questions. I was very nostalgic seeing the Good Humor truck and watching him play with the little game where you tilt something and try to get the little metal balls into the holes (I’m definitely aging myself). The character of Waldo was a hoot and his delivery impeccable. My favorite line in the movie was when he told the detective that he tries to be the kindest, most sympathetic person in the world and, asked if he was successful, answers “I should be sincerely sorry to see my neighbor’s children devoured by wolves.” The music was super dramatic and made me think they had just come out of silent movies where the music had to convey all the emotions, but it made me laugh. All in all, I was very glad to have seen my sister’s namesake movie.

2 points – New city Guess what? “L” has soul! And we found it in the city of Lancaster. In between patches of rain, we managed to make it to Lancaster dry and hungry. Smack in the center of their historic town square, we found Casserole Soul Café. We knew we were in the right place when we came in and saw this sign:

We ordered two small plates to share (thinking we were being very responsible with small), but when they came, boy were we surprised. The portions were enormous! We asked the very sweet waitress how she managed to stay so skinny and she said she was only there two weeks. We told her we’d check back in a year and bet she’d be much heavier. The food was absolutely delicious so how could we resist their fried chicken tenders, fresh corn bread and the numerous sides of mac and cheese, candied yams, beef enchilada casserole and broccoli and rice casserole (they generously allow their casseroles to be portioned into a side dish). We could have been sent home in a wheelbarrow!

But wait! There’s more. We visited a charming little shop called The Tattered Jacket Bookstore. After hearing the history of how this bookstore had been converted from its origins as a barber shop, we turned our attention to how creative the owner was in placing adorable props on top of books. Barbara decided she would definitely start searching for her own Humpty Dumpty bookshelf figures. And for our last stop in Lancaster, we decided to see what Lovin Spoonful Bakery was all about  – and how could we not sample their cookies? This was also a charming place and their door mask warning cracked us up.

All in all, it was a lip-smacking and literary day – and a lovely way to take our leave of “L” month.