A Simply Amazing Night

A couple of weeks ago, we found out that our kids' school was going to put on a movie "under the stars" on the evening of 12DEC. Parents were encouraged to come, bring a pizza and a bottle of wine and enjoy a Christmas movie just after sunset on the "oval"...the ball field next to the school. As the day drew closer, the weather forecast called for the hottest weather we've seen yet: 100 degrees. Unlike New England meteorologists, these guys seem to get it right most of the time, and they were spot-on yesterday...100 degrees on a cloudless, mostly windless Perth summer day. We spent most of the day at a birthday party for our neighbor Samantha (9), swimming and jumping off the jetty, and "fishing" for anemenmenemenemonies.

As evening approached, the faithful "Fremantle Doctor" (a refreshing sea breeze that blows in most afternoons) cooled things down to about 85 or so, and we packed up our "beach rug" (blanket) and "esky" (cooler) and headed to the oval.

We were the first ones to arrive (one of my many, annoying habits is a pathological need to arrive early for everything), followed shortly by our friends the Duncan's. So we got prime seating, right in front. As the guys were setting up the screen (a blow-up, bounce-housey type contraption) and sound system, they played an old Simon and Garfunkel concert from the 70's and we listened to "Me and Julio" and "The Boxer" float up into the warm evening air....and it occurred to me just how simple and sublime this all was.

Imagine: With "only 12 shopping days left", a couple hundred people, relaxing under a brilliant, starry night, eating pizza, watching a movie together....I must say, even at 85 degrees, yesterday really felt like Christmas.