Sunday, July 1, 2012

What Nora Ephron Taught Me



Often I tend to dwell on celebrity passings.  When Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston died, I could not stop listening to their tracks for a week.  As the awkward pre-teen that I was, my eyes were glued to the cable news stations when JFK, Jr.'s plane went missing.  All of those people ,and others who have had untimely deaths, not only left behind their trademark talents but usually the very image of them is somewhat iconic to their generation and time.

For me, hearing the news about Nora Ephron was just as devastating, if not more, as any other major figure.  She made her mark in more untraditional ways:  through her words and other people speaking them.  Her films have become, for me, an imperfect solace from the idyllic lives we often see strived for in those around us.  I enjoy that the part of "dream guy" is often an arrogant, yet bumbling, businessman who cannot figure out the right thing to say at any time, let alone the right time.  It's refreshing to see that any real heroine does not settle for marriage, but instead for the one that's right for her.  What's most triumphant to watch though is that people pick themselves back up.  They have to go through the motions of meeting a whole slew of people who are incompatible.  Dreams fade away, hopes dash off, and life becomes discouraging.  They move on though.

Yes, the ending is fairly stereotypical in many ways.  Yet wholly unpredictable in the little details, which is what really counts in any love story.  Well that, and the fact that you can laugh, which is another attribute that is never lost in any Nora Ephron film.

So in this day and age of the Christian Grey-esque Prince Charming, I will always step aside.  The man of my dreams will without a doubt never know how to correctly approach me in a coffee shop, but will take a couple of kids out for a day of fun while acting like one too.  Of course he would love to sing karaoke in the middle of an electronic store, but perhaps speak too much of what's on his mind.  That's all fine too, because he will have to deal with me occasionally making a scene in public, and perhaps fighting battles that are too big.  Always but always though I'll remember to do so while acting the part of wildly innocent.

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."--Nora Ephron

{Image via The New York Times}

1 comment:

  1. Well said. The loss of Nora Ephron, is truly a loss, much like losing Erma Bombeck. They had a way of taking the everyday monotny of life and making us see the humor in all of it. "I'll have what she's having"....who could ever forget that? ;)

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