Visit with Ron on 1/28

So...

Kristi and I came over the the hospital around 5:30 and dad was alone and sitting up in his chair when we arrived. Upon walking in, he threw up his hands and made a face as if to say, "Well, finally! There you are... where the hell you been?!?!?!" He was also mouthing some words which I could not make out but his expression was one of exasperation and annoyance. I started to ask him what was up and whether he needed a nurse or needed something/someone. He motioned that he wanted to use the pen-board, which was a great sign, so Kristi and I assisted in getting the pen set up right and went about trying to decipher his writing. Although it took a number of trials of him writing words and us confirming them, then erasing his scribble and writing out what he had wrote clearly, we ended up with the phrase, "my sisters pich meup" (i.e. "My sisters pick me up").
When we finally got it, we looked at him to confirm, "Dad?... are you trying to write 'my sisters pick me up'?" He nodded very strongly and made the hand motion of "you get me out of here"... pointing to the door repeatedly and tapping the pen board. Kristi and I looked at each other in silence b/c we weren't sure how to react to this. Frankly, I was a bit freaked out at first... like, "Holy shit, is he actually under the impression that he's supposed to be getting out of here today?"... Anyways, I spoke up, "Dad... you think that your sisters are supposed to pick you up today? (he emphatically nods yes)... Did someone from the hospital tell you that you were supposed to be leaving today or being picked up? (he nods no)... OK... so, basically, you just really want your sisters to get pick you up and get you the hell out of here? (he nods yes again with a sigh)... (of course, Kristi starts to break down after she hears this and cries and says, "Sorry buddy... we can't get you outta here yet but we're really working on it")
I told him that this was not going to be the case and he did his, "head turning to the side, and eyes periodically closing" thing (exasperated and frustrated looks). I went into the timeline of his recovery- about how the doctors told him the other day how his recovery was slow at first but was getting better and better- but how also that it would get harder and harder to do the rehab. Once his pneumonia is kicked they'll move him to the other floor and they'll begin the physical rehab a lot... and how also they're going to downgrade his traech to a smaller size and possibly very soon insert a traech that will allow air flow through his mouth so that he can start to talk and begin speech therapy. He seemed to feel a bit better about this and we sorta cheered him up by cleaning his nails and clipping them and telling him about some movies that were coming out.
After we established that he "knew" that he was not supposed to leave that day, he kept pointing to the board and pointing to the door, so I asked, "well, do you want me to call one of your sisters", which he emphatically said yes to, so I called Cath and she sorta walked him off the ledge for a couple minutes. It seemed to make him feel better, but he still sorta looked like he actually THOUGHT that he was supposed to leave that day... I still feel as though he must have had a dream or something because he was totally looking like he knew he should leave that day.

Anyways, we stayed around for an hour or two and then took off. It was, however, the single most fucked-up ordeal of this whole experience for me... I can't even describe it. It really did destroy me for a number of hours and I left completely deflated and depressed... It's completely unconscionable that I actually thought that he was losing it for a second... maybe he was completely confused... I don't know. But his face when I told him that his sisters were not going to break him outta there today completely annihilated me.

Anyways, I just had to share that with everyone. Definately not trying to depress anyone, or anything, but just make sure that you emphasize how he keeps getting better and that he doesn't really have that much more time (comparatively) to go through this stuff. I don't know where he got that idea from, but it must have come from somewhere.

Love you all-

Pat

NACHITO HERRERA!!! MUY CALIENTE!!!

Henry Plainview (Pt. IV)

The sound that DDL emits after seeing the picture of his real brother (or is it him?) in his journal can ony be described as tortured and inhuman. He sounds more like a moaning dog, which is possibly why the image coupled with the sound is so devistating. Before the scene where he sends H.W. away (where, if you look closely, you can see him starting to cry), one can not conceive of Daniel Plainview feeling much emotion at all...

The fire-side scene where he sheds tears over the childhood picture is agonizing and startling... DDL ceases to exist as a human/actor in the natural world and only exists in the camera film and through Jonny Greenwood's "Henry Plainview". The crescendo of the violins at minute marker 1:45 of the song ushers in DDL's harrowing sobs of despair and sadness... he is utterly alone in the world... he has no blood family members left to speak of... he has been tricked into a false sense of renewal of his own life by the thiefing and lying of 'Henry' ("having you here gives me a second breath... I can't keep doing this on my own").

The only aspect of his life that is fully intact and unscathed is his greed and lust for Oil and isolation...

My Sister Caitlin is #1!!!!

My sister, Caitlin, is totally amazing! She just got accepted into some majorly prestigious graduate programs at none other than Harvard, Vanderbuilt, Yale and Princeton...

What's that??? A full ride to Harvard with an phat-ass annuity as well??? Yeah... that's basically it. Caitlin is an amazing individual in my life and a wonderful companion and confidante... I'm so very proud of all of her accomplishments- the least of which is that she managed to stay delightful and engaging after all the long hours of studying that she did (read= she's really smart and hard working, but NOT a square).

I'm really looking forward to the time that Al, Linnea, D, E, and Caitlin can let me babysit their children... that'll be fun. Hopefully we're still cool when we're older...

Henry Plainview (Pt. III)

Possibly the most astounding performance in an interconnected series of scenes that I have ever witnessed in the history of motion pictures occurs during the 'swimming-in-ocean->girls-in-bar->campfire-confrontation' scenes late in TWBB.
(SPOILER ALERT)
At this point in the film, DDL has "abandoned" his son, met with the Standard Oil representatives and rebuked their offer with a threat ("One day I'm going to come to you in your home, wherever you're sleeping, and I'm going to cut your throat"). The trio of scenes which display DDL's true magnificence begins when DDL and Henry are swimming in the ocean after meeting with Union Oil. The intrinsic differences between the two are quite evident, even down to their reaction after jumping into the cold water (Daniel remains completely quiet and wades in the water whereas Henry starts yelping and splashes around).
When DDL's quip that the two should, "Get 'em (some women) liquored-up and take 'em to the Peach-Tree Dance," goes unaddressed by Henry, and Henry lays his head in his lap (depression? or just another detail displaying his differing personality), PTA zooms in on DDL's expression...

This is when DDL realizes that he is ultimately alone in the world and that Henry is probably not his brother... his face cycles through 7-8 emotions before PTA cuts to the last two that Daniel will ever feel for Henry- disdain and suspicion...

Henry Plainview (Pt. II)

TWBB opens with "Henry Plainview". The mood that PTA creates in this opening- playing "H.P." against the visual of a desolate, unforgiving mountainous backdrop leading into a claustrophobic silver mining hole- is truly one of pure terror and isolation. When I first saw this unforgettable opening, I recall turning to my brother (Al) and giving him a nervous look which suggested, "Oh, heavens... what the hell have we just gotten ourselves into?" It is truly one of the most nerve-racking, anxiety-filled openers in cinematic history and only prefaces the mad and tragic events that will unfold in the next 2+ hours.

Jonny Greenwood's "Henry Plainview" (Pt. 1)

Radiohead guitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood wrote the score for There Will Be Blood. His eery, beautiful and unsettling work rivals some of the greatest film scores of it's kind from such greats as Bernard Hermann, Danny Elfman, Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, and James Newton Howard.

One song in particular, "Henry Plainview", splendidly mirrors the distrust, psychosis and tragically isolated nature of Daniel Plainview's soul. It is a piece that I will never be able to listen to again without thinking of the dangerously devastating performance that DDL gives while the song is playing.

(MORE TO COME)