We are clearly in a golden era, or year, of cinema. We saw Slumdog Millionaire yesterday and were stunned. My emotions kept turning left and right, brightly happy, horribly sad, my eyes alternatively closing and opening wide, from laughter to tears. A wonderful film. As are many, many this year. Doubt, Gran Torino, Benj. Button, Frost/Nixonand Milkare all astonishing movies with extraordinary acting by many.
Today, I called Mastercard with a dispute on our charges. A man with an obvious Indian accent greeted me politely. After resolving the issue I asked where he was. “Mumbai, Sir.” I asked if he had seen Slumdog; he had. And, I wondered, is the movie accurate? “Well, Sir, it is a slice of our life, not all of it. And the young man made some money and got the girl.” Is your call center like the one in the movie? “Yes, quite similar.” I asked if he could convert the winnings by Jamal into dollars. He gave me an answer I could not quite understand. We said a warm goodbye. The MSN currency converter gave me a figure of $411, 658. According to the Stanford University site the average yearly Indian income is $500.
Pam and I were on our second appetizer and second drink when Mac and Jane sat next to us at the bar. We were all out to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The four of us, having never met before, pretty quickly began a lively conversation. Topics ranged from living where Pam and I do, in a gated/golf course community vs. living downtown; wondering where the Black middle class live in Wilmington; Mac’s experience with throat cancer and Pam’s oncology nursing experiences. We were really getting along and both Pam and I were thinking we were about to make new friends. “What did you do for a living, Rick.” Jane asked? I was on Wall Street. Bam! Mac and Jane looked down at their drinks and conversation took a pregnant pause. Suddenly, the air left the room. Well, I suggested gaily, that was fun! We all kind of chuckled but, later, Pam and I talked about another way of telling people how I had made a living. Clearly, Wall Street is verboten.
