Sun Outside Santa Fe

I made this photograph in October 2019, just a few months before COVID shut down planet Earth. But don’t worry, this isn’t a post about that horrid virus. No, I’m sharing this image because it reminded me of my first trip to Santa Fe, which reminded me of the amazing culture and landscape present in New Mexico, which reminded me of my friends Sarah and Mike you fought like hell to craft a meaningful life together and seem to have finally landed on it when they moved west after years of making the East Coast their home. That reminded me of the amazing handmade ceramic bowls I received from Sarah today, which got me thinking about the cereal I had for dinner in those beautiful earthen bowls, and then I couldn’t stop thinking about Mare Winningham.

You probably don’t remember Mare Winningham, except that if you’re a Gen X’er, you likely know here. She was often in films with the Brat Pack of the 80’s - Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Emiio Estevez, etc, etc. Mare usually played the kind, quiet, smart girl who gave support to all the beautiful Brat Packers who’s lives were inevitably a mess in each movie role they performed.

As I sat in my small house in Alabama and I prepped coursework for my small classes tomorrow while eating my cereal in the bowl made by my friend Sarah who lives in the incredible town of Santa Fe, I was reminded of perhaps my favorite movie line ever. It was spoken by Wendy, who was portrayed by Mare Winningham in the 1980’s Joel Shumacher hit film St. Elmo’s Fire.

After finally establishing boundaries that were necessary but painful to construct, she moves into her own apartment and in a poignant scene towards the end of the film states to Billy (played by Rob Lowe):

“Yea… ya wanna know what’s great? Last night I woke up in the middle of the night to make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… and ya know, it was my kitchen, it was my refrigerator, it was my apartment… and it was the BEST peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I have had in my entire life.”

What’s the point of all this?

Somewhere in life we’ve all been Wendy and we’ve all been Billy. Yadda yadda yadda yadda (thank you Seinfeld). And somewhere in life we make our own peanut butter and jelly sandwich.