Gratitude Practice 2020 Day 148: Doris Day Movies

Doris Day dazzled the big screen consistently from 1948 to 1968 and is somehow burned deep into my memory and my subconscious. Her movies were a constant fixture in my childhood which upon greater thought both makes no sense and at the same time makes all of the sense in the world. I think I’ve watched every film she has made a few times and I just love them. Her career really hit its stride in the late 60s and early 70s and all include her singing a fun, catchy, flowery, zippy song that basically outlines the scope of the film. Most of her pictures have a similar and predictable plot line but are somehow still completely enjoyable. She normally plays a successful sophisticated single working girl...a secretary, an account executive or an interior designer...living alone in the big city...who just keeps finding herself mixed up into one “zany” adventure after another and always ends up falling for the tall, dark and handsome. High fashion, perfect movie star hair and make-up, lots of sparkly jewelry and dewy blue eyes that twinkle and shine in every single shot. Many of her films include a handful of carefully placed voice overs that serve as a gentle yet kinda creepy narrator ensuring the audience really understands what is going on...you know, really helping to drive the point home. She frequently played opposite Rock Hudson or Tony Randal or Cary Grant and each time she fell madly, deeply and hopelessly in love. And if you're lucky...she’ll sing...spontaneously with lots of emotion and feeling...or...she’ll end up in some kind of physical mishap...pudding landing on her hair, falls into a murky pond, slips into a large tub of bubbles...you know just normal "zaney stuff that us ladies always seem to encounter...and if you’re really lucky you will get both the mid-movie power ballad AND the physical comedy. All of this...Doris Day magic.... P R I C E L E S S!

With so much heavy (and rightfully so) in the world sometimes the only answer is to switch gears completely and enjoy a big bowl of delicious intellectual Doritos ala Doris Day movies. Nothing of substance and exactly what I needed. God bless and endlessly grateful for the ever talented...Doris Day.