Weird power, from beyond the grave

(That title should provide some interesting Google hits)
null

Marilyn Monroe is on the cover of the current issue of Poets & Writers, reading Joyce’s Ulysses. (And yes, she really was reading it. This was a candid photo. I know. I assumed it was a prop, too, until I read the editor’s note. Which, you know…doesn’t reflect all that well on me and my assumptions and what I think I know about Marilyn Monroe, but there you have it.)

Thumper has been fixated on the image since it arrived in the mail. He looks at her. He strokes her thigh and says “Tushie.” He tells me, “I want to hug Marin Roe.” And do note the drool on his shirt. That’s not always there. Yeah. What IS it with that woman? She even manages to get to the two-year-olds.

Sorry to be so quiet lately. I’ve gone deep into the novel, revising, revising, revising… It’s going well. Really well. Though worries of “Who the hell do I think I am, telling this story?” have been cropping back up again. I’m plowing ahead, knowing this will pass. And then come up again. And pass again.

Posted in Uncategorized
32 comments on “Weird power, from beyond the grave
  1. Michelle says:

    He is either responding to her icon status or … her. Either way, he’s picking up something in the collective unconscious. That’s so cool!

    Thinking of you through all the revision waves.

  2. Michelle says:

    He is either responding to her icon status or … her. Either way, he’s picking up something in the collective unconscious. That’s so cool!

    Thinking of you through all the revision waves.

  3. Steph VW says:

    She was a force to be reckoned with, wasn’t she?

  4. Steph VW says:

    She was a force to be reckoned with, wasn’t she?

  5. regina says:

    How funny! One of Noah’s birthday presents last month was a poster of Warhol’s Gold Marilyn, which he specifically asked for after seeing the original at MOMA. He just saw “Some Like It Hot” at his dad’s house and is now officially obsessed with MM. Clearly, no man — or toddler — is immune to her charms.

  6. regina says:

    How funny! One of Noah’s birthday presents last month was a poster of Warhol’s Gold Marilyn, which he specifically asked for after seeing the original at MOMA. He just saw “Some Like It Hot” at his dad’s house and is now officially obsessed with MM. Clearly, no man — or toddler — is immune to her charms.

  7. Nobe says:

    No woman, either. I have been doing research on her for an art project I have in mind, so this is not surprising to me. I was gob-smacked by her when I was 9 yrs old and saw “Some Like It Hot” at the drive in movies. She loved children.

  8. Nobe says:

    No woman, either. I have been doing research on her for an art project I have in mind, so this is not surprising to me. I was gob-smacked by her when I was 9 yrs old and saw “Some Like It Hot” at the drive in movies. She loved children.

  9. fillyjonk says:

    “He strokes her thigh and says “Tushie.””

    Oh, that made me LOL sitting here all by myself in my office.

    I actually made a (hand drawn) paper doll dress for one of my paper dolls of her iconic skirt-being-blown-up-by-the-subway when I was 11 or so.

  10. fillyjonk says:

    “He strokes her thigh and says “Tushie.””

    Oh, that made me LOL sitting here all by myself in my office.

    I actually made a (hand drawn) paper doll dress for one of my paper dolls of her iconic skirt-being-blown-up-by-the-subway when I was 11 or so.

  11. Patricia says:

    Awww. You’ve gotta show him a movie, how about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, where she sings and dances? It’ll blow his mind. 🙂

  12. Patricia says:

    Awww. You’ve gotta show him a movie, how about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, where she sings and dances? It’ll blow his mind. 🙂

  13. juno says:

    She had a quality, for sure. And you know, she WAS married to Arthur Miller AND played the best dumb blond in the movies, after Judy Holliday. Which is no easy task to do well.
    Have you ever seen All About Eve? She’s got a small part and the way she sighs about an influential man, why do they always look like rabbits? Before squaring her shoulders and setting out to get what she wants from him. Is really quite good.

  14. juno says:

    She had a quality, for sure. And you know, she WAS married to Arthur Miller AND played the best dumb blond in the movies, after Judy Holliday. Which is no easy task to do well.
    Have you ever seen All About Eve? She’s got a small part and the way she sighs about an influential man, why do they always look like rabbits? Before squaring her shoulders and setting out to get what she wants from him. Is really quite good.

  15. Lizbon says:

    That Thumper is precocious. Tushie, indeed.

  16. Lizbon says:

    That Thumper is precocious. Tushie, indeed.

  17. Cate says:

    I love this.

  18. Cate says:

    I love this.

  19. Mary K. in Rockport says:

    I was just thinking to comment “What IS it about this woman?” when I scrolled along and found you had said the same thing already.

  20. Mary K. in Rockport says:

    I was just thinking to comment “What IS it about this woman?” when I scrolled along and found you had said the same thing already.

  21. beverly says:

    I love that picture of M.M. I once heard a Larry King interview with Betty Davis. He asked her what surprised her about anyone she’d worked with, and she said she was surprised by M.M. Between shots, she’d go off in a corner to read War and Peace.

    Joyce Carol Oates’s Blonde is a fabu book about her…I highly recommend it when you’re ready for something to read (I read less when revising; not sure if it’s the same for you).

  22. beverly says:

    I love that picture of M.M. I once heard a Larry King interview with Betty Davis. He asked her what surprised her about anyone she’d worked with, and she said she was surprised by M.M. Between shots, she’d go off in a corner to read War and Peace.

    Joyce Carol Oates’s Blonde is a fabu book about her…I highly recommend it when you’re ready for something to read (I read less when revising; not sure if it’s the same for you).

  23. Well I’m glad to see that MM has that magnetic quality for Thumper rather than one of today’s celebutants! 🙂

  24. Well I’m glad to see that MM has that magnetic quality for Thumper rather than one of today’s celebutants! 🙂

  25. Knittripps says:

    How funny. Thumper has good taste for a two year old! I agree with the previous poster. Much better Marilyn than one of today’s idols.

  26. Knittripps says:

    How funny. Thumper has good taste for a two year old! I agree with the previous poster. Much better Marilyn than one of today’s idols.

  27. Lisa says:

    Just wait three years and he will be in his latency period until puberty.

  28. Lisa says:

    Just wait three years and he will be in his latency period until puberty.

  29. jodi says:

    You’ve got to love a boy who loves girls who read.

    Or perhaps it’s simply because her skin is so glowy.

  30. jodi says:

    You’ve got to love a boy who loves girls who read.

    Or perhaps it’s simply because her skin is so glowy.

  31. tereza says:

    Is this the “Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson” syndrome?

  32. tereza says:

    Is this the “Borat falls in love with Pamela Anderson” syndrome?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Archives

Writer, With Kids