When you first posted this picture, my reaction was how restful and soothing it made me feel.
On the facebook page, I came across an older entry from June 1 in which you touched on the subject of mourning, Jonathan's age, etc. and I just had a couple of things I wanted to express. I had not read that exchange before.
I am your age, but when I watched sections of the show in its original airing, I was not a "nut" about it. I was amazed and fascinated by it and couldn't believe how good it was, but I didn't buy magazines or follow the lives and doings of the actors or even get to watch it "cover to cover". Being a VT girl, I was pleased that someone set a story in Maine. Being from a small town, I could relate to the small town characters. I enjoyed the imagination aspect of it, that is thinking that this drama could be unfolding (knew it wasn't), but allowing myself to enter the land of 'make believe'. I had a 45 of Quentin's theme and a few of the novels, and that is about it. At the dinner table once, my father pooh-poohed it as a soap opera, and I could not quite accept that it was a soap opera (because we were not a soap opera oriented family.) But later on, knowing I'd watched the show as a child, he mailed me the movies when they came out. It was a pleasant surprise and the promise of a nostalgic journey.
My husband, asked if I liked Dark Shadows, to which I said yes, and he said he had watched it as a kid, too, and found it 'laugh out loud' funny (different reaction to mine) and he gave me the first collection of dvd's. I was so happy to have it, yet I said I would not watch just part of the show again. It had to be all of it or none of it. In 2011, that opportunity arose when netflix started to carry it. It was then, that BAM! I became fascinated with Jonathan Frid's acting and his ability to make this fictional creature so real and so interesting and so appealing. Only now, FORTY YEARS LATER did I find myself truly interested in the man who was Barnabas, and was thrilled that he had a website. I began to feel a mild interest in possibly going to a convention or festival, but really just was mainly intrigued by the actor and learned as much as I could from his website and readings. One of his later postings told us that he would resume writing and posting diary entries. That gave me an impression, in hindsite an optimistic one, that that is what would come to pass. I also, in hindsite optimistically thought, surely he won't pass before the movie came out. There is no rational basis for this notion, other than usually anticipation of something important keeps one going, doesn't it? That is what I was telling myself, anyway. I also have been blessed with grandparents who lived (still lives - one of them) to nearly 100 years of age--she is 98! I overly-optimistically thought myself a lucky NEW FAN who would be able to appreciate and enjoy JF through his website for some years to come (who knew how many--one, two, three...) I believe this is called counting ones chickens before they are hatched.
So now that brings me to your comment that you did not think he would live to see the movie! What! I had not even entertained that notion--perhaps chose to deny it.
Nonetheless, your stories, the various blog sites, and your facebook page have filled in for me the great vast quantity of time between then and now and from that sorrow has now emerged the appreciation of his life. I just wanted to express this so you could understand that not everyone has followed him closely since DS. Your situation, others' experience, my own, are all, of course different.
I wanted to say thank you for your blog stories. They are amazing. May I say that the "Mort Snerd" story is delightful. These things fill in the ghosly shape of a person, make him more solid and human and allow us to know the actor who made an impact through his work and talent on our young lives and that we never did forget or ever can.
I really do hope I can get the Fridiculous DVD somehow. The grief stage is over; the appreciateion stage continues.
2 comments:
Hi Nancy,
When you first posted this picture, my reaction was how restful and soothing it made me feel.
On the facebook page, I came across an older entry from June 1 in which you touched on the subject of mourning, Jonathan's age, etc. and I just had a couple of things I wanted to express. I had not read that exchange before.
I am your age, but when I watched sections of the show in its original airing, I was not a "nut" about it. I was amazed and fascinated by it and couldn't believe how good it was, but I didn't buy magazines or follow the lives and doings of the actors or even get to watch it "cover to cover". Being a VT girl, I was pleased that someone set a story in Maine. Being from a small town, I could relate to the small town characters. I enjoyed the imagination aspect of it, that is thinking that this drama could be unfolding (knew it wasn't), but allowing myself to enter the land of 'make believe'. I had a 45 of Quentin's theme and a few of the novels, and that is about it. At the dinner table once, my father pooh-poohed it as a soap opera, and I could not quite accept that it was a soap opera (because we were not a soap opera oriented family.) But later on, knowing I'd watched the show as a child, he mailed me the movies when they came out. It was a pleasant surprise and the promise of a nostalgic journey.
To be continued...
Continued...
My husband, asked if I liked Dark Shadows, to which I said yes, and he said he had watched it as a kid, too, and found it 'laugh out loud' funny (different reaction to mine) and he gave me the first collection of dvd's. I was so happy to have it, yet I said I would not watch just part of the show again. It had to be all of it or none of it. In 2011, that opportunity arose when netflix started to carry it. It was then, that BAM! I became fascinated with Jonathan Frid's acting and his ability to make this fictional creature so real and so interesting and so appealing. Only now, FORTY YEARS LATER did I find myself truly interested in the man who was Barnabas, and was thrilled that he had a website. I began to feel a mild interest in possibly going to a convention or festival, but really just was mainly intrigued by the actor and learned as much as I could from his website and readings. One of his later postings told us that he would resume writing and posting diary entries. That gave me an impression, in hindsite an optimistic one, that that is what would come to pass. I also, in hindsite optimistically thought, surely he won't pass before the movie came out. There is no rational basis for this notion, other than usually anticipation of something important keeps one going, doesn't it? That is what I was telling myself, anyway. I also have been blessed with grandparents who lived (still lives - one of them) to nearly 100 years of age--she is 98! I overly-optimistically thought myself a lucky NEW FAN who would be able to appreciate and enjoy JF through his website for some years to come (who knew how many--one, two, three...) I believe this is called counting ones chickens before they are hatched.
So now that brings me to your comment that you did not think he would live to see the movie! What! I had not even entertained that notion--perhaps chose to deny it.
Nonetheless, your stories, the various blog sites, and your facebook page have filled in for me the great vast quantity of time between then and now and from that sorrow has now emerged the appreciation of his life. I just wanted to express this so you could understand that not everyone has followed him closely since DS. Your situation, others' experience, my own, are all, of course different.
I wanted to say thank you for your blog stories. They are amazing. May I say that the "Mort Snerd" story is delightful. These things fill in the ghosly shape of a person, make him more solid and human and allow us to know the actor who made an impact through his work and talent on our young lives and that we never did forget or ever can.
I really do hope I can get the Fridiculous DVD somehow. The grief stage is over; the appreciateion stage continues.
With thanks and best wishes,
Kristine
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