May the Memories Be With You
Not everyone gets an apocalypse named after them commemorating the total planetary annihilation resulting from their slow foot dragging quest for dinner.
But the zombie does.
Maybe that's why they get an entire month to raise awareness about their controversial social and environmental contributions. They eat flesh, namely braaaiiinnns and in the pursuit, they disrupt man's cozy daily assault upon the earth.
Mayhem, I tell you.
The month of May is a time to create memories. With family, with friends, and even alone. Celebrate, observe and remember.
You've got your heavy-hitters like Mother's Day and Memorial Day. But don't forget to vruh-vruh-vruuuhhhn your blenders for America's favorite Spring holiday-- the observance of Puebla de Zaragoza's underdog win against France-- Cinco de Mayo!
And then there's May the 4rce.
All month long you can honor or establish family traditions around National Pet Month, Military Appreciation, Asian Pacific American Heritage, Mental Health Awareness, and yes, Zombie Awareness.
For every Mother's Day growing up, we'd go to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. All the folks out in their Sunday bests joined together to express gratitude for the sacrifice, hard work and steady guidance their mothers committed was a sight to see. "Thank you, mama" is some of the most uplifting social energy we create. And then we one up it and do it over food!
Of course we don't wait for a holiday to say thank you to our moms or to demonstrate how they've shaped us, but it's lovely that we take a day as a collective to acknowledge how significant mothers are in our lives and thus to society.
We don't all come to celebration the same though. Some go all out with massive decorations, elaborate outfits and a whole Shoney's buffet in their living room.
Then some of us like to just chill. Something cool, casual. Not all of us want to spend May with Jack Zombie nipping at our nose, out and about in these streets. How about just being low-key?
Me, I'm a movie and TV girl.
If you are too, you can get your list together now to watch flix that put you in the mood to celebrate and observe.
Arthur the King came out earlier this year in theaters and stars Mark Wahlberg as an adventure-sportsman on his last leg who falls in love with a stray dog and their relationship catapults him into the next chapter of his life. This is a superb story about the bond between man and our pets.
Narrated by Tom Hanks, "The Bloody Hundredth" is a documentary series about the real life military heroes inspiring "Masters of the Air". Both can be found on Apple TV+.
Many of us are memory-keepers, not just memory-makers. Photographers are a sector of artist that preserves the world in such an immediate way. Award-winning filmmaker Jennifer Takaki releases "The Corky Lee Story" about famed Chinese American photog Corky Lee who documented the daily lives of Asian Americans for 50 years. If you are in Los Angeles or New York, you can now see it in theaters. If you are in any other part of the nation, set your timers to Monday, May 13 10/9C on PBS.
You know what to do if you're a zombie fan. Go on. Get after it.
Mindfulness is a big word that we use in an everyday kind of way. Perhaps it needs to be an everyday meditation. I have been overwhelmed with emotions and conflicting states of being this last year and a half after the death of my mother. My first Mother's Day without her, I just laid on the floor all day. Right there. On the carpet.
This year, I plan to start a tradition of remembrance, one I can share with my children.
It will include a first watching of new film "The Listener" starring Tessa Thompson and directed by Steve Buscemi. I'm not sure what it's like but it's about Beth, a helpline volunteer who is part of a small army that gets on the phone every night across America, fielding calls from all kinds of people feeling lonely, broken, hopeless.
I have needed that. It's more than likely that you have too.
Maybe a movie like this can help me meet any overwhelm that may come.
No month is all sunshine as is no life. But I raise my margarita glass and wish you great fun, quiet moments and people to call home. May the memories be with you.
Photo credit: Zombie lady courtesy of short film, Spooky Crew
I'm a creative producer, film critic, arts advocate, new traveler and super-vegan chickpea lover, a nerd when it comes to story structure and thematic messaging and it's my true joy to work with others and help them tell their stories bursting to leap into the world (without it taking years to get them out). If you are just pursuing your best + wildest dreams and want to be a practicing, working and contracted storyteller even at midlife and beyond, this could be a home for you. Sign up below to receive my tips + tricks, cheerleading + challenges, done-for-you templates and much more-- right to your inbox-- starting with my Top 5 Books for Storytellers: Game-Changing Books to Get You from Page to Pitch to Production.