"Closing the store is the brave thing to do. You are daring to imagine that you could have a different life. Oh, I know it doesn’t feel like that. You feel like a big fat failure. But you’re not. You’re marching into the unknown, armed with … nothing.” Aunt Birdie to Kathleen Kelly in the movie “You’ve Got Mail".
A Classic Story
We didn't watch a lot of modern movies growing up in the nineties, and when we did they were fairly mellow films that my mother would choose. One of those movies was the 1998 Meg Ryan (Kathleen) and Tom Hanks (Joe) rom-com "You've Got Mail." Even though it was a new release, it was still based off of the 1940's classic movie, The Shop Around the Corner starring the iconic James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan. This classic can often be found on many must see lists on the internet, and is still a fun watch. It was such a success that 1998, it had already been remade as musical with Judy Garland and Van Johnson in 1949, The Grand Old Summertime, and then in 1963 as a Broadway Musical, She Loves Me.
A Modern Retelling
Even TSATC was a adaptation of the Hungarian play, Parfumerie, a very simple story about two people who can't stand each other in person, and through a series of anonymous letters and encounters, fall in love. What made YGM different than others was the utilizing the growing use of email and specifically AOL. It immortalized old tech, with pagers, chat rooms, instant messaging, modems, and of course the greeting, "You've Got Mail." It's almost like a time capsule preserving that "in between time" as Americans started to embrace the internet and its offerings. It even has a running story about whether a typewriter is outdated. It's late 90's nostalgia meets a romanticized NYC.
A Personal Connection
ANYWAYS, lol One of the most crushing scenes is when Kathleen actually closes the store. Her nemesis, Joe Fox, and his mega corporation bookstore chain had successfully squashed out her cozy Shop Around the Corner, bookstore and she was closing. Her Aunt Birdie, comforts her by acknowledging the pain and disappointment but offers support and hope.
I could dive into all of the personal craziness that has happened since April of 2020, but really I've been in a bit of a funk for about two years. However simply put, I'm closing the store, and I'm choosing to be brave. It's just time to have less to do more. There will be many more decisions to be made in the future, but the first one is I'm closing the studio. All of the sessions I have planned or booked will still happen, but I must start the overwhelming and possibly painful process of packing, selling and donating eight years of business. I REPEAT: I'M NOT QUITTING. I feel like I am; I feel like I have proved some people right that said I couldn't do it, and disappointed others that kept saying, "Hang in there." Talent does not pay the bills, nor does talent make someone happy. I know there are a lot of questions, and a lot of "But what about _____." Here's what I know: Sessions booked are going to happen, and I don't really have a date except maybe "In the Grand Old Summertime. (See what I did there? lol), but it's happening. It's one step into the new future. I told a good friend yesterday, "I'm putting myself in a position to make a change." I'm not sure what that change is, but kind of like Tony in West Side Story "Something's coming... Who knows?" There will be more changes and announcements in the future, but for now this is enough.
I'll never forget the last scene of Kathleen turning the key to her empty store. I'm not ready for that, but until then I'm just going to embrace "The dream of something else."
