BLUEBIRDS: “I have seen a group of six bluebirds in our yard
several times since November. I believe they are residing in our
old barn. I saw them again on Feb. 1 when the temp creeped up a
bit. They seem to be more active when the weather isn’t so cold …
kind of like us, huh?”
That’s the word today from Cheryl Brown of Eldred.
OSCAR BUZZ: What does Bradford’s own Main Street Movie House
have in common with the Oscars?
The fall series of movies shown as part of the theater’s Monday
Night Independent Film Series included a performance by Richard
Jenkins in “The Visitor.” Now he’s up for the Best Actor award, one
of many to be given out at the annual Oscar ceremony Feb. 22.
And that’s not all. On Monday, Feb. 16, in the current winter
film series in our Main Street theater, Melissa Leo stars in
“Frozen River,” a powerful film about life in our neck of the
woods. And Leo has been honored with a Best Actress nomination.
Neither is expected to take home the gold at the ceremony, as
they are competing with big Hollywood productions and names like
Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet, Sean Penn and Brad Pitt, but for
those of us in a small town to have had – and to have – the
opportunity to see such work, and on the big screen, too, is
special.
One film nominee in the current series, however, that is
expected to take home the Oscar in the best documentary category is
“Man on a Wire,” scheduled to be screened here on March 9.
“Wire” is the story of the stunt performer who strung a
tightrope between the World Trade Center towers and walked between
them. The story has been given special power in light of the
buildings’ fate.
The independent films are shown at the Bradford Main Street
Movie House Mondays at 5:15 p.m.
The spring series will be announced soon.
Pass the popcorn!
POST SCRIPT: Joe Bennett of West Lafayette, Ind., writes: “Bill
O’Connell was before my time at St. Bernard High School, but I
remember that he held the single-game scoring record for the
Ramblers basketball team for many years. Bill’s brother, Tom, also
attended St. Bernard and was an outstanding center and linebacker
for Don Raabe’s football teams.”
