Some have great stories, pretty stories that take place at lakes with boats and friends and noodle salad. Just no one in this car. But, a lot of people, that’s their story. Good times, noodle salad.
One of Anita’s favorite movies was 1997’s “As Good As It Gets” starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear. She was not a big fan of Hunt but the movie was so well written and acted that she overlooked that. Nicholson and Hunt won Oscars while Kinnear won one of five other nominations. I love this movie too.
One of the themes that resonated with us was that it didn’t matter if you were a famous, rich author or a talented artist, you still had to struggle. The single mom waitress, we expect that she struggles. But there is this idea in our society that some people – due to money or talent or lineage – escape the struggle.
I know people on food stamps all the way to people making multi-millions. It doesn’t really matter. They are messed up. You trade one set of problems for another. Same with fame. No one escapes troubles. Everyone has their own personal cross to bear.
Here is the full quote from the movie:
Carol: OK, we all have these terrible stories to get over, and you-…
Melvin: It’s not true. Some have great stories, pretty stories that take place at lakes with boats and friends and noodle salad. Just no one in this car. But, a lot of people, that’s their story. Good times, noodle salad. What makes it so hard is not that you had it bad, but that you’re that pissed that so many others had it good.
Carol: No! I don’t think so.
Simon: Not it at all, really.
What Carol knew was the truth. Nobody’s life is all noodle salad. Everyone had a “terrible story”. But they find a way to go on.
Melvin reflects what some people think: that worldly success should make everything “good times, noodle salad”. And he is bitter that he has to struggle.
One of Anita’s and my oft said phrases was (wistfully) “Good times, noodle salad.” We said it half jokingly when we were in the midst of something good. It reminded us to enjoy the good things because life was just around the corner.
This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the movie, “The Hours”. It reminds me to just grab onto the happiness when you can get it.
“I remember one morning getting up at dawn, there was such a sense of possibility. You know, that feeling? And I remember thinking to myself: So, this is the beginning of happiness. This is where it starts. And of course there will always be more. It never occurred to me it wasn’t the beginning. It was happiness. It was the moment. Right then.” ~ Clarissa Vaughn