In Celebration of Earth Day

After unwinding from a long day of whatever it is I do, I stumbled upon "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." Even though I own the DVD and am quickly committing the movie to memory, whenever it's on I have to watch it--a gem of a scene is always right around the corner.

(Hold on, I have to do it..."God, there was a week where you wore sweatpants--every day!")

I first saw "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" right around Earth Day (aka Environmental Valentine's Day) 2008. I will always remember that date. Here's why.

I was going to watch the movie as part of my weekend plans with a girl I was seeing at the time. The weekend also consisted of driving 45 minutes to Jersey City to plant trees, an endeavor that seemed to counteract the effects of the agricultural act.

The Thursday before, my mom calls. My grandmother took a vicious fall, and she's now in the hospital. Her heart stopped for a bit, a pacemaker needs to be installed. In other words, she may not make it.

As soon I got off the phone, I knew that all social engagements were off. No movie, no urban tree planting, nothing. I would work Friday--I was fully prepared to bolt if the worst occurred--and spend as much time either at the hospital or close to it.

I called the girl next. The conversation went as follows:

Me: Hey, I'm going to have to cancel for tomorrow. My grandmother took a fall, and her heart stopped. I need to be there.

Her: That happpens.

Me: (Confused, but continuing. Did she not hear anything?) As for Saturday...

Her: Are you not coming for Earth Day?

Me: Sweetie, I can't. I don't want to be far away from the hospital, checking every ten minutes for news. I'm sorry about that.

Her: Whatever.

Me: (Looking at the phone as if it just grew lips and started singing "Patches" in flawless French.)

And scene...

Thankfully, everything worked out just fine. My grandmother survived, and lived for another two-plus years. It was heartwarming to see my family pull together--my Aunt Joanne, a nurse, was amazing. My parents were paragons of quiet assurance. As a reward to myself I met up with my friend Barry and his older sister, Christine, and watched "Sarah Marshall" later that night.

And that Monday, I politely told "Earth Day Girl"--as my fiancee calls her--that we should stop seeing each other.