Nora Ephron: What She Won’t Miss, What She Will Miss, What I Will Miss
I’m worried I will seem lazy, just listing something from Nora Ephron’s last book, I Remember Nothing. I ought to be trumpeting my deep admiration of Nora, who died yesterday at the ridiculously too soon age of 71.
Sometimes when you feel so much, it’s hard to sort through your thoughts and say anything at all. Plus, everyone is writing about Nora, quoting her and quoting accolades from movie stars who worked with her. It would take until her turn in next year’s Academy Awards memorial film clips for me to figure out something original to say that hadn’t already been said by the time Casey and I got into bed last night. Writing competitively is a worrywart trait.
I cannot imagine anyone loving Nora’s films more than I do. For years I have tolerated friends’ jabs for my unabashed love of movies with Meg Ryan, in particular Ephron’s “When Sally Met Harry,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “You’ve Got Mail.” Each film makes the prospect of finding fun, funny romance possible and accessible for everyone.
I crave more of Nora’s movies, a screenplay in which Harry dies, leaving Sally widowed. In the sequel, aging Sally meets aging Tom Hanks at speed dating; each says things that annoy the other. Then one day they cross paths in Riverside Park. Sally’s dachshund, Truman, snaps at Tom’s hipster dog, Brooklyn, wounding him. Sally insists on accompanying Tom and Brooklyn to the vet so she can pay the bill, all the while rolling her eyes at everything Tom says. Nora Ephron would figure out where to go from here.
I had always hoped to meet Nora and, like so many others who commented on the Internet, I felt we could be great friends. Maybe there is a transitive relationship here and, if all of us who feel that way get together, we can all be great friends.
I was planning to send Nora my new memoir; my fantasy that she would write to me that she liked it died with her. This morning I pulled a few of her books from the shelf (and the floor). Below are from her last book, I Remember Nothing.
What I Won’t Miss by Nora Ephron
Dry skin
Bad dinners like the one we went to last night
Technology in general
My closet
Washing my hair
Bras
Funerals
Illness everywhere
Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism
Polls
Fox
The collapse of the dollar
Joe Lieberman
Clarence Thomas
Bar mitzvahs
Mammograms
Dead flowers
The sound of the vacuum cleaner
Bills
E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it.
Small print
Panels on Women in Film
What I Will Miss by Nora Ephron
My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie
What I Will Miss by Susan Orlins
Nora Ephron
What will you miss?
Did you imagine being her bff? If so, let me know and let’s meet for coffee!
LOTS ABOUT THERAPY, MARRIAGE, RELATIONSHIPS AND MORE IN MY NEW MEMOIR . . .
Confessions of a Worrywart: Husbands, Lovers, Mothers, and Others Check it out on Amazon.com, Kindle, and Smashwords
The perfect book for worrywarts or anyone who enjoys a “neurotic, wickedly funny, poignant,” deeply personal story. “Reads like Nora Ephron channeling Sarah Silverman.”
See also my Home Goes Strong bio for links to my healthy recipe, relationship and other articles. Here are some:
*Nora Ephron’s Vinaigrette, Ricotta Pancake and Other Easy Recipes
*Can Working Women Have It All?
*Dating After My Husband Died: Widow With Cancer Moves On
*Last Week My Mom Died; This Week I Celebrated Her Life
*Family Vacation With My Ex & Daughters
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