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

E-mail

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

Taking off makeup every night 

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

*Top 7 Books To Give As Gifts And To Read

*Favorite Authors’ Favorite Books

Leave a Reply to lise Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *