As hinted at yesterday, my list of 365 things that make me happy won’t be entirely life-affirming. True, there will almost certainly be some reference to sunsets, or stars, or – I don’t know – puppies, because… obviously. But, first things first…
It’s Day One of #365HappyDays, so we’ll start with the most important thing.
The Cheekbones of Jessica Lange.
My word, but they’re astonishing.
I suppose I first saw Jessica Lange in ‘Tootsie’, like everybody else. Nothing against the remake of ‘King Kong’, but I saw ‘Tootsie’ first. And so, like everyone I’ve ever met, that’s who she is. She’s been framed, looking like that, in my head, ever since.
It’s the same with everyone. Whoever they are when you meet them, that’s who they are. People evolve, they change, but their default condition, for each and every one of us, is how they were when we met them.
I still have to remind myself that my niece is not three years old. She’s twenty-four. She can vote. I’m pretty sure she can drive. But somewhere in my head, she’s still three.
Who I am depends on when you met me. I’m sure of it. The basics stay the same: I’m funny, I’m quite dark, I can cook. Slight details change: I might be fat or thin. I might be a kid or in my thirties. And with the passage of time, and the other changes yet to come, more details will be heaped upon me, but the basics will stay the same. There will be set phrases used to describe me. I don’t need to know what they are. But when I think Jessica Lange, I think cheekbones.
Anywho, years after ‘Tootsie’, I went to Christmas lunch with a couple of friends of mine. A delightful couple, I adore them both.
In the space in between my arrival and lunch – the gap that was filled with several cans of Guinness and a lot of laughter – we watched the first episode of American Horror Story: Murder House.
The opening credits were intense and creepy. I loved them. I have a lot of time for intense and creepy. Among the actors names, all of which I’ve now learnt and come to recognise in many other series, I was waiting for the ‘And’ or the ‘With’.
You know how it is with a series. They save the big name for the end of the opening titles, and they’re always ‘And’ or ‘With’. There were one or two names I felt I knew, but then – kaboom – ‘and Jessica Lange’.
I sat up a little straighter, but I’ll tell you now… the moment she stepped into the scene, she was all stunning cheekbones and perfect hair, and all I could think was: that is an incredible face.
So, there you have it. Day One of 365 Happy Things – The Cheekbones of Jessica Lange. Enjoy.
Petrina Binney - Author 