Groceries for Jewish people who like to eat.

In this post: Gefilte fish, film festivals.

Happy Saturday morning from your friends at the Howdygram! We’re expecting an overcast, windy day here with temperatures in the low 80s and a 60% chance of severe thunderstorms on Sunday. This is perfectly swell with Sam and me because we have no real plans whatsoever except for cleaning out the garage, making tacos for lunch and picking up my 12-jar case of Mother’s gefilte fish tomorrow night from a snooty house in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in north Dallas. In case you’re interested, Howdygram headquarters is indicated by a red star on the map below; the gefilte fish and arrow point to the aforementioned snooty house. (I’m not joking about the snooty part. The houses are all less than five years old and 6,000+ square feet with four-car garages. These are RICH PEOPLE.)

Wondering why we’re picking up jars of gefilte fish from a very rich stranger’s house in north Dallas? Because Jewish people who like to eat can’t find any kosher food in supermarkets here so we order from the KC Kosher Co-Op, which trucks specialty groceries every other month to specific drop-off points in mid-size cities all over the United States. If you feel compelled to know more please check out a few of my earlier posts on the subject.

Before I slink off to the kitchen to make those tacos I mentioned earlier I hope you’ll allow me to mention what’s coming up on TCM because April is a really huge deal for classic movie fans such as moi. This month TCM is celebrating: 1) their 20th anniversary on April 14; 2) MGM’s 90th anniversary on April 17 and 18; and 3) a four-day John Wayne film festival on April 21, 22, 23 and 24. Millions of fantastic films are on the schedule, so check your local listings and you’ll be awfully damn glad you did. A few of my all-time favorites appear below. (I’ll recommend my favorite John Wayne films when we get a little closer to his film festival dates.)

APRIL 14: TCM’S 20th ANNIVERSARY

The Maltese Falcon (1941) starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland.
Casablanca (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1945) starring Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien.
Singin’ in the Rain (1952) starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds.
It Happened One Night (1934) starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable.

APRIL 17 & 18: MGM’S 90th ANNIVERSARY

Dinner at Eight (1933) starring Jean Harlow, John Barrymore and Marie Dressler.
The Thin Man (1934) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Grand Hotel (1932) starring Lionel Barrymore, Greta Garbo and Wallace Beery.
Ninotchka (1939) starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas.
The Philadelphia Story (1941) starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart.

I should also mention a few other very adorable movies coming up on April 16. TCM is calling this theme “Butlers in Love” and includes the following screwball comedies (among other films): If You Could Only Cook (1935) starring Jean Arthur and Herbert Marshall; My Man Godfrey (1936) starring Carole Lombard and William Powell; and Merrily We Live (1938) starring Constance Bennett and Brian Aherne. (My personal favorite of the bunch is Merrily We Live because I think it’s hilarious.)

That’s more than enough typing for now. Thank you for putting up with me.