Things unfolded quickly when nearly at the last minute my daughter was able to clear some things over in San Diego and head over to Phoenix to join us for our unorthodox version of Christmas. In light of not having a tree, I plucked these leaves from a nearby desert plant but couldn’t find lights or ornaments that were small enough to decorate them so this will have to do, plus it minimizes what gifts will fit underneath it. Not that gifts matter as there’ll be none of that exchange thing happening here.

By the way, if you are looking for some heartwarming story about family traditions, you should heed this warning and leave right now because this is not one of those. While over the course of these three and a half days, Caroline, Jessica, and I will have a most amazing journey into a surreal escape from everything that typically signifies this time of year, for a reader tomorrow’s entry could touch on things uncomfortable, disturbing even. Seriously, ignore these posts and come back after the 26th.

As of this evening, you are still safe to continue reading as what lies ahead is mundane. After the obligatory greetings, hugs, and small talk I got into the kitchen bringing Jessica along with me to show her how I prepare Sundubu Jjigae a.k.a., kimchi-and-tofu stew. Come to think about it, this Korean dish is red and white just like Santa Claus making this quite the festive, even celebratory, pre-Christmas dinner.

Just before dinner, we three decided that it might be interesting to see a movie this evening. It turns out that my daughter hasn’t been in a theater since before the pandemic, so since dinner comes first and then Caroline and I need to get some more walking in, we buy tickets for a 9:30 showing and head into our neighborhood.

Not only are we getting in those much-needed steps but also taking a route that showcases the skills of neighbors who made the extra effort with their Christmas decoration prowess. First up was a tree standing at least 30 feet tall and strung full of lights. We had found out the other day that a $400-a-day cherry picker was rented for this Herculean task. Further down the street was the most interesting blow-up yard decoration we enjoy, arriving in the form of a Santa opening the door to the outhouse from the inside and waving at us. Yep, even Mr. Claus has to take a leak between commanding all those reindeer from chimney to chimney.

With 9:15 approaching we were ready to trundle off to the movies because the showing of The Matrix Resurrections would be starting soon. In addition to actively avoiding Christmas music, we are also trying to keep clear of the 20 minutes of ads and trailers before the movie starts, one of the joys of reserved seating!

How was the new Matrix? Like so many movies these days, you have to bury 15 minutes of messaging into two hours of car chases, explosions, gunfights, humans flying, narrow escapes, and other action escapades that will satisfy the game players while the few real nerds who come for something bigger than that have to wait for deeper things. In this iteration of the franchise, we are challenged with the idea that we cannot differentiate between reality and entertainment because we are blind and deaf to our own enslavement to the endorphins we need to have pumped into our vacuous meaninglessness. But, should we choose by some freakish chance not to merely exist behind the facade of perceived reality, we will be confronted with the uncertainty of knowing who we are. Finally, if we’ve learned to love ourselves through the encouragement of others who help convince us that we are worth loving, we might come to understand that we have an abundance of love to give to others which will propel them too into being the greatest person they are capable of. So, wherein the previous iterations of the Matrix our hero Neo was becoming “The One,” this episode sees the woman he loves finding her full potential and together the two become The One…

…but the trick of perspective is a joke played on the audience. Trinity and Neo confront the Analyst in his San Francisco home claiming victory which offers the viewer the idea that love has conquered all and evil was put in its place, they thank the Analyst for giving them another “shot” and they fly off into the sunset, the standard well-worn trope of American romantic cinema. What may not be explicitly understood by the audience is that these characters are “in” the Matrix as their game-playing identities and are not dealing with code in reality or working to dismantle the alien possessor. After we saw the film we learned that there was an end credits scene where the game marketing people are still talking about how to bring the Matrix back talking about a concept featuring felines for a parody called “The Catrix” Those who’ve seen this thought the clip was an insult as it didn’t feature allusions to future episodes or supply hope for the next installment. What they missed is the idea that they themselves got caught up with the idea that these two game characters have “won” something and are freed of their shackles of living in a simulation but are in fact, still existing in a simulation except now they are digital heroes that the viewer can believe were real in the first place.

To be explicit, yes I liked the movie while the cinematic fireworks were absolutely unnecessary for this viewer. It was 12:30 before we left the theater and it was 2:00 in the morning before we fell to sleep. No matter, as we can depart for New Mexico in the morning whenever we want to. Tomorrow things will start to be imbued with the surrealism I mentioned above. Again, as I don’t know how explicit I might go with the reasons things skidded into absurdity, just don’t read the next few days of entries though you are certainly invited to enjoy the amazing photos that will be shared.