Show Business in Olney Businesses

Names of many Olney businesses and organizations bring to mind of famous movies, plays, TV shows and songs. Three recent allusions that I noticed include:

• Sardi’s Fusion: When I first heard a Sardi’s was opening here, I wondered if by any chance it was related to the legendary theatre district establishment Sardi’s. After all, Olney does have its own Equity theater (see #3). 
• My Fair Lady Consignment Boutique: Decorated with Audrey Hepburn photos, the shop conjures up images from the delightful film and musical where  “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!”
• Tallulah Bankhead cottage: A 9/28 OBX discussion revealed this nickname for the tiny house next to the Olney Theater Center where Bankhead, Ian McKellen and other actors stayed.

In addition to this trio of pop culture references,  I found more connections: 

1. Over the Rainbow Spa: one can't help but hear Judy Garland warbling this ballad from The Wizard of Oz 
2. Serenity Zone Med Spa: Find tranquility here or watch Frank Costanza (Seinfeld) yell “Serenity now!” 
3. Mamma Lucia: Mamma Mia! the musical, movie and the original source, ABBA’s hit song 
4. Field of Screams: a Clueless Joe would miss this reference to the movie Field of Dreams 
5. The Solana Olney: Solaris, an early George Clooney vehicle directed by Steven Soderbergh 
6. Sisters’ Sandwiches & Such: Making Sandwiches, a short film written and directed by Sandra Bullock 
7. Blueberry Garden Healing Center: a person can seek wellness here but “I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill” 
8. Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Five Guys Named Moe, a rollicking Broadway revue soon to play at Arena Stage 
9. Mannequin Pis: Mannequin, an 80’s flick movie starring Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrell 
10. Our House: a residential training center probably saner than U.K. band Madness’s tune Our House 
11. For Three Sisters: a breast cancer awareness and support group more uplifting than Chechov’s play Three Sisters 
12. The Big Greek Café: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a romantic comedy with Nia Vardolas and John Corbett 
13. Rescued by Girl Friday: the Howard Hawks classic His Girl Friday with Cary Grant and Rosaline Russell 
14. Cutt n’ Loose: a barbershop whose name conjures up Kenny Loggin’s song from the 1984 Kevin Bacon hit Footloose (later adapted into a musical and remade with Dancing with the Stars’ Julianne Hough

Who knew that Olney was infused with so much pop culture?

The (Unsuccessful) Time Travelers' Mother

"No TV/Computer Monday July 19 through Tuesday July 27!" With this clever ban in effect at my house, I can kill two birds with one stone: sibling warfare and screen addiction (sometimes occurring at the same time). Here's how my parental ingenuity has been faring so far:

MONDAY 7/19: I decreed to my two daughters that they could not watch TV or play on the computer as a result of persistent sibling squabbling and endless whining for screen time. In order to learn how to talk through their disagreements, they would have discuss their concerns with each other without any yelling, pinching, slapping, shoving, etc. For every yelp of "Mom! She --" I would extend the ban for another day. By Monday night, the girls found an electronic-entertainment-free truce.

TUESDAY 7/20: Continued peace -- I should have thought of this ban earlier. Was this too good to be true? How long would this civil and electronics-free atmosphere last?

WEDNESDAY 7/21: At the computer in the basement, I heard the kids up in the family room amicably chatting, helping each other with homework and practicing piano. I noticed upstairs had grown quiet but figured that the girls were reading. After about an hour, my older daughter suddenly appeared at the door ... wearing what looked to be a change of clothes. "Can we watch TV?" she asks gingerly.

"Is it Wednesday, July 28? Look at the calendar," I answered barely looking up from the monitor.

"Why yes it is, Mom," my strangely smiling firstborn replied.

Happy for break, I stood up and climbed upstairs, all the while insisting that today was still Wednesday July 21.

My younger daughter greeted me in the family room -- in a change of clothes. The family room, which earlier that morning had been strewn with laundry, books, and detris from a latch-hook rug craft kit, was pristine. I marched over to the calendar on our refrigerator to point out the correct date when... I noticed the red marker had been moved one week ahead from July 21 to July 28. The "July 21" I wrote on the dry-erase board had been altered to "July 28." Olney's weather forecast for the day was rewritten. "Swim team" disappeared and "tennis camp" (next week's activity) appeared.

Apparently, the girls did learn a lesson from my ban -- how "discuss their concerns" well enough to negotiate a collaborative plot to circumvent the ban. Alas, this would-be time travelers' mother was not fooled.

Later when I couldn't find my wristwatch, the younger partner in crime piped up, "Oh -- I know where it is. We tried to change the date but it didn't work so we hid it." Right before they went up to bed, I found the latch-hook rug kit in the downstairs bathroom. "What is this doing here?" I called.

A voice from upstairs replied, "Oh, I hid it there when we cleaned up the family room."

FRIDAY 7/23: Today the ban still in force. This morning, the older daughter posed an interesting question: "What if someone asks me to see a movie?" I'll have to handle that if/when that occurs. Uh -- I heard BANG upstairs followed by "Mom! She--"; I may have to extend the ban yet another day.