In times of uncertainty, I often ask myself—What Would Doris Do? Brought low by the summer doldrums, I recently embarked on a complete Doris Day re-watch, starting with Romance on the High Seas, ending with With Six You Get Eggroll, and covering everything in between. The hope is that her smile will make me smile. Maybe seeing her pluck and tenacity in the workplace will get me back to work. After the publication of my novel Follow the Sun, I’ve been at loose ends, not sure where I go from here. I climbed the mountain, came back down, and… now what? I just start over from scratch? Climb another mountain? Climb every mountain?

In this week’s pick It Happened to Jane (Disc/Download), Doris does just that. Her husband has died, leaving her with two small children and a lobster business to run. She has her best friend Jack Lemmon on hand to lend support, but he’s too scared to admit he harbors romantic feelings for her, and she’s too busy trying to restart her life to see what’s been right in front of her all along.  There’s a great David & Goliath storyline as Lemmon and Day battle the big bad railroad tycoon (Ernie Kovacs) whose budget cuts have resulted in a train full of rotten lobsters, and in our current era of workers facing off against greedy CEOs, the plot feels quite contemporary. As usual, Doris triumphs with her signature mix of talent, strength, and vulnerability, making us believe that everything’s going to be okay in the end. That’s why her movies and her star persona endure—because we’re all looking for that brand of hope. If she can make it through the Warner Brothers years, with terrible parts in terrible movies (ahem, Tea for Two), to get to It Happened to Jane and Pillow Talk, maybe I can make it through this weird time of having a published book on the shelf (admittedly, a book not many have heard of), coupled with a tremendous amount of anxiety about whether there will be a second one someday. If Doris Day can find love with Jack Lemmon and save her lobster business, maybe I can pull myself out of bed and write something bigger than a blog post.

Speaking of Jack Lemmon, I’m very grateful that his last name lends itself so well to citrus cocktail puns. Plus, I can always count on him to lift my spirits in much the same way Doris does. However bad my day is, however many lemons the universe has served up, Jack can turn it around. Well, Jack Lemmon and a cocktail. While watching It Happened to Jane, I recommend drinking this Lemmon-Drop.

Lemmon-Drop

2 oz Luxardo Limoncello

2 oz Vodka

1 oz Simple Syrup

1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Lemon twist for garnish

Combine limoncello, vodka, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

By my calculations, I’ll be done with the Doris Day re-watch around January 2024. Hopefully by then, I’ll have absorbed her wisdom and possess a clearer idea about where I’m headed next. Maybe I’ll begin to view starting over as an exciting thing instead of a scary thing. Lord knows, Doris had to do it plenty of times both in her personal life and on the screen. In the end, she was okay. She had a great life full of laughter and dogs and bicycle rides through Beverly Hills. Those early Warner Brothers films were merely a blip in her autobiography. So for now I’ll just say, “Que sera, sera.” What will be, will be.