Sunday, April 26, 2020

Life in Marinade....Pronounced Quarantine

To be fair, I was only looking for something to watch this morning where I could "gork out" and do just a little hiding from the anxious times we live in.  There are certain movies I love because of the emotions they stir inside of me or maybe they remind me of a certain time in my life where I was dealing with similar situations.

Here I was on a lazy Sunday morning here in the heartland.  The wind was howling with a force not unlike the he said, she said banter between our current president and those who actually know whats gong on, almost hurricane force.  I was scanning the channels and came upon "The Family Stone".  For those that don't know this is a fabulous movie.  It is in my top 10-15.  It reminds my of Christmas and the passing of my mother. It is a tear jerker for sure.  This movie proved a little to serious for what I was looking for this morning.

Scanning and surfing and scanning and surfing forced my hand to Amazon Prime Video.  In perusing the latest offerings according to "my taste" in movies landed me on "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood".  What could be more innocuous or take less mental agility than Mr. Rogers? I could not have been more wrong.

Let me just start by saying that Tom Hanks is an American Treasure and this movie is fantastic.

I was not, even for one single second, emotionally prepared for what I was about to witness.  This movie was like a years worth of therapy in an hour and a half.  Moreover, Hanks' portrayal of Rogers as the ever patient, although not perfect, sounding board for dealing with the feelings of adolescents everywhere had me thinking of my father.  My father was the most genuinely patient man I have ever known.  There is a scene in the movie where Rogers is spending time with a young boy and his family as part of a Make-A-Wish campaign.  Although my father was always GDI (god damn independent) and never affiliated officially with any group, benevolent or not, he loved nothing more than helping those in need and if someone wanted to learn a skill my dad possessed, well there was just no better teacher, period.

The thing about life that no one wants to talk about is feelings.  How ironic, the one thing we all have in common and most are scared of revealing.  It took me a long time to realize the importance of feelings.  I spent the better part of my lifetime burying them and attempting to dodge them at all costs.  There was a wake of damage both to myself and others I came into contact with.

I have learned that the real power is in the vulnerability and the compassion, not in the exhaustive work that comes with avoidance and becoming a cold callus zombie.

I have said this before, as my super heroes continue to get hip replacements, knee replacements and heart procedures you realize we are all victims of the human condition. It just boils down to time spent. It is no longer about outdoing someone or feeding the ego. It is about enjoying the company you keep and love, and forgiving them for their misgivings. There are no directions here, get the help where you can. Be available in the here and now, this moment, you won't get a second chance.

Miked

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