I so love movies! My idea of a perfect day would involve watching one favorite flick after another without a care in the world, no laundry, no bills to pay, no cooking, no worries whatsoever. I suppose that it is not at all surprising that my granddaughter has been completely taken by the prospect of working in the film industry. She comes by her love of movies naturally. I suspect that it is in her DNA. At this juncture in her young life she is mostly fascinated by the art of learning about all aspects of the trade. Landing a starring role is secondary to her love of the process. She is just as happy with working all week long on a set only to be featured for a split second as she would be if she were one of the major characters. She so enjoys watching the anatomy of a presentation unfold and she imagines herself one day working as a production designer, a career that would use her creative and artistic abilities quite well. She has already done a research project on the job and knows which universities in the United States offer the best educational programs for learning more about the filmmaking trade. As of now she is most interested in one day attending NYU or Northwestern University but I suppose that in the next seven years there will be many changes in who she is and what she wants to eventually do with her life. In the meantime she is having great fun learning about all of the facets of movie making. Continue reading “His Heart Will Go On”
Month: June 2015
Attacking Ignorance
Mike and I discuss current events constantly. He always puts an interesting spin on most topics because he has been a voracious student of history for most of his life. As a boy he read the encyclopedia for fun. His tastes evolved to a study of the social sciences and finally to a concentration on the stories of our past. We have both been distraught over the events of the past week in Charleston, South Carolina. Even as an educator who has seen some very sad cases of young people who have gone off of the rails it is still incomprehensible to me as to how someone becomes so filled with hate that he becomes capable of murdering innocent people based solely on race. I asked Mike what he thought was the root cause of such horrific behavior and his response was interesting, measured, and in keeping with his background in Sociology, his major in college and graduate school. Continue reading “Attacking Ignorance”
Take It Down
Certain symbols make us flinch. A few years back when a group camping near me and Mike displayed a white supremacist flag I was immediately taken aback. When they called their dog “Negro” and they were not Hispanic I became even more upset. I joked about it at the time but my true feelings were a sense of internal rage that they would be clinging to such hateful imagery. I was quite happy when they left even though the campsite where they had been was abandoned in such a messy state that vultures came to eat up all of the trash. My single thought was that the birds had missed a feast on the biggest garbage of all. Continue reading “Take It Down”
Martyrs for Love
It was Wednesday night and nine lovely people of faith had gathered together for Bible study in perhaps the most historic Black church in all of the United States. They were all remarkable individuals who had done so much with their lives and yet they often paused to learn about the Lord Whom they so loved above all else. They were pillars of their community of Charleston, South Carolina, filled with such kindness that when a stranger appeared they welcomed him into their circle. They had no fear. This was God’s house, a place of safety and refuge.
For an hour they read from their Bibles and spoke of the glory of God. He truly lived in their hearts. They were so busy but always Jesus Christ was at the very center of who they were. They were an interesting group whose ages spanned several decades. When they came together none of their differences mattered. They were all God’s children. Continue reading “Martyrs for Love”
To Serve and Protect
We often herald individuals who are willing to enter a fray to help someone who is in distress but the reality is that it can in fact be dangerous to render aid without knowing the full situation. My grandfather loved to speak of his experiences as a young man. One oft told tale was about a time that he was in a bar. Grandpa eventually became a teetotaler but in his youth he liked to imbibe after a long day of construction work. He didn’t marry until he was in his forties so going out for a little bit of the hair of the dog was a way to scare away his loneliness. He often sat by himself just enjoying the company of strangers and observing the goings on. Continue reading “To Serve and Protect”
All It Takes Is A Little Love 