One Word Can Stop Your Channel Surfing...

".......Shawshank......"

On the trip with Mark we struck up a conversation about movies. We both agreed that there are some movies that you watch when surfing without fail. Shawshank Redemption is an absolute must stop-channel-surfing-and-watch-till-the-end movie. Because of that conversation I pulled my copy and watched it last week. It gets better every time I watch it. "Or am I being too...obtuse?"

"I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free."

"Get busy living, or get busy dying. That's goddamn right. For the second time in my life I'm guilty of committing a crime: Parole Violation. 'Course I doubt they'll toss up any road blocks for that, not for an old crook like me. I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I imagine it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey, whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border... I hope to see my friend and shake his hand... I hope the pacific is a blue as it has been in my dreams... I hope..."

Rent it again when you have 2 1/2 hours. It is a great film of friendship, courage, determination and.........hope.

Comments

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me, they came right from the MDH website. I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access. After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances. But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs. I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered. The original MDH at this site was just the front part. The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library. It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place. He passed away around 2002, I think. Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...

Statuary In North Straub Park

The Vinoy is not the only park in town. The place is fairly littered with them, and almost all, except Bum Paradise, are pretty nice. This is North Straub and they have some old pieces in that seem to have suffered from time and perhaps human folly. These and some 30 other statues were imported from Italy by local developer C. Perry Snell to help beautify the city. Mr. Snell was in real estate and during the depression he went on a European shopping trip to collect items for the city. He obtained these from Italy and installed them in this park even after the bottom fell in the markets. He fulfilled his obligations at great personal loss to his own company and wealth. Halso continued to pay his staff during those tough times. He developed many areas in the city, Vinoy, Snell Isle, Crescent Lake and the beach area down around Fort DeSoto. He lived from 1869 until 1949 and then buried in Kentucky. I wo...

Existing In BFE

Search This Blog