25 February 2011

Of Film, Family and Memories

Posted by BaBa under: Daily Life .

Attendance at school continues to decline as we move to the end of the week that was supposed to be our Winter Break. However, this is not the topic for this post.

I left school this afternoon to meet the oldest two grandkids. It was the perfect night just warm enough a prelude to spring which has not yet arrived. I left school and got in two errands before meeting F & K for a movie. F was driving his newly acquired Grand Cherokee and so could meet me at the theater. We were going to see True Grit. I initially did not think I would like the remake as I remember the original.

You see, I am the son of a true John Wayne fan, my Dad. John Wayne won his only Oscar for True Grit and it is one of the best of his films. However my favorite John Wayne film is The Quiet Man which is not a western at all. The Quiet Man is set in Ireland as the story of an Irish boxer who made his way to American and now returns home. He returns to same little cottage where he was born. It is a rich colorful tale with a great sweeping fight scene and starring the beautiful Maureen O’Hara. I still remember when I got to visit the sight of the film in the village of Cong Ireland.

My other favorite is his last film – The Shootist. This is a little different than the typical cowboy picture and stared Jimmy Stewart, Laurent Bacall along with a young Ron Howard.

We all enjoyed the movie and then met my daughter-in-law at the Christian Chicken for dinner after the movie. She could not go to film because the car had to be picked up from the shop after the movie started. We had a nice dinner and then talked for a while. Even when we left the restaurant, we went outside to see the new (previously owned) car. We ended up sitting in the care for another hour or so just talking. Conversation and time spent together are the foundations of wonderful memories and build the ties that bind us together as families.

Divorce tears up families, but one of the blessings in this destruction has been the chance that we have seized to be Grandparents again and to discover exactly how wonderful teenagers our grandkids have become. A door that had been locked was opened and we were not going to miss the chance to rebuild the ties that were so long left unattended. We are also fortunate to spend more time with their mother, our daughter-in-law who gets high praise for their successes.

Many years and time was lost to all of us, but now is not the time to look backward. As ever we have to look to the future. While the scar of divorce is still open and the hurt is still fresh, they do not face it alone. I only hope that one day our son will also come back and enjoy the closeness of family. A family that will not include his marriage that is now broken beyond repair. However it is a family that starts with his children, parents, brother and maybe even in time a friendly relationship with his ex. She is still the mother of his children and a great mother indeed. These are my prayers.

Today, though I enjoy the memories of a wonderful night and a soon to be showing of The Quiet Man in honor of the upcoming Saint Patrick’s day with F, K and our daughter-in-law.

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