IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE UNLESS YOU'RE DEAD:
I saw a kind of sappy story the other night on TV entitled The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay. This guy, Al, (played by Tim Matheson -I watch him a lot) was a father who apparently abandoned his wife and daughter early on. His seventeen year old daughter, Alison, (Kristen Bell-Veronica Mars TV Show) comes to visit for the summer.
Al is living on a lake in a trailer in Lake Havesu, AZ, a place I know really well and have visited often, He is obnoxious, trailer trash (the story keeps using this term) and a slob. There's lots of unanswered questions: why he left, etc. What I liked about the story is the honesty of it. The main character didn't try to pretend he was anything other than what he was. And, he viewed his failures as real, not because he was depressed or an alcoholic, he was just a sorry individual in his own mind.
But, here we have his daughter, Allison, making a noble attempt to get to know him. Lots of stops and starts, but in the end, all is OK. Al has a kind of redemption through Allison and gets his life together. She loses her virginity, (not quite sure how this fits into the story but nicely done) with a well-respected local boy-has a summer romance(which we've all had as teenagers). The father talks with her about sex because she asks him which is nice-an aspect of the story which shows that a father can deal with intricate issues.
And, as the movies and TV can do--they make whatever they want happen; i.e., a precocious 17 year old who somehow is not influenced by her peers, is very communicative, acts grownup, adinifinitum-Not likely in real life. But all that aside, the story has some redeeming points. (1) Life can be one of second chances and all sorts of other things if we want them and are willing to change. (2) We can undo some of the things we've done, some of our regrets. Ed Asner, who died not long ago, played a kind of poet and grandfather figure in the story and had the best line--"It is never too late to change unless you're dead."________Dan Foster
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PATIENCE ON IRAQ:
What choice do we have? By every stretch of the imagination, the "powers that be" are failing the "Dover" test. ( Dover test refers to Hugh Shelton's quote first made in 1999 , and then again in Jan 2000: "(M)ust be subjected to what I call the 'Dover test.' Is the American public prepared for the sight of our most precious resource coming home in flag-draped caskets into Dover Air Force Base in Delaware -- which is a point entry for our Armed Forces"). The public's support for the war is waning; their reaction is negative to so many war casualties.
From 76 percent support for the war two years ago to 42 percent today. I agree with an Ohio State Professor who said, "There's a general sense that this is a mess; and, no matter how far forward you look, it is hard to see how it gets less messy."
Think the comparison of Vietnam and Iraq or Iraqnam (as I want to say): In 1968, when the TET offensive happened upon us; Casualties were about 7000; and, by the time Vietnam was history, deaths had topped 58,000! Are we going to be in Iraqnam for ten years? I think so as we are playing this out--casualties moving toward 2000 and wounded above 5000.
The President doesn't have to worry about re-election as the war and its mismanagement weren't enough to get people excited to vote him out of office. But, there's evidence that the natives are getting restless: no exit strategy, a philosophy and plan that seems to be mainly nothing more than hoping things are going to be OK. If the opposition continues to grow, as it did when we were at about the same spot over Vietnam, we're in for some tough times.
I think patience is called for, but I also think that it is time for a concrete plan, a strategy. If we don't, casualties will creep up and up; and, when it is said and done, what have we accomplished?All spin aside, like Vietnam, nothing! Let's pray this is not the case. JHL
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(AFP/Yuri Cortez) |
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