“We never know how high we are. Till we are called to rise.”*

by chuckofish

Last week I watched about twenty minutes of an old movie about the racehorse Seabiscuit, which starred Shirley Temple and Lon McAllister. It was pretty bad, but it reminded me of the newer movie about Seabiscuit, which was a big hit in 2003, and so I watched it.

It was very good.

Although only twenty years has passed, it seems Hollywood has forgotten how to make a movie like this in the interim. Seabiscuit tells the story of an undersized, formerly mistreated Depression-era racehorse whose unlikely victories raised the spirits of the entire nation. It is about working hard and overcoming setbacks. Yes, bad things happen to everyone–the rich and the poor–but you don’t give up, you persevere. That’s the American way, remember?

“You know, you don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause he’s banged up a little,” says the trainer Tom Smith at one point. No you don’t. But what an old fashioned idea.

You may remember that this movie was nominated for a whole bunch of Academy Awards, but won none. (That was the year that The Return of the King ran away with almost everything.) C’est la vie. It is a wonderful, inspiring movie and I heartily recommend watching it, especially if you need a little boost. And who doesn’t?

We also watched the 1951 A Christmas Carol, which I contend is the definitive version.

Really excellent in every way and true to the original Dickens story, which certainly deserves a yearly viewing/reading.

I also ran across this ludicrous Sight & Sound poll of the 100 greatest films of all time. Granted it includes all movies, not just American films, but c’mon. No Lubitsch, no Wyler, and no Hawks! I admit I have not seen the #1 film “Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.”  But #2 is Vertigo and that invalidates the whole list in my opinion.

Well, you can’t watch A Charlie Brown Christmas on network TV anymore. “Farewell, Charlie Brown Christmas. You found out the true meaning of Christmas and shared it as long as you could. May we do the same,” writes Denny Burk. I have the DVD and I’ll watch it with my grandkids.

We must also note that yesterday was, of course, the 81st anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

A toast to all the Americans who were there and in particular to the 16 men who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the attack–11 posthumously. You can read about these men here. They came from all corners of the U.S. including Missouri (Lt. Commander Samuel G. Fuqua from Laddonia, MO, population 520). Lest we forget.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15: 13

*Emily Dickinson