Like peas and carrots

by chuckofish

One night recently when I was flipping channels trying to find something to watch, I came upon Forrest Gump (1994). After a few too many commercials, I remembered that I own the DVD, so I started watching that. I had not seen the movie in many years and I really enjoyed it.

An adaption of the novel by Winston Groom, it follows the life of an Alabama man with a low IQ named Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), who unwittingly participates in some of the major events of the twentieth century and interacts with several major historical figures in the process.  It won six Academy Awards including the Best Picture Oscar as well as Best Actor and Best Director. It was a huge hit. The soundtrack which includes 32 songs from the eras presented was also a hit.

In a famous scene toward the beginning of the movie Forrest meets Jenny, his best friend for life, as elementary school children on a bus. No one else will let him sit with them. Later he meets his “best good friend” Bubba on a bus of army recruits headed for Vietnam. He also will let Forrest sit by him. It struck me that I too met my best friend Trudy Glick sitting on a school bus in Junior Kindergarten. I was so shy I couldn’t speak to anyone, but she spoke to me and we were best friends through second grade. I remember telling the boy when he was in middle school to be kind to people on his bus–it could mean a lot to someone. I think it took years, but he learned that lesson. It is an important lesson. God places people in our path and the least we can do is smile and move over.

At one point in the movie when Forrest is running back and forth across the country, he runs through Monument Valley…

…and actually that is where he stops running.

We are headed there in less than two weeks! I will probably watch a few more movies filmed in Monument Valley in preparation for this trip, but Forrest Gump was, unwittingly, a good place to start. I recommend it if you are looking for something to watch.

By the way, Forrest Gump’s favorite book was Curious George. Which reminded me of this:

Enjoy the day. Smile and move over.