Today daughter #1 and I are heading to Sedalia, MO for a DAR leadership workshop.
I am tagging along because I have always wanted to go to Sedalia ever since my childhood days watching Rawhide on TV.
The drovers, you will recall, were usually heading to Sedalia, which for a time was the western end of the railroad, with their cattle herd.
Anyway, we’ll be back on Saturday, in time to pick up Mr. Smith who will be “boarding” with the boy and his family. I hope he can handle the excitement!
Speaking of cattle drives, don’t forget that Saturday is the the National Day of the Cowboy, celebrating the iconic figure who shaped the American West. They will, of course, be whooping it up at my favorite museum, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. When I get home from Sedalia, I’ll watch a cowboy movie as is my custom. Probably Junior Bonner (1972)…
Oh yeah.
Please keep us in your prayers as we sally forth into Mid-MO!
Well, I finally watched A Great Awakening (2026), the new movie about the friendship between the Rev. George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin and I loved it.
It is available to rent on Amazon Prime. I have the DVD, because I will definitely watch it again. And you know how I feel about physical media.
As Greg Morse writes, “The story of the man whom God used to spark revival on two continents cannot be fully told in a running time of just over two hours. Whitefield was a force, a hurricane that swept through Britain and the colonies with Christian zeal, resistless spirituality, and renowned oratory. The facts are almost unbelievable. On many weeks, he preached nearly as much, if not more, than he slept. When not preaching, he rode on horseback miles upon miles to his next speaking engagement. He preached and taught one thousand times every year for thirty years, most of the time to thousands of people, all without microphones and notes, and often outside. John Piper notes in his excellent sermon, ‘Estimates are that eighty percent of the entire population of the American colonies (this is before TV or radio) heard Whitefield at least once.'”
Yes, it is an amazing story and this movie tells it well. The production values are high. I had never heard of anyone in it, but the acting is excellent. The direction is solid. It is not a Hallmark movie. It won’t win any awards, because it doesn’t check any of the woke boxes, but it checked all of mine.
It was rainy on Sunday, but we had no tornados like they did in central Illinois!
And yesterday was dark and gloomy, but that’s just permission to stay home and read. Indeed, I always have a stack of books waiting for me.
But if you are like me, you are always looking for something good to watch. Usually this means re-watching something old, sometimes really old. Here are a few movies I’ve re-watched recently.
Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), a “comedy-drama” starring Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, Eddie Albert and Bobby Darin. Darin was nominated for the supporting actor Oscar. He really went all-out in his big scene and I’m still sad that he didn’t win. Peck plays psychiatrist Captain Josiah Newman who is head of the neuro-psychiatric Ward 7 at the Colfax Army Air Field military hospital during WWII where he uses “unconventional” methods to treat his patients. I enjoyed it a lot and all the actors are very good.
I also watched Ride With the Devil (1999) directed by Ang Lee and starring Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jeffrey Wright, Jewel, Simon Baker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, James Caviezel. It is based on the novel Woe to Live On, by Daniel Woodrell, which is a good book worth reading. Set during the American Civil War, it follows a group of men who join the First Missouri Irregulars, also known as Bushwhackers—guerrilla units loyal to pro-Confederacy units of the state—and their war against Northern Jayhawkers allied with the Union army. It is an excellent and authentic depiction of this terrible time in Missouri history, when, frequently motivated by vengeance, both sides thought that they were right and wholly justified.
Another good movie I viewed recently is Appaloosa (2008), starring Ed Harris (who also directed), Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons. Based on a novel by crime writer Robert B. Parker, the story takes place in the town of Appaloosa where the leading citizens hire lawman Virgil Cole and his deputy Everett Hitch to restore order, authorizing Cole to lay down the law as the new marshal. It is not a great movie but it is entertaining and mostly worth watching because of Viggo Mortensen and his character’s development. Watch him. He is really good.
I also finished reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. It is a well written book (rare these days) with a surprisingly chaste and sweet hero, no bad language and relatively little really grotesque violence. Still, it was not my cup of tea. It was far too creepy for me. I do not need to lose sleep over the fictional Powers of Darkness that proliferate in his books. No sir. So I think that will be enough Koontz for me.
On the other hand, here’s a Case Against Christian Doomerism. The world is nowhere near as uniquely bad as you think it is.
And when Joni Eareckson Tada speaks, it’s a good idea to pay attention: Five Points in My Pain.
Enjoy your day! Read something good, watch something old, watch the sky.
Yesterday was the 47th anniversary of the passing of John Wayne in 1979. His legacy lives on through the John Wayne: An American Experience Museum in the Fort Worth Stockyards where visitors can explore the life and career of Duke, as well as through the work of the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, dedicated to the fight against cancer in his honor. His family has done an impressive job preserving his name and image.
We also remember that 22 years ago yesterday, President Ronald Reagan was laid to rest at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.
I have been reading his autobiography, An American Life, and it really is the quintessential American story–small town boy with brains, talent and good looks, who through hard work becomes a movie star and then the governor of a (then) great state and ultimately president. Only in America.
My personal favorite: Santa Fe Trail with Olivia de Haviland and Errol Flynn
Today we also remember the wonderful character actress Mary Wickes, who was born Mary Wickenhauser on June 13, 1910 in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up in University City in Ames Place about two blocks from my childhood home. She graduated from Washington University in 1930 and then moved to NYC and appeared on Broadway, before transitioning to film and television.
Mary Wickes and Patrick Knowles in Who Done It? (1942)
From the 1940s to the 1970s, she often played supporting roles as professional women – such as secretaries, nurses, therapists, teachers, and housekeepers – who made sarcastic quips when the leading characters fell short of her high standards.
And who can forget her as Emma, the busybody housekeeper in White Christmas (1953)?
I don’t know about you, but in our family we are constantly quoting her exclaiming, “This calls for champagne!”
She never married or had any children, but she left a large estate and made a $2 million bequest in memory of her parents, establishing the Isabella and Frank Wickenhauser Memorial Library Fund for Television, Film and Theater Arts at Washington University. She is buried in the Wickenhauser family plot in the Shiloh Valley Cemetery in Shiloh, St. Clair County, Illinois.
So why not watch a movie starring John Wayne or Ronald Reagan or a movie or TV show featuring Mary Wickes tonight–I know I’d love to find Season 2, episode 1 of Murder She Wrote, wouldn’t you?
The week is almost over and so is the month of May. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, and all that.
I don’t have many plans for the weekend, which is kind of nice. I have the new Walt Longmire mystery, which was released on Tuesday, so I am already back in Absaroka County.
I am 70 pages in and Henry has not appeared, so I am a bit dubious, but we shall see.
I liked this post about “the beauty of the unnamed and the unnoticed…the glory of mundane faithfulness.”
And let’s not forget to toast Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), one of the most influential composers in Hollywood history, on his birthday. Winner of two Academy Awards–for Anthony Adverse (1936) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)–his scores were brilliant and influential (think Star Wars, entirely derivative).
I had to go to the doctor’s for an annual ‘well’ visit yesterday morning so I treated myself to a daytime John Wayne birthday screening of The Horse Soldiers (1959) in the afternoon. It was great, of course, a true tonic for what ails ya. At least for me. It is important to know what your tonic is. (Hopefully not drugs or alcohol.)
On the evening of Memorial Day, after my family had gone home, I watched Twelve O’Clock High (1949), which is Gregory Peck’s greatest film (except for To Kill aMockingbird). He should have won the Academy Award for his portrayal of Brig. General Frank Savage.
As I have said before, it is incredible to me how the pilots and crews of those B-17s managed to do what they did over and over again. It is no wonder that many succumbed to battle fatigue, which is what this movie addresses. The film made use of actual combat footage during the battle scenes and the results are impressive. If you haven’t viewed it recently, treat yourself.
I also cleaned my closet and threw away/gave away a ton of old shoes that I will never wear again. That feels good.
And here’s another good one from Kevin DeYoung about What We Need Most. “Our main problem is not lack of time or resources or the annoying people in our lives. Your main problem and my main problem is that we do not see enough the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
(Prairie Peony)
And remember this:
“Only if your god can outrage and challenge you will you know that you worship the real God and not a figment of your imagination…If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.”
Good weekend! How about you? I had to recover some from my windy drive back from the prairie in the speedwagon, but I did. I can report that the prairie is greening up nicely. On Saturday, even in the rain, daughter #1 and I ventured to an estate sale and did pretty well, finding something for daughter #2. We had lunch at the Village Bar and then we went to the dollar store and our favorite Presbyterian re-sale shop where we picked up some DVDs for $1.50. Score! Then we wandered around our local antique mall for awhile–always a fun thing to do. The simple pleasures.
That night I watched We Are Marshall (2006), the DVD of which I had bought earlier in the day. It is the true story of the aftermath of the plane crash in 1970 that killed the entire Marshall University football team, the coaching staff and a lot of fans. Matthew McConaughey is excellent as the new coach, as are all the actors, and the directing by McG is impressive. I cried through the whole movie. I love a good sports movie, don’t you? I remember watching it with the OM when it first came out. He played football in high school (All ABC League!) and that was important to him. Some of those relationships impacted his whole life. When he died and the email went out to his classmates, almost the entire subsequent thread was about football.
I really liked it and I recommend it.
I went to church on Sunday, sang some favorite hymns, heard a good sermon on Joshua 13:8-14; 22:1-6,10-34, and saw the assistant Pastor’s new baby, Asa, who is two weeks old. The Kindergartners also received their Bibles–always a highlight. I went to the bud’s last lacrosse game of the season. It was very hot!
Yes, it’s all-of-a-sudden summer in my neck of the woods!
And I guess you have to be pretty old to get this one:
Another beautiful day in flyover land–perfect for running errands, which I did in preparation for hitting the road today. Yes, I am heading again to the prairie! Pray for smooth travels in the speedwagon, good weather and good health to everyone involved!
I also went over to my friend Eleanor’s house yesterday to watch a movie on her bigscreen TV (she has a new, even bigger TV now). We watched Hamnet (2025). I had low expectations for the movie and it was, in reality, much worse than imagined. Dark, unremittingly dreary. Hardly anyone smiles during the entire movie. I knew it would be very earthy–yes, we get to watch Agnes give birth three times in 16th century England where everyone is portrayed as unclean and disheveled. There is lots of screaming and groaning then and then again when her children are older and have bubonic plague. I guess this is what passes for great acting these days. But it is a one-note movie. The pace never changes. It asks the question, did Shakespeare write Hamlet as a way to process his grief over his son Hamnet’s death? The answer would be yes, but the movie never presents Will Shakespeare as a person remotely capable of doing so.
“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an Angel! in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me; no, nor Woman neither; though by your smiling you seem to say so…” (Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2)
And, of course, there is no spiritual element in the movie. Agnes is basically a pagan woman of the wood. Please.
If I had been watching it at home, I would have turned it off, but, alas, I could not.
In the meantime, I could really relate to this article by a Garden & Gun editor about hints for traveling with your boomer Mom. On a trip to Ireland, the author and her mother even took a side trip to Cong after watching The Quiet Man. If they are “unhinged” then so are we.
The other night I watched Man of La Mancha (1972) on TCM for want of anything else to watch. A film adaption of the hit Broadway musical, it is not a great movie. However, while I watched, I remembered going to the Cinerama Theater to see it with my mother and sister. I was a junior in high school. We were big Peter O’Toole fans at the time and we enjoyed it. My mother reacted very emotionally to it, weeping at the end when Cervantes goes up the prison stairs with the loyal Sancho to meet the Inquisition tribunal.
When the movie was over, after pulling ourselves together, we did something I don’t ever remember doing before or since–we went to Famous-Barr and bought the movie soundtrack on the way home! We listened to that record so much I practically knew it by heart. Peter O’Toole was (sadly) dubbed in his singing scenes, but the record included several short scenes which included his dialog. “I shall impersonate a man!” That dialog came back to me so clearly watching the movie!
The lyrics to “The Impossible Dream” may seem corny to some now, but they weren’t then. It is still a pretty great song.
I forgot to mention that Monday was the birthday of cousin Ulysses S. Grant (1822-85).
Yes, Grant was not cut out for politics–too humble, too honest, too trusting. I do love USG. Let’s all take a moment.
Also, I somehow missed that they recently filmed Antiques Roadshow at Grant’s Farm here in town. The first episode of three at Grant’s Farm aired on Monday. You can watch it here.
