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Tuesday

The Movies of My Youth

It's the differences that attract us, but then it becomes the differences that stand between us...

I say this to say I have been waging a video holy war with my wife since we began living together (one of many reasons not to do such a thing - yeah, if I've never mentioned it before I'm totally against living together before marriage even though I did it myself - both based on my spiritual beliefs and just basic cons outweighing pros - which I learned the hard way).

I like old movies. She does not.

I like foreign films. She does not.

I like blaxploitation flicks. She does not.

I like kung fu movies. She sometimes tolerates them.

I can watch a good action movie until the DVD player breaks. She wants to know what is a "good" action movie.

I thought LOTR (Lord of the Rings) was amazing. She thought they were the worst movies she never saw.

And she likes girlie stuff, and the occasionally heavy piece, and I can't be bothered.

At one point we both had Netflix accounts. But it didn't make financial sense to have two accounts once we moved in together. Since her plan allowed for more movies per month I discontinued mine and effectively silenced my rights to have a say in what we watch on DVD.

Until now...

One day I happened to be driving by the good old public library and I had an "A Ha!" moment. I swerved out of traffic, parked and walked inside. In less than five minutes I was able to verify my residency at the front desk. They handed me a crisp new card. And I walked out with not one, not two, not even three or four DVDs. I walked out with 10.

So now my wife's DVD selections trickle in here 2 or 3 at a time and are movies we may or may not have already seen based on how out of date here queue is. I now rule the pile with stacks upon stacks of my quirky movies. And did I mention they were free? As long as I return them on time. And I have a week to do that, which is more than enough time to view or decide not to view a movie.

I have since reignited my love of the movies of my youth. Movies that were meant for kids first and a toy line second. Today's toy-driven cartoons just don't do it for me (except for Transformers). In the last month or so I've been able to introduce my daughter, and in some instances my teenage son to the following:

  • Almost every Disney princess offering in existence.
  • A ton of Pixar movies and even Pixar shorts.
  • Disney's Robin Hood (the one where Robin Hood is a fox).
  • Disney's first full feature Jungle Book movie.
  • Several Charlie Brown/Peanuts movies - my stand alone all time favorites, period. I was Charlie Brown and I always wanted my own Snoopy even though I didn't get why real beagles didn't look like Snoopy.
  • Rikki Tikki Tavi (a personal favorite of mine based on Rudyard Kipling's tale of a rescued mongoose who loves his adopted family and goes on the warpath against two despicable cobras that threaten his new family and all the animals in their garden)
  • American Legends (a James Earl Jones hosted and narrated piece about US icons, John Henry, Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed)

Believe it or not, next on my list is a compilation of all the School House Rock shorts and Puff the Magic Dragon (I cried after this one and my father took me to McDonald's and soothed me with their Quarter Pounder --- they hadn't added the cheese yet --- yeah I'm really, reealllly dating myself now).

If you haven't considered it or never thought of it, your local public library is a great source of movies and those other things called books. Some even have gallery spaces for artists. The original paintings and sketches of Dr. Seuss are currently on display at mine. Who knows, you may rediscover your youth (or at least your interests) while looking through their selections.

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