TAKE A MOMENT...BE COURTEOUS.

   I drove my daughter to school today, taking the usual route. While waiting at a red light behind a pick-up, about to turn left, a full sized big rig was trying to make a right turn to come down the road I was on. He couldn't make the turn, as it was quite tight and the curb and a light pole were pushed all the way to the corner. As a courtesy I backed up about 30 feet, expecting the pickup in front of me to do the same so the truck could make the turn. The pickup never moved an inch, as a matter of fact even seeing this huge rig sitting in a half cocked ready-to-turn position, the pickup even crept forward some more.
   Even my daughter Katie said "how rude is that.." and was equally as annoyed with the pickup driver's ineptitude. The big rig basically had to stay in the intersection, with his nose to the nose of the pickup(it should be noted that the pickup was approaching the light while the big rig was ALREADY starting his turn). The truck driver never lost his cool, but I could see him motion to the pickup driver at least twice to 'please back up', to no avail. It was like he didn't even see this giant truck trying to make the turn. Now our light was green, but of course, the pickup can't move, because the big rig is in the intersection trying to turn. What does the pickup do? he steers right, drives up on the sidewalk and slowly drives through the intersection, making a left. I stayed back to let the trucker finish his maneuver(he rolled down his window to thank me with a smile on his face, as we exchanged our amazement at the pickup driver), and I barely made the green light.
   No big deal. As a truck driver myself, I can vouch for the frustration a driver feels when a "4 wheeler" as we call them either doesn't care, or is oblivious to the extra space ,time, and safety required of a big rig driver, especially in a tight city street like those here in Sanford, Florida.
   We all have different levels of attention, stress, and emotions, but I will only go so far as to say that as you go about your daily routine, it would make every one's life easier if you try to pay attention to the people around you. We all have to 'maneuver' around each other on this overpopulated rock called Earth, and a little common courtesy goes a long way. Besides, the old adage is quite accurate- What goes around comes around. Spread the love, and love will come your way. My grandfather Al used to say "It's nice to be nice, so be nice." So true. Be safe out there.

POEM- "RAINING"

RAINING

Blatantly divine, this moment in time,

Where the sun takes a bow and leaves,

My shadow deserts me, under cover of grey,

As the rain descends to conceive.

As the dry turns to wet, and day turns to rain,

No thought comes about to escape,

For me, it will cleanse not only my skin,

but my thoughts leave my mind quite agape.

Like applause from a crowd, the rain sings a song,

Eyes closed as a grin breaks my face,

Head tilted back as I wait for the Sun,

To quietly return to this place.

THOUGHTS FROM MY HEAD-POETRY

A PAUSE IN TIME

Palms to forehead with the shades drawn tight

This momentary solace from this tiny squall

Just feel nothing until there's something

Then draw your air deep, deliberate

This daily Ritual a necessity of ways

To calm these moments when it rains

To catch a falling self just in time

Then sleep again, for tomorrow comes more

No fight is won with bags of stone

Cleanse the mind, you know just how

A moment, a piece, a breath, you halt,

To think of new ways to cope.

ASCENSION

To stay and play is the way today to say

"I'm here to steer clear of fear"

And this way I may delay the fray.

I know it's slow to show the foe

that in me you see I'm free to be me

And tow the crow that slows my row.

And that I sat like a fat cat on a mat

with this I miss the dismiss of the abyss

And sky high, I fly, with open eyes I rise.

Movie Review- THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

The Passion Of The Christ- 2004

Directed by Mel Gibson

   For a man who has struggled with faith through most of his adult life, One cannot read this review without knowing that this film has changed me, yet this review comes only after seeing the film for a third time since it's release in 2004. An eye opening epiphany, this film brought me to tears more than once, as a man who not only believes in God and Jesus, but now has a further understanding of the Love that is Jesus Christ.
   Today is Monday August 20th, 2012, and it should be known that my sister Debi and I had a conversation last night about Love, Christ, and the differences of man, among other things, and upon saying goodnight to her, I felt it prudent to seek the message of this great film in a new light. Realizing it is an interpretation, it will be a catalyst for future searching that I will take to find in me the answers that I seek.
   The controversial Gibson has brought forth an interpretation of Christ's last hours in a way that I now see as an homage to the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us. As I said, this is the third time I've seen the film, but for reasons I am still processing, I personally received more from today's viewing than either of the last 2 times. It's almost as if I have no memory of watching it before, and it was fresh and new.
   From the opening sequences of the betrayal by Judas, I felt pain and sorrow for Christ. As he was taken away by the men of the Pharisees, I was angered by the indifference that a few pieces of silver would make for Judas. As Jesus was brought to his accusers of blasphemy, his silence at times when asked to speak for himself was in my eyes his way of telling them that there were no answers for which the questions they asked. "Forgive them, Father....they know not what they do."
   Jim Caviezel is superb in every way an actor playing Christ can be, from the soft spoken guidance he offers his followers in the flashback sequences, to the final words spoken while nailed to the cross; "Father, into your hands...I commend my spirit..". Noticing Christ's eyes dilating as he died only empowered the moment, in a brilliant detail of Gibson's.
   Of course, the crucifixion was the defining moment of the film, but for me, I felt the greatest sorrow when Mary went to him as he carried the cross through Jerusalem. The scene was enhanced with a flashback of Mary running to Jesus' aid when he fell as a child. Comforting him with "I'm here...", both scenes combined to define an undying love a mother has for child, and in that moment, even a mother's love could not stop what was happening. Telling him "I'm here." warrants his response of, "See, mother...I make all things new."
   Jesus never screamed in protest of his accusations, he simply did what he did for the power that he was, the Son of Man, the Messiah.
   Even upon the cross, he said to another condemned man who confessed his crime to him, "Amen, I tell you, on this day you shall be with me in paradise." In what is another defining moment for me, this scene embodies the power of giving yourself to Christ.
   The Passion Of The Christ is epic, indeed. Mel Gibson's direction holds you from start to finish, and for me, a new understanding at age 39 of the sacrifice of Jesus, he who died for our sins. This is now a film I will never forget, as it will help me seek the answers I look for for the rest of my life.

"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken" - Psalm 16:8   

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT 
By Dylan Thomas(10-27-1914 to 11-9-1953)




Do not go gentle into that good night.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right.
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieve it on it's way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.



 I forgot how much I loved this classic poem. Dylan Thomas died a few weeks after his 39th birthday after falling ill and slipping into a coma in NY during a tour. An alcoholic, he claims most of his poetic influence came from Mother Goose rhymes his parents taught him as a child. I'm the age now he was at his end, and I can only imagine what other beauty of prose might have become had he lived to an elderly age. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomas

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"BURIED" - MOVIE REVIEW

   Howdee do everyone!! Welcome to another Movie Review from Captain Random. Today's film is "Buried" starring Ryan Reynolds, and ooonly Ryan Reynolds. Well sort of anyway. Released in 2010, the film is an up close and personal account of a kidnapped contract worker in Iraq who wakes up in a box buried alive somewhere in the Iraqi desert. The entire film is shot inside the dark forbidding crate with Reynolds starring as Paul Conroy.
   Conroy is a contract truck driver who was in Iraq working for a company that transported supplies for rebuilding the infrastructure in areas affected by the ongoing conflicts there. From the moment he wakes up from being unconscious, we follow Paul in his anxiety of realizing where he is, and the first few minutes of the film show a screaming, scared man who is rightfully freaking out.
   The military convoy that was escorting Paul and his colleagues was hit with a coordinated assault by insurgents, during which most if not all of who he was with was killed or captured. His abductors put him in the "coffin" that he was in and buried him, his location unknown.
   As Paul calms down and surveys his surroundings, he realizes he has a Zippo lighter, a flask with some good stuff still in it, his medication, some empty pistachio shells, and of all things a cell phone. The phone was placed in there by his abductors, under the guise of him recording a pre-written statement to be uploaded to the captors. But Paul uses the phone, which is in Arabic, to contact various locations in the continental US, most importantly, his wife, but she does not answer.
   At one point Paul takes a call from his captor, who demands he pay them millions for his release. The back and forth phone calls tell us he's buried relatively close to the surface, but a contact he made with a representative of an organization who negotiates on behalf of US citizens is unable to trace the calls.
   The film continues for an intriguing account of a man desperate to get home, and frustrated that no one is helping him. He not only faces the idea of running out of air, but there are other detractors at work, notably a poisonous snake that makes it's way in(my favorite scene by far), the dying battery on the cell phone, and leaking sand that's now trickling in.
   The most emotional moment in the film was Paul's call to his mother, who is in a rest home with Alzheimer's.
   Reynolds is perfect for the role, and his portrayal of Conroy is an emotional testament to not only having the audience feel enclosed and trapped with him, but also addresses the socio-political issues of a war in a foreign land.
   The ENTIRE film is buried with him, and the only other person you see is a colleague of his on a video uplink on his phone, who by the way is also held captive elsewhere. The film builds from anxiety, to resolve, to his inevitable acceptance that he may not make it out alive. The ending was both intense and unexpected. I enjoyed this film, but it certainly isn't award worthy. Will Paul Conroy be rescued in time? Check it out. One to Ten scale.....a solid 7.
Capt. Random out.