You Gotta Learn How to Die

Last night a few of us gathered to watch the extended edition of "The Return of the King." When Peter Jackson says extended, he means extended. Viewing of this movie is not for the faint of heart or those lacking in sufficient padding on their backside. Yes, slender fellows like myself need a well-stuffed chair for this 4 hour and 10 minute marathon.

I am still surprised that "Return of the King" won the Best Picture Oscar. I would have personally voted for "Mystic River", but I don't have a vote, so this is all idle speculation. I guess that is why I have this grand forum to espouse my views, but I digress. The film is filled with large, chaotic scenes of battle, but the thing that I love about Peter Jackson's directing is that he does not allow that to take the place of the elements that were close to Tolkien's heart.

The Lord of the Rings is not entirely a story about a huge, life-changing journey as it is a tale of heroic personal courage and devotion. I think that Tolkien's favorite characters were not the spectacular fighters, but those who displayed sacrifice in amazing ways like Sam.

Spending all this time at home has given me a lot of time to think, but I am not gaining any kind of clarity about the things that run through my head. One of the hardest things to do in life is to give things time, especially when they are out of your control. I wake up and think about it, and I cannot fall asleep because it continues to run through my mind. You think that you value and cherish someone or something, but it really takes them not being there to show you what a big place they had in your life. I am seeking to come to some sort of peace about everything, but that means changing the way that I have thought about things for a long time. I have no idea how to gain new perspective on my situation, but like Hanks said in "Castaway","you just have to wake up some mornings and remember to breathe, because you never know what the tide is going to bring in."