What are your favorite movies?

Jet Pack Prompt- 8/22/23

When it comes to watching movies lately, I’m simply overwhelmed with the amount of choice offerings available. For in pondering my movie time allotted between various streaming services that my wife and myself subscribe to like Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu and Prime Video, I often hesitate to choose. But thinking back to motion pictures that have always stood out for me in the past, I definitely realize the importance of certain movies that seemed very appropriate to key decision-making circumstances happening in various times of my life. Thus the following titles stick to me now as my top eight watched films of all time.

Theme 1 – Testing My Childhood Fantasy Imagination

The Movie – Disney’s – The Sorcerers Apprentice

Theme 2 – Making My Parents Proud Of Me

The Movie – The Music Man

Theme 3- Feeling Young Masculine Empowerment

The Movie – Goldfinger

Theme 4 – Fulfilling Youthful Protest Ambitions

The Movie – All The President’s Men

Theme 5 – Romanticizing About Personal Relationships

The Movie – Somewhere In Time

Theme 6 – Facing The Death of A Loved One

The Movie – What Dreams May Come

Theme 7 – Winning At All Odds

The Movie- Patton

Theme 8- Finding Humility Amid Success

The Movie – Forrest Gump

How do you feel about banning books from children and teens to read in schools?

“Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight” (Steven Chbosky)

John’s latest business trip to Chicago seemed again to have caused him to feel restlessly bored. With several deadlines to meet today, he’d thus decided to  “kill some afternoon time” at a sports bar patio deck near O’ Hare. For he anticipated a phone call from a manager soon directing him to drive downtown to his local office.. How oddly it seemed now to him how close by his outside table lie to such a busy road strewn with dangerous delivery zones across from him. What sense did it make he further reasoned to potentially impede here the right lane flow of traffic? However, he did find  some relief  from these concerns then as he turned his attention to the late Harry Carey bellowing out “Take Me Out to The Ballgame” at the Cubs game broadcast on the nearby TV.

Suddenly John lurched his head violently toward the left in sync with a screeching whine of rubber and anticipated metal on metal collision of vehicles near the restaurant that quickly followed. Without hesitation , John then instinctively lurched up from his seat to the safety of the cafe lobby as a fusillade of glass, rubber, and steel fragments from the wreck showered the area he had been sitting. A crowd of onlookers soon quickly gathered on the far side of the road as the two male drivers, one white and one black. angrily flung themselves outside of their heavily damaged vehicles. A potential riot now seemed likely as rocks and bottles were quickly thrown around the accident scene by some passing teenagers as the two drivers sparred off in angry verbal confrontation. Why weren’t the police around to take decisive action in such an emergency, John wondered as he could have been killed?

John now thought about calling his wife at home in Peoria as well as his regional boss in Cook County. For he sensed a need to reassure them of the facts about how he’d come so close to being involved in such a horrible accident but through quick action had escaped from physical harm. But then he hesitated and ultimately said no in reasoning that it did not seem worthwhile to upset both of them so dramatically  with the gruesome details of this tragedy. 

But in this crisis situation, didn’t these others have the right to know? So giving attention to a similar vein of thought concerning John’s puzzling decision above to withhold the historic truths to his wife and work colleague about witnessing his accident, one must similarly wonder why so many books that chronicle relevant facts about matters of race, gender, and cultural diversity have been banned by school districts across America today. Notably, my home state of Florida under Governor Ron De Santis oversaw the attempted removal of 874 book titles with 566 books successfully banned at the primary- secondary levels in 2022 alone. Such government “overrreach” tactics seem to me eerily reminiscent of the Nazi Book Burning Campaign of Nazi Germany in the 1930s to wipe out the historic records of the Jewish population living throughout pre World War II Europe at that time. Click on the link below and then scroll through an updated list of books banned in Florida recently. 

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/more-than-350-books-banned-in-florida-schools-since-last-july-16817328

So as the new school year in my Broward County region begins next week, I’d like you to consider the potential negative impact of  several new pressures that these teachers in South Florida will face as a result of these book banning state decisions. For what happens to an instructor when a student chooses to read and subsequently talk about a banned book in class? Or how can school librarians maintain an acceptable repository of information control about those students who are curious to locate information found about those banned books and related topics? To what extent as well will banning books escalate racial and gender issue violence among students who reject such dictatorial like decisions? Very simply, delivering sound education and playing partisan politics does not mix well when it comes to one’s freedom to read.

Take a look at several book titles below that have either have been banned in Florida public schools or are under heavy consideration to do so.

What famous person would you most like to write a letter of complaint about now?

Good Evening Fellow Americans:

I want to say a few words about our former President tonight as he steadily makes his way to an ominous future involving serious lawbreaking scrutiny. I often read that he thinks himself to be the perfect man who makes perfect deals and perfect phone calls along with treating the opposite sex in a perfectly gentlemanly way. So the main problem from his perspective happens to be how unfairly others treat his self exalted status which often triggers his rage and vindictive behavior. But being the perpetual victim just suits him fine as there are always plenty of lawyers around to dig him out of trouble anytime he decrees it’s needed.

So mere mortals such as you and me never really matter to this person who views himself as a powerfully omnipotent king. But sometimes one’s lies come back to “bite you back” hard when facing jail time for one’s illicit actions. For in such a court of law in our democracy, finding truth and justice still vitally matters.

Thus I expect our former leader who sees himself as perfect to continue his wildly wrathful “put downs” of our imperfect legal system presided over by imperfect judges at his imperfect trials where citizen jurors decide one’s guilt or innocence in an imperfect way. So as many of us choose to watch this legal drama unfold, here’s some words of wisdom to think about now. Never give in to the devil who praises “Here Lies Mr. President Again.”

What’s your least favorite sports name in America today?

As a committed fan of Cleveland professional baseball fondly called the Indians for over five decades of my life, I’m disturbed to hear my revered baseball team title referred to as the Guardians today. Giving some thought to this new team title, I reason then why anyone would really care for such a common name that originates from an obscure bridge structure in downtown Cleveland? Or who might I be prompted to guard as in football in this new title when trying to show enthusiasm for today’s baseball game action? Most importantly as well, does this questionably inspiring name seemingly intended for a new generation of fans magically make the players a better performing team? I say not. So you might understand that when I ride around on our road trips these days, I make it a point to wear my old Indians hat with the historic image of Chief Wahoo’s wide smile insignia oftentimes at sporting events I frequent.

Yet it seems that it’s more than a trend setting team title that’s needed to satisfy today’s short attention span crowd to stay interested in “Tribe” baseball. Witness for example my attendance at Friday’s Cleveland Guardians game featuring dollar dog night, $2.00 beers, a twenty two minute fireworks show, a short rap music concert, and of course a heavily timed pitch and hit count version of baseball. Yet there’s a simple answer to such layers of new sports distraction. Just concentrate on the little white ball that keeps the game action moving. Batter up Indians!

What’s your favorite sports bar food?

Throughout America today, I expect to find places on our road trips to sit and watch television broadcasting of competitive events happening in what’s commonly referred to as the sports bar. Upon desiring food in these somewhat informal places, I might order something quick to prepare and easy to eat before concentrating most of all on the games. While traditional fare like hamburgers and hot dogs seem tempting on these occasions, I personally favor chicken wings as my munching item of choice. Give me ten wings, fried or baked, accompanied by a variety of sauces and a Diet Coke and I’m “good to go” for the upcoming game.

But what happens when something other than the chicken wings themselves are the main feature of my meal? Such a phenomenon happened at a recent road trip stopover in Buffalo, New York at the famed Anchor Bar. For here we frequented the widely recognized home of the original Buffalo Chicken Wing concocted by Frank & Theresa Bellissimo for a group of friends in this city in 1949. Know then upon entering the lobby of this eating establishment, I gazed in awe at a vast collection of historic memorabilia and amusing artifacts accumulated along the walls over the years of its operation. With such hyper focus on this flashy ambience, it oddly did not seem to matter that no sports blared from televisions throughout the building.

As far as the food itself, I ordered my typical ten wings fried and found them tasty yet not remarkable in a somewhat confining dining area. So it goes to show that that the alleged stature of anything being dubbed so famous as “The Anchor” seems strictly in the “eyes of the beholder.” So let the games begin again this NFL season as I foresee making my choice of sports bars more selectively in the future. For it’s not about the food then that really matters! Enjoy the photo collection below.

“Wherever I roam, nature is the only stranger that feels like home.” (Angie Weiland- Crosby)

What makes Vermont a nice place to visit for a summertime home?

Imagine entering the state of Vermont from the southwesterly border and immediately noticing how this pristinely beautiful landscape impacts your mindset positively for your upcoming vacation. Upon sight of this largely undeveloped green expanse of gently undulating land, you seem committed now to slow down and find an ideal spot to enjoy more leisure time outdoors for your current and possibly future summer vacation. As you continue your drive north, the visually stunning Lake Champlain to the west or those verdant Green Mountains inland further catches your attention. For you sense that an extended stay in either location provides a comforting respite from your normally hectic day to day routine. Just stay put for awhile, you reason, and take full advantage of those longer summer days in Vermont offering such stunning natural beauty in your new temporary home.

So you might consider how these two seasoned travelers viewed several, slow paced, recreational opportunities experienced during this week’s road trip stop in Vermont as potential impetus for a more extended stay in the future. Consider then how this vast lake surrounding us in multiple directions seemingly represented for us a formidable barrier for access to and from the state.Yet upon closer inspection of Champlain, it became merely a short car ferry jaunt across in various places to access future excursions to the Adirondack region in New York beyond. So we just parked our car on a transport boat with ease and enjoyed the stunning vistas along the lake for this leisurely ride. Know as well that our visit to the historic site of Fort Ticonderoga included an adjoining boat ride excursion around the southern shores of Lake Champlain. From this location, we envisioned a potential starting point for long term enjoyment of such pristine shoreline environs in the future.The opportunity to experience an open air bluegrass concert in the small ski town of Stowe provided an additional temptation to explore a longer stay in Central Vermont as we gazed in awe at the serene vista of the Green Mountains.

So take a look yourself at my most recent collection of road trip photos and realize that Vermont might offer you that special haven for nature’s calling that you somehow call home.

“I’m a rich tourist today. How about driving me home in style” (It’s A Wonderful Life -movie quote)


What’s  your favorite holiday movie of all time?

Every Christmas season, I welcome the chance to watch once again the legendary actor Jimmy Stewart play the forward minded presence of George Bailey in the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life”. For his portrayal of George’s turbulent life in the fictional town of Bedford Falls captures my strong nostalgic feeling about those formative Midwest roots of mine in the small town of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. You see George and I both dreamed of accomplishing titanic feats early on, fell into despair in early  adulthood facing seemingly unsurmountable career challenges, yet “rose out of the ashes” as we grew wiser to ultimately realize our self identity in a positive way. Thus fond memories of how much we valued our dreams of finding resilience at home seemed very important for both of us as life’s arduous path took its course in our life.

So with much surprise nearby by our motel location, Ruth and I discovered on our road trip to Seneca Falls, New York, the original town inspiration of Bedford Falls for Director Frank Capra’s script in 1946 for this legendary movie. In fact our short drive through downtown here  provided plentiful reminders of Bedford Fall’s depiction in the movie. There’s a Community Bank for instance in the center of town where I envisioned George busily spending so much of his time keeping his “Savings and Loan” Building open for customer use. Martini’s Bar’s close by this location also provided film reminders of a more decadent Bedford Falls that might have happened without George’ benevolent presence there. Of course I  could not also miss the original bridge site from the movie where a despondent George jumped off in suicidal fashion only to re-emerge with angel Clarence’s help with renewed faithfulness for his current life. But the crown jewel of this town with respect to the movie took place at the small “It’s a Wonderful Life Museum” containing a sizable collection of artifacts from the movie setup as well as some interesting biographical tidbits about each film character who took part then.

So immerse yourself below in that comforting feeling of how we can measure life’s challenges of our past with a freshness of liking in the following photo collection. For there’s always a place in our heart for returning home as George Bailey once did in this wonderful movie.

What place and time do you most desire time traveling back to the past?

“The muffled drum’s sad roll has beat
The soldier’s last tattoo;
No more on life’s parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.”
(Theodore O’Hara)

I consider myself a fanatic when it comes to learning about Civil War times of America long ago. For I am no casual observer of this conflict, like so many students of my times who relied strictly on facts about the Civil War through high school textbooks or became entertained by a “Hollywood spun” movie depiction or two. So such curiosity to know fuels my strong interest in time traveling in my life back to the those tragic days of July 1-3,1963 when Union and Confederate armies clashed in battle in open fields around the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

I might clarify then my primary motivation to travel back to Gettysburg stems from my desire to study more authentic evidence of Civil War times. For that’s often meant in the past immersing myself with plenty of outside readings about famous battles for research purposes and scheduling timely museum during road trip visits to truthfully feel the wrath of southern slavery and subsequent secession efforts of the Confederacy in antebellum America during that time.

You might also understand my heavy interest in Gettysburg from a biographical perspective, For I’ve often daydreamed about witnessing the excitement of this pivotal moment in American History on November 18, 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln took to the stage and delivered his famed Gettysburg Address at Cemetery Hill to pronounce his vehement opposition to the existence of slavery in the United States. Or such focus on a famous figure might have meant attempting to understand the mindset at Gettysburg of Confederate General Robert E. Lee or Union Commander George Meade as the famous battle ensued. Thus in being obsessed with such human psychology of this conflict, I can also recall several travel instances whereby I stared in silence at Gettysburg’s battlefield environs to envision individual acts of common soldier heroism that took place there during those times.

Perhaps the following photo collection from our recent road visit to Gettysburg best illustrates why one might desire to travel back in time to witness this cruel bloodbath of battle. Looking forward, however, how might these images impact your own perspective about wartime matters in our modern era in some way?

How can we talk with less cultural confusion?

The use of language in any country can either be a uniting or dividing force for its people. Know then in my use of English language with second language (ESL) Spanish people in South Florida, I’ve thus discovered how uninformed many tend to be about the meanings of informal American idioms describing common cultural situations each day. I mean who am I impressing when such ambiguously loaded expressions sadly produce only “stone silence” in those potential human bonding moments? It furthermore seems reasonable to conclude that such “dumbing down” of English language use with confusing idioms casts significant barriers for such immigrants in learning how to survive and/or thrive in America society each day?

I compose below then a fictional letter proposing an upcoming travel adventure filled with confusing idiom quotations sent to a primarily Spanish speaking friend. I challenge you then to consider how the unclear content of this letter might help Americans tear down those “walls” of informal word confusion to say what’s meant to be conveyed in cross cultural situations more clearly.

Hey Manuel:

I’ve got “ants in my pants” right now to get out of South Florida right now. So I’m “all ears” to know from you of places that are cooler and less crowded now. For I want to “shoot the breeze” with you again as I slowly sip my iced tea and spread thoughts of happy times gone by “straight from the mouth” of your trusting friend.

But it’s “down to the wire” about whether this vacation will ever take place as I’ve been “running around like a chicken with its head cutoff” to take care of daily crises at home. So I suppose you know already that I will apply more “elbow grease” now to get these important matters “off my chest” to find more “peace of mind” to schedule this vacation. For it’s always best that I can “call my own shots” for what has to be done.

Now don’t be surprised, however, if I “pop up in your neck of the woods” in the next week or so. For I’ll give it my “best shot” to get the car ready and take care of my financial obligations”that are “pulling me down” in the next week or so. I “get it” you’re still working so please know that I have no intention of “spoiling your party”. So let’s “touch base” somehow next week and I can “spill the beans” more clearly about how soon I will be in your “neck of the woods” to visit.

“Catch You Later”,

Jim

 

How does road- tripping trigger a patriotic spirit for our country?

Does the deep thinking spirit of Abraham Lincoln about country exist anymore? For I find “American Patriotism” lately to be noticeably “shallow” and overly politicized. So it’s an urgent need of mine these days to find patriotic places and events in my travels that authenticate deep seated understandings of why true patriotism matters in my life. For it’s not enough to just a wave a flag, shoot off fireworks, or sing the National Anthem for example because it’s popularly acceptable at a certain time to do so. True patriotism for me then must instead come from the heart in full recognition of why I choose to live here and believe in the so called “American Way.” So in the following photo set, I’ve compiled from our recent, east coast road trip, a short sample of visual impressions of what I believe best formulates my American identity today.

For your future interest, please note as well that Ruth and I will be embarking on another summer road trip adventure soon, heading to New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Northeast Ohio. So stay tuned!

1. In Savannah, Georgia – Richmond, Virginia

Honestly acknowledged racial injustice patterns that America endured in the past.

2. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Imagined those life/death struggles that happened day by day on past Civil War battlefields.

3. In Annapolis, Maryland

Immersed myself in the dutiful commitment of the American military experience.

4. In Cary, North Carolina – Baltimore, Maryland

Explored venues to unite all kinds of Americans through sports and music enjoyment endeavors.

5. In Washington D.C. – Atlantic City, New Jersey

Appreciated past American heroes honored for contributions to government, science, and performing arts.