Thursday, November 8, 2012

National Lampoon

I haven't posted in awhile but after a long fall season and some free time tonight I figure tonight is as good a time as ever to post something. 

On a rare day off in the life of an SID, I turn on the TV and I find one of my favorite movies on "School of Life" with Ryan Reynolds. For a movie that debuted on ABC family back in 2005, there are so many real-life issues and the biggest thing it teaches us is that time is precious, we don't have a lot of it. 

Early in the movie Ryan Reynold's character, Michael D'Angelis or simply known as "Mr.D." to his students, poses the students a question: "How much time do we have?" 

All the kids look towards the clock, presumably, anticipating when the bell rings. But Mr. D warns them that "the answer will not be found on that clock. The answer is not a lot. Not a lot." 

While the saying is true. We don't have a as much time as we would like to think, it is a double edged sword, unbeknownst to any one at Fallbrook Middle School, Mr. D had inoperable, terminal lung cancer. So just like the man who inspired the name of this blog, he didn't have much time left. But he sure did teach us to not take things for granted. To stop for a minute, take  break from work or whatever we are doing that is so important at the time and just sit back and enjoy life. Because in the end we never know how long we have. 

Right after "School of Life" ended I noticed the next movie coming on Starz was one of the all-time funniest movies ever made: National Lampoon's Vacation. Even though Chevy Chase's children change with each movie, there are no funnier movies than the Vacation series. There is no one in this world that can not sit through any one of the movies (Vacation, European, Christmas, Vegas) and no laugh. It's just physically not possible. 

Yet no matter how many times I see the movie all the little things still crack me up. Such as getting the family lost in one of the most dangerous cities in the United States: East St. Louis, driving through the desert with dog tied to the bump, an old Aunt dying along the way or just absolutely losing it at night in the pouring rain. 

A week ago after the fall season finally came to an end, I equated this fall to the movie. Every week something new happened whether it was one thing or another there was always something, so getting to the end turned into a "quest," to quote Clark Griswold, "a quest to get to the end of the season."