Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

I loved the movie Paint Your Wagon. It of course is about the gold rush times and about how a tent city sprung up at the near mention of gold. Well, recently I had the chance to pan for gold and decided in a hurry it wasn’t worth it, even though we found a few speckles of gold dust. I guess what was even more interesting was the kind of cities the sprung up around the near mention of gold. It was interesting recently to see Skagway, the entrance to the gold fields of the early 1900s and which had such things as general stores, brothels, bars, and associated stuff. What a different world.

In the Star Wars universe, you had Jedi Masters who had learned the discipline of the Jedi and who understood the Jedi universe and all that was part of that. When you go on a cruise, you sometimes meet someone who has been in 50, 60, or even a 100 cruises. To those of us who have only been on 2 or 3, they are a Cruise Master. The first thing one does is ask which cruise line they like the best. You next ask which was their most favorite cruise, and deep inside, you vow to become a cruise master yourself. After all, you want to become a Cruise Master like them, sailing the seven seas and becoming a master of all the water that you can see.

Recently I stood on the bow of the Crown Princess. I was doing my Leonardo DiCapprio stunt of standing on the bow of the ship, looking to the horizon. It was cool looking over the waves, seeing the oncoming horizon and feeling the ship go up and down, cutting through the water. It was a sight I won’t forget for a while. It is incredible.

I saw a movie tonight that moved me. It was the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The story is one of a child born with an old man’s body, and then as the man grows older in mind and spirit, his body grows younger. It was certainly a different take on life’s experiences. The thing I loved about the movie was the thoughts that it left about life, and the fact that we should cherish each and every moment. We should also never let life get us down, but should try and try again. It was thought provoking. It makes me think of my own life, and how we should try and do our best always.

Back in 1977 I joined in line a ton of other young, science fiction aficionados to attend the newest release from Steven Spielberg, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As anyone who saw this movie will attest, the end of the movie takes place at Devils Tower in Wyoming where man met for the first time aliens from outer space. Since that time, I have wanted to see that landmark.

Today I saw that landmark. It was a wonderful experience. We sat and ate our lunches in the shadow of this landmark. We took a hike around the base of the monument, and I enjoyed taking the time to appreciate and take in this National Monument. The only thing lacking was the aliens, the army flying around the monument, and the nerve gas. Also lacking was the music and the talking computers.

We had a good time today. I enjoy taking it easy with no schedule or deadlines to meet.

Saw recently the new Indiana Jones movie. It was OK. I think the major problem was that it was a rehash of a lot of old plot lines, and the intensity just wasn’t there. Harrison Ford is a good actor, but he just didn’t have the intensity he did when he was 40. I guess it reminded me of how old I am getting. I don’t have the same intensity either. Maybe someday, when I am fully resurrected, that old intensity will return.

Friday night is known as date night among a lot of us Mormons. That is the night when you get a chance to go out with just the spouse and have a darn good time. Last night my love and I went out to see a show. It happened to be the latest remake of the Gerald Lund books series, called The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided. Talk about dull. Part of the problem was that the books themselves cover 9 novels, and the first two movies were trying to be true to the first two or three books. I think Larry Miller must have decided he couldn’t bankroll any more of these movies because this movie was the conclusion of the movies to be made. They spent so much time trying to tie up so many ends, that the movie itself was not well made and the movie did not wrap anyone up well. The acting was also not first rate, which brings me to the second not so dull point.

When I was a kid, one of the families in our ward was the Call family. I knew one of the brothers, Rick Call, who was in my class. A year older was Roy Call. Well, Roy decided that his dream was to go into acting. He went to California, and for all I knew, he hadn’t done to well. Over the years, I knew he had been in the bust movie Waterworld (Kevin Costners $150MM fiasco). Bonnie last night saw this name up on the screen, R.D. Call, and wondered out loud if that was him. Thinking back on that name, I wondered if he was the guy that had played Governor Boggs in the movie. Sure enough, when the credits ran, that was him. Having my curiousity fueled, I went home and did some searching on the net. I found out that Mr. R.D.Call had also appeared in Waterworld, and that he had played numerous bit parts over the years. He was so unfamous that when I went and googled his name, I found a site listing his filmography, but it didn’t have a picture, or much in the way of personal data. I did find his birthplace, which confirmed my suspicion. It is sometimes interesting, as we get older, to do some searching to find out what happened to John Doe, or to Jane Doe, or in this case, Roy (aka RD Call) Call. Life takes us to some strange places. Go google a name, and see what you find.