A Man Called Otto: Learning to Appreciate a Grumpy Old Man

 

Beloved and I broke what was probably our longest run of non-movie-attendance last Friday by going to see A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks.

Both of us are Hank fans, so we went in with fairly sizable expectations. And both of us left chanting, "That was so good..." For my part, it wiped away my disappointment in Pinocchio and put Hanks back in the "He Can Practically Do No Wrong" category.

The only problem I have is that I want to tell you about some of the impactful moments in the movie, but I have a greater desire for you to experience the gentle unfolding of Otto's story for yourself. So...treat yourself to an adult (but not as in "adult bookstore" adult) film that engages the mind and heart without depending on adrenaline.

On a semi-related note, the ticket-seller asked if we were seniors, and it kind of set me on my heels. It was the first time I had ever been asked that...and the first time I ever admitted, even to myself, that...yes indeed...I am.

But I hope that doesn't mean the title of this post is referring to ME instead of Otto.

Crying in My Sleep

 

I started sifting through one of the piles of papers in my home office this morning and found this...I don't know...poem?

I wrote it on a series of sticky notes; I think either in the middle of the night or right after getting up some morning. I'm pretty sure it's close to being a true story.

Crying in My Sleep

I dreamt of you last night
You had created a beautiful coffee-table book
of quotes and pictures
and poems and life

You had bared your soul in print
and put me on the cover
Me
On the cover
And I sobbed so deeply I couldn't breathe

To be so fondly remembered
To have a memory of yourself so deeply cherished
Well, it is able to separate bone from marrow
and put Humpty Dumpty together again

I dreamt of you last night
And was reborn

Books I Read in 2023, Vol. I

 

A SERPENT'S TOOTH: A Walt Longmire Mystery
Craig Johnson

It's homecoming for the Durant Dogies when Cord Lynear, a Mormon "lost boy" forced off his compound for supposedly rebellious behavior, shows up in Absaroka County. Without much guidance, divine or otherwise, Sheriff Walt Longmire, his second-in-command, Victoria Moretti, and his good friend Henry Standing Bear search for the boy's mother and find themselves in a high plains scavenger hunt that ends at the barbed wire doorstep of an interstate polygamy group. Run by the 400-pound Roy Lynear  -  Cord's father  -  the group is frighteningly well-armed and very good at keeping secrets. As Walt, Henry, and Vic pursue and butt heads with the Lynears, they hear whispers of Big Oil and the CIA and find they might be dealing with more than they bargained for.

Another satisfying read. I was glad that THIS one didn't take place during the winter and that it didn't include all the strange visions and is-this-guy-dead-or-not mysticism of a couple other books in the series. Also, it was more of a nuts-and-bolts police procedural with a healthy dose of humorous interaction among the main characters. 3.5 out of 4 stars.

First Line: I stared at the black-and-orange corsage on Barbara Thomas's lapel so that I wouldn't have to look at anything else.

Page 56/Line 5: "Excuse me, Sheriff."

Last Line: I breathed in the scent of her along with that of the black-and-orange corsage that I carefully placed on the pillow beside her head.

Roth Christmas Epistle 2022

 

Our weekly Thursday night visits with Anawynn (as Dustin and Kelly Jo do their dance class thing) have changed from Grandma and Grandpa reading to her at bedtime to the three of us sharing those reading duties. She is nine, after all, and becoming a beautiful young lady full of creativity and humor.

How is it possible that Ivy June is almost three??!? And baby sister Ezra Ann (1) is walking and handling stairs like a master, while her face lights up every time she sees us...heart-melting. Curtis and Abbey purchased their first home this year and Curtis became the full-time Children's Pastor at Valley...the church where HE was once a child and his daddy once was the youth minister!

Johnathan, Shonda, and Maverick (6) hosted us for a wonderful weekend at their home in Arkansas. We had a great time meeting their two white labradoodles, Calvin and Hobbes.

Phil is enjoying his work as an electrician,  Angel continues to help pump up the reading skills of her elementary-aged flock, Jesse (11) played both soccer and baseball (impressing both his coaches), and Thomas (8) seems to be on the verge of mastering some snowboarding skills and putting one on his Christmas wish list.

Debbie continued to add more in-person events to her resume with Rest in Him Ministry, and started working on a second book. She was honored to participate in Valley Christian Church's Advent sermon series this year. It was based on the women who appear in Jesus' genealogy, and Debbie's message was about Ruth. We both absolutely love the upstairs remodel (pictured below) that was accomplished thanks to an inheritance from Dewey's mom. And oh yeah...with the employment news in the following paragraph, Debbie was able to retire after 24.5 years as a para-professional with ISD 196!

Dewey went straight from his short-term contract with Securian Financial ending on April 1 to starting a full-time position with a company called EQ, with an enjoyable two weeks off in between...as Goldilocks would say, it was juuuuust right!  His creative outlets are still fired up, including some additional Santa gigs this year. Get caught up on all the info about blogs and podcasts and Facebook humor pages by going HERE. And oh yeah...on August 2nd, he finished his 65th trip around the sun.

Take some time to rest in the knowledge that you are loved, not only by us but by the One who knows you best of all. Heaven came to Earth in a small package, but it had big results.  Have a blessed new year!

Books I Read in 2022, Vol. XVI

 

WOULD YOU BAPTIZE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL? ...and Other Questions from the Astronomers' In-box at the Vatican Observatory
Guy Consolmagno, SJ and Paul Mueller, SJ

Do you think that both science and faith should be taken seriously, but you struggle with how to hold science and faith together, with integrity? Do you find yourself tending to keep science and faith isolated from each other, in separate, watertight compartments, but you wish that science and faith didn't have to "take turns" in your life? Then this book is for you. Read on!

This is another book I bought for 25 cents from the library and it was worth far more than that. By the title, I thought this was going to be a kind of light-hearted romp through a bunch of silly questions, and it certainly has a sense of humor, but it functions mostly as an excellent discussion about how faith and science do not need to be in competition with each other. I gained a helpful perspective by reading this book, and would be happy to let anyone borrow it.

First Line: Would you baptize an extraterrestrial is one of the questions people ask us all the time here at the Vatican Observatory...along with questions about the Star of Bethlehem, the beginning and end of the universe, Galileo, Pluto, black holes, killer asteroids, and all the other topics astronomers always get asked about.

Page 56, Line 5: When you think that the "fundamentals" are all that's important, or that knowing the "fundamentals" is enough by itself, it's like seeing only the dots of paint in Seurat's painting.

Last Line: I expect that someday we'll learn that even in this cosmos, we are not alone.

Criminal Minds Evolution: Or Is It Devolution?

 

WHEREAS Beloved and I had watched all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds back when we were foolishly spending money on Netflix, and

WHEREAS we are currently enjoying the Paramount+ login provided by our second daughter and her husband, and

WHEREAS Season 16 of Criminal Minds (now called Criminal Minds Evolution) started streaming on Paramount+,

THEREFORE

Beloved and I were excited to begin watching the new episodes.

HOWEVER

With its move away from broadcast television to a streaming service and the ability to label itself TV-MA, the powers that be have changed nothing about the series except to add F-bombs and vulgar references to solid waste.

And they apparently think this is an improvement.

I honestly don't understand.

For 15 years, we've grown to appreciate these characters as professional-sounding, intellectual-yet-passionate FBI agents. Now, they come across as barely-controlled street vigilantes who express their frustration by using the squalid language of thugs.

And they apparently think this is an improvement.

Seriously, I don't get it. How is this better storytelling? 

LIGHT & MAGIC: The Story of ILM in Six Easy Bites

 

I recently finished watching the 6-episode documentary series, Light & Magic, on Disney+. In basically chronological order, it tells the tale of George Lucas gathering people around him to reinvent how movies are made.

The company he formed in order to bring his vision for Star Wars to life was eventually dubbed Industrial Light and Magic, and it's a fitting name.

It is Industrial. The movies are an industry. The special effects produced by ILM are done by workers on deadlines who get paid for their efforts.

It is Light. Not only are the images we watch on movie screens and television screens the results of projected or transmitted light energy, but the stories they tell often shed light on what it means to be human.

It is Magic. Creating dinosaurs and spaceships and fire and galaxies out of nothing more than imagination is awe-inspiring and goosebump-inducing.

I highly recommend this mini-series for any fans of Stars Wars or Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park or movies in general. It's not an in-depth presentation on how any particular visual effects were accomplished...although there is some of that...but a look at the people and the special place in Hollywood's history that is occupied by a group of Oscar-winning misfits.