Mowing the Lawn

I may not have expected Mark's reaction to A Little Princess  this evening, but I've seen the film enough times to know how I'll react.  It's easily one of my favorite films of all time.  I had already latched onto it well before Emma was a twinkle in anyone's eye.  I'm all the more committed now that I have a daughter. I sat down earlier this evening to list my five favorite films.  Without hesitation, these three came to mind (in no particular order or preference): A Little Princess Cry the Beloved Country Twelve Angry Men The next two were harder to select.  I needed a comedy, so I decided upon  Monty Python & The Holy Grail .  ( Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure  was hard to turn down.)  My fifth choice, Wait Until Dark , is a great thriller especially if you want your date to keep a tight hold on you. I'm not a big fan of soliciting feedback, but I'll make an exception here.  Leave a comment listing your five favorite films.  How are you ...

All tears can't be the same. Some feel heavier than others. Some seem to evaporate as quickly as they come. Some are mass produced. Others are homemade. Tonight has been a night of new tears. I can't adequately describe what happened. I've tried every which way. We watched A Little Princess as a family. Mark became engrossed in the story. He cried at the depiction of fathers and brothers strewn in the trenches of WWI. He cried as the father and daughter were reunited. I was in tears watching him. As he lay in Thelma's arms with his eyes fixed on the screen, I watched some of his innocence disappear. I also saw his soul grow larger. I am without words. I'll leave it to Thelma to paint the picture.

My song of the week is "Gabriel's Oboe" from Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone . You can click the MP3 player below to listen to a sample. Amazon.com Widgets I was flying from Seattle to Toronto earlier this year and the album was featured on the in-flight entertainment system. I'm a fan of Yo-Yo Ma so it caught my attention. "Gabriel's Oboe" is the first song on the album. I wasn't listening for very long before I was overcome with an emotional mixture of haunt and joy. I couldn't explain it until I figured out where the song came from. The music was composed by Ennio Morricone for the 1986 film The Mission . I first came across it in 1991 when I was 17 or 18. I must have rented the VHS tape from the video store. I was overwhelmed. The film and music are beautiful. It won the Oscar for best cinematography and was nominated for best original score. But it was the story that did me in. It was the first time I realized how emotionally pow...