Context And Contact
The situation is not static. The meaning of the message makes sense, is timely and on-point, then just as quickly, it can become highly questionable. No matter the message, no matter the feelings invoked, something is gained if you open yourself up and take it all in.
I'm not sure which movie I saw in the theater last year, maybe even late the year before, in which the preview was shown. It doesn't matter when or where. Sometimes you can just tell. You get an inkling you will be touched by the experience. 5 Feet Apart was in theatres in 2019. I didn't see it then, though I knew I wanted to. Like most movies, I feel no rush to see it immediately. It's not like it was a new Batman movie! I saw it today, and the timing couldn't be any better.
COVID-19 (or just COVID, is the "19" part that important to see in every story?) has affected the entire world. It's been much less than ideal, creating a society that must maintain a distance so that we help each other through it. Keep a distance of 6 feet (2 full metres; I hear you non-Americans!). Wear a mask. Be careful not to cough or sneeze on anyone. Don't make physical contact with others. Don't touch your face. Wash your hands!
Now, imagine that this has been your world for as long as you can remember. I did not know it before, but this is and has been a reality for persons with Cystic Fibrosis. And other diseases both infectious and hereditary, as CF is. All my life I heard the term, but as someone not affected by it, I never paid any attention to what it was. We tend to do that with bad stuff. "As long as it doesn't affect me".
I guess I just saw so many parallels in the movie to what we all face right now. And frankly, I felt so many feelings that it's hard to capture it in words. I might need to sleep on this post to better process my thoughts (Nah! sober edit complete). It's a Hollywood movie, 2 hours, so I'm sure there are some liberties taken. Let's not pretend it will make you an expert on CF if you watch it. It's really a human story, a love story. A love story I needed to see.
I needed to see it because it is sweet, and I absolutely crave sweet. While my wife introduced my son to "Scream" in one room, I watched 5 Feet Apart by myself in another. It's better that way; no one in my house understands when I cry, especially good tears. Good tears are addictive. If you don't get them in your life, you're missing out.
I needed to see it because it gave perspective. A perspective I would not have appreciated a year ago when the world was a fair amount more oblivious. Yeah, we should maintain distance. Yeah, we should limit contact. For folks who live in similar situations every day for medical reasons, or introverts like me who don't get what the fuss is all about with this "social distancing" anyway, it's not such an adjustment. Things can be better. They can be worse.
In the movie, Will (played by Cole Sprouse), who is at first reluctant to follow his regimen in the drug trial for his CF, asks someone (I forget who already) about what happens if it doesn't work. To which he gets the reply, "what if it does?" He's one end of the spectrum, and his love interest, Stella (Haley Lu Richardson), is the other. She is bound and determined to do her regimen properly so as to keep living despite her less-than-great prognosis. She has solid reasons for that attitude. Interestingly, her feelings toward it all change near the end, as so often happens in such stories.
These characters are teenagers. So, they act like teenagers at times, but their life experience results in a lot of maturity, forced and accelerated though it may be due to their conditions. It made me think of my daughter, almost 18 and like thousands of others hasn't had and likely will not have a proper prom, graduation ceremony, or birthday party. But kids are resilient. We can learn a lot from them, and I got some good tears from the kids in the movie. I wish my daughter would watch it, but I'm sure she won't. Kids!
Anyway, if you need a feel-good story, perhaps consider this one. I saw it on Showtime (30-day trial available as of this writing). It might help with coping with all that's going on in your world. Although I must warn you, the message DOES change at the end....and that might not work so well right now. But it will be ABSOLUTELY poignant again before we know it. Do the right things, and live life. Like Will tells Stella, you should, because it will all be over before you know it.
Let me know how you're coping. Let me know if you see or have seen the movie. Interaction and contact are good (virtual-only, amiright?).
I'm not sure which movie I saw in the theater last year, maybe even late the year before, in which the preview was shown. It doesn't matter when or where. Sometimes you can just tell. You get an inkling you will be touched by the experience. 5 Feet Apart was in theatres in 2019. I didn't see it then, though I knew I wanted to. Like most movies, I feel no rush to see it immediately. It's not like it was a new Batman movie! I saw it today, and the timing couldn't be any better.
COVID-19 (or just COVID, is the "19" part that important to see in every story?) has affected the entire world. It's been much less than ideal, creating a society that must maintain a distance so that we help each other through it. Keep a distance of 6 feet (2 full metres; I hear you non-Americans!). Wear a mask. Be careful not to cough or sneeze on anyone. Don't make physical contact with others. Don't touch your face. Wash your hands!
Now, imagine that this has been your world for as long as you can remember. I did not know it before, but this is and has been a reality for persons with Cystic Fibrosis. And other diseases both infectious and hereditary, as CF is. All my life I heard the term, but as someone not affected by it, I never paid any attention to what it was. We tend to do that with bad stuff. "As long as it doesn't affect me".
I guess I just saw so many parallels in the movie to what we all face right now. And frankly, I felt so many feelings that it's hard to capture it in words. I might need to sleep on this post to better process my thoughts (Nah! sober edit complete). It's a Hollywood movie, 2 hours, so I'm sure there are some liberties taken. Let's not pretend it will make you an expert on CF if you watch it. It's really a human story, a love story. A love story I needed to see.
I needed to see it because it is sweet, and I absolutely crave sweet. While my wife introduced my son to "Scream" in one room, I watched 5 Feet Apart by myself in another. It's better that way; no one in my house understands when I cry, especially good tears. Good tears are addictive. If you don't get them in your life, you're missing out.
I needed to see it because it gave perspective. A perspective I would not have appreciated a year ago when the world was a fair amount more oblivious. Yeah, we should maintain distance. Yeah, we should limit contact. For folks who live in similar situations every day for medical reasons, or introverts like me who don't get what the fuss is all about with this "social distancing" anyway, it's not such an adjustment. Things can be better. They can be worse.
In the movie, Will (played by Cole Sprouse), who is at first reluctant to follow his regimen in the drug trial for his CF, asks someone (I forget who already) about what happens if it doesn't work. To which he gets the reply, "what if it does?" He's one end of the spectrum, and his love interest, Stella (Haley Lu Richardson), is the other. She is bound and determined to do her regimen properly so as to keep living despite her less-than-great prognosis. She has solid reasons for that attitude. Interestingly, her feelings toward it all change near the end, as so often happens in such stories.
These characters are teenagers. So, they act like teenagers at times, but their life experience results in a lot of maturity, forced and accelerated though it may be due to their conditions. It made me think of my daughter, almost 18 and like thousands of others hasn't had and likely will not have a proper prom, graduation ceremony, or birthday party. But kids are resilient. We can learn a lot from them, and I got some good tears from the kids in the movie. I wish my daughter would watch it, but I'm sure she won't. Kids!
Anyway, if you need a feel-good story, perhaps consider this one. I saw it on Showtime (30-day trial available as of this writing). It might help with coping with all that's going on in your world. Although I must warn you, the message DOES change at the end....and that might not work so well right now. But it will be ABSOLUTELY poignant again before we know it. Do the right things, and live life. Like Will tells Stella, you should, because it will all be over before you know it.
Let me know how you're coping. Let me know if you see or have seen the movie. Interaction and contact are good (virtual-only, amiright?).
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