Moved to Tears

     Maybe it is because of global warming, but Peggy and I are suffering from cabin fever. The outside temperature when we wake up is usually under ten degrees. The last few mornings it has been under five degrees. We got comfortable with the last fifteen winters which were so warm. I even considered abandoning my vision of moving  South to a more  temperate climate. Old bones and joints do not accomodate very well to low temperatures. Daytime temps rise to the twenties, but the bottom line is that we spend a lot of our time indoors. Even though, our home is large enough for us to retreat to our favorite place to avoid each other, we still grate each other’s nerves at times. Cabin fever, that is what it is.

     This week, we ventured out into the cold to see a movie. We had heard several reviews on a film called “Blind Side” with Sandra Bullock, and a bunch of lesser known actors. The story didn’t have to be very good for me to trek through a raging blizzard to see a “hottie” actress in a movie. She is beautiful. I digress.

     The story behind this film is almost hard to believe. Yet, the film is based on a true story. I won’t try to review the film for you here, I’ll leave that to those who review movies. What I want to tell you, is that this movie evoked an emotion within that brought me to tears several times.  For the life of me, I cannot decide what did it, but it did. The characters were compelling, real people. The simple plot could not have been imagined by any author. The story is based on real facts.  

     I believe in angels, and this story is about angels that descend on a life that is the innocent result of the Nanny State.  The main character the angels descend upon is a black boy whose mother is a slave of the system. She wants the best for her kid, but doesn’t know how to make it happen. She is totally unable to make anything good happen for herself much less her many children. She asks a friend to help her oldest boy “Big Mike,” get into a church school.  The friend uses his talent to sell the coach of a highly respected private christian school to take the kid on. The coach does, and the story begins.  

     The angels are many. First, the mom’s friend,  the coach, then a teacher who recognizes the boy’s talents, and finally, a family with a strong mother who comes to his rescue. Sandra Bullock plays the mother. She is a hard charging designer with two kids of her own, and a husband that goes along with almost anything she wants.  The family becomes the angel-team that rescues “Big Mike” from the Nanny State, and nurtures him out of  ghetto slavery.

     This film is an honest to gosh real story based on real characters. Blind Side is Academy Award material. Sandra Bullock deserves Best Actress award. Actor Quinton Aaron, who plays Big Mike, should get Best Actor. Why? Because they made the characters believable, and real.

Blind Side deserves five stars. . . * * * * *

Pay the money, and go see it. You’ll be moved to tears just as I was. I also recommend  your kids see the  film too.