I have always been somewhat of a ‘softie’ for down to earth movies, especially those that give the less fortunate and ordinary people of the world the unique and exciting opportunity to achieve their dreams and become popular and much-loved hometown heroes. Two of my all-time favourite flicks are Rain Man (Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise) and Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), both wonderful true-life stories about two mentally challenged and deeply honest individuals who were never afraid to face any challenges that the world had to offer, and usually succeeded, no matter what the odds.
Throughout their lives, they learned the true meaning of love, family, and true friendship, while always very verbally sharing those joys with absolutely everyone, as well as fighting hard against the wicked side of society, which is indeed greed, hate, dishonesty, mistrust, deceit, enemies, crime, lies, and sins against humanity. I know that these amazing characters were fictitious, but the vivid message that they represented was only the desire to live an active, honest, and happy life while trying to ignore those individuals who did not treat them with the respect, support and understanding that they deserve.
A salute to the Gumps and the Rainmen and women of the world
When Forrest Gump passed away, he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter smiled and said, “Welcome Forrest…..we’ve heard all about you.” ‘Unfortunately, it’s getting pretty crowded up here and we find that we now have to give people an entrance exam before we let them in’.
‘Okay’ answered Forrest with his usual very big smile. ‘I hope that its not to tough as I’ve already been through a test as my momma used to say to me….life is like a final exam, it’s very hard.’
‘Yes Forrest, I know, but this test is only three questions, and here they are’, St. Peter explained.
(1) Which two days of the week begin with the letter T?
(2) How many seconds is there in a year?
(3) What is God’s first name?
“Well, sir” Forrest expressed with a grin, ‘The first one is easy. Which two days of the week begin with the letter ‘T’? ‘The answer is today and tommorow.’ St. Peter looked surprised, saying that it wasn’t the answer he was looking for, but that Forrest had a good point, and he would give him credit for the answer.
‘The next question’, uttered Forest, was how many seconds are there in a year, and my answer is 12.’ By this time, St. Peter looked very confused, but Forrest quickly explained….January 2, February 2, March 2, and April 2 before being interrupted by the wise old man at the gate. ‘I now see what you mean, and I’ll have to give you all the credit for that one, to0.’
And to the last question, ‘What is God’s first name?’ Forrest replied, my answer is Andy, to which St. Peter was shocked, and asked ‘however did you come up with the name Andy?’ With his always happy, kind, and innocent expression, Forrest gave his amazing reply: “I learned it in church, where we used to sing about it, and then he broke into song…..Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me that I am his own.’…..to which St. Peter opened the gate to heaven wide and joyfully uttered “Run forrest, run”.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all have that same outlook on life, at least for most of the way?? Just keep right on enjoying one of our nicest winters in history, and also have a great week, all of you.