Friday Food For Thought

There is a new movie about to be released, and the storyline has caught my imagination.  It sounded like a dumb story at first, but then I learned it’s a true story.  Now, just because its true doesn’t mean it can’t also be a terrible plot line for a movie.  This one is about John “Chickie” Donohue and his beer run.  See what I mean?!  But, when you get into the story, it’s good.  “Chickie” is a Marine veteran working as a merchant seaman in 1967 during the Vietnam war.  During a conversation with friends at a bar (always leads to trouble!), they talk about going to Vietnam and delivering a case of beer to their buddies fighting the war as a show of support.  Terrible idea.  Imagine traveling from the United States to Vietnam to deliver beer in the middle of a war to six friends in active duty, and you don’t even know where they are….Impossible!!!

Instead of judging others by actions, try flipping the script and assuming the other person has good intentions.  You don’t need to know what those intentions are, just put yourself in their shoes.  I’ve tried, and when I do, I’ve noticed I’m better for it.

“If it looks like duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck”. How many times have you heard that saying? And have you ever really watched a duck? Outwardly, they appear calm, collected and generally unflappable. They even don’t mind spending time with their heads and upper body under water, tail in air searching for snacks. What you don’t see though, is the feverish pace their feet move to keep going. Ducks are weird!

Recently, I heard someone attribute the following quote to Dostoevsky: “every man is not only responsible for everything he does, but for everything everyone else does.”  I was intrigued and did some research.  Although I could not find that specific quote, he did say “in truth we are each responsible to all for all”.  Both quotes express similar ideas, and both are daunting.  It seems I am responsible not only for myself, but also everyone else? How is that in any way right, fair, or even possible??!

Labor Day: the unofficial end of summer, the end of hot dog season, the third most popular day to have a cookout, and the unofficial NFL season kickoff. (Go Eagles!) The idea for Labor Day first became public back in 1882. The unions in NYC decided to have a parade to celebrate union workers and even gave up a day’s pay to be there. Other cities started having parades and, within a few years, certain states made it a holiday, later becoming a legal federal holiday. So, thank you, laborers (shout out to my new hubby 😊), for the long weekend!

If you are of a certain age or a movie buff, you might remember the movie “The Sting”, released in 1973.  It is based on the novel “The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man” by David Maurer.  It’s a great movie about a grifter or con man that takes revenge on a crime boss for murdering his friend, another con man. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it; it was nominated for 10 different Academy Awards and won 7 of them. Like I said, it’s a great movie.  So, where am I going with this?