But I digress…

In the midst of this cleaning frenzy, I came across some fun memorabilia – trinkets of the past, if you will – including (but not limited to):

• A photo taken of me & Jel the week I moved from Alaska – good times
• A coffee mug with the words “Safety First” from my trip to Thailand
• My last handwritten notebook journal and
• A bunch of “mix CDs” (which were post-mix tapes from high school, but pre-iPods & playlists).

Because music is a great thing to have on when you’re cleaning, or doing anything that keeps you from focusing on something steady like a TV screen, I popped in the CDs I’d found and let them play themselves silly.  I had no idea what was on them (I wasn’t much for labeling back in the late-90′s and early 2000′s when they were apparently made) and so I likewise had no idea what a ride I was in for.

I never cease to be amazed by the power that music has to evoke memories. Like smells, music can put me back in time and space to a particular place in an instant. As the CDs worked their way from beginning to end, I found myself completely transported – barely aware of the furniture, books, and boxes I was surrounded by.  I was at the mercy of the tunes.  The music had taken over.

Suddenly, I was…

• In the car with my sister (Jo) at Great Adventure in the safari, the giant head of a giraffe poking through the sunroof (Rusted Root – Send Me On My Way)
• Dancing in the snow with Jel at Beluga Point in the middle of the night (Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus)
• Working out at Dragon’s gym in Leamington Spa when I lived in the UK (Robbie Williams – Let Love Be Your Energy)
• Sailing through the Greek Isles in July 2001 (U2 – Beautiful Day)
• Camping with my sister outside of Denali National Park (Counting Crows – Round Here)
• Driving through Anchorage in the snow my first winter there (REM – Leave)
• In the beach bar on Relax Bay in Thailand (Dido – Here With Me)
• Hanging with my friends at the Willow Grove Mall in Junior High (Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me)
• Running around the reservoir with Jennifer in Central Park (U2 – Veritgo)
• Rockin’ out with Kristy in the car while driving around really cool places like Quakertown, Pennsburg, and East Greenville, PA (EMF – Unbelievable)
• Watching TV n the UK with Kristin when she came to visit (Element 4 – Big Brother Theme)
• Doin’ the dance with Jel in the car or at The Last Frontier…and most recently at her house in Edmonds (Will Smith – Men In Black)
• Seeing U2 in concert with Es in the post-9/11 “Elevation” tour (U2 – Elevation)
• On the Youth Group retreat up at Kutztown University, summer of 1989 (Cheap Trick – The Flame)
• Sailing in Thailand (Coldplay – Clocks)
• Seeing REM live from the front “row” in Seattle during the Bumbershoot Music Festival with Jel in 1999 (REM – Lotus)
• Hanging out in Memphis with Es (Live – Selling the Drama)
• On the Amtrak ride from Philly to Seattle when I moved up to Alaska in 1996 (REM – How The West Was Won & Where It Got Us)

I could go on and on and on.

In looking at that list, I can’t help but wonder where on earth the time goes.  Seriously – it just flies.  But that aside, I know that no matter what, I need to hang onto these CDs (or at least the playlists) so that when I’m old and gray and sitting in a retirement home somewhere, all I’ll need to do to relive the best moments of my life will be to play through one of these bad boys.  Pop in a CD (or put on a playlist) and my mind will be off and running.

Of course I’ve got a lot of years left and since I’m still collecting memories this way, I figure I’m going to have some crazy long-ass playlists by then…

Hopefully the technology will be able to keep up.

In case you’re interested, here is an interesting article I found which discusses music’s other superhero-like capabilities: http://www.livescience.com/health/081015-music-power.html

Apparently in addition to provoking memories, it can ease pain, influence mood, boost immunity, overcome fatigue, increase intelligence, reduce stress, anxiety, and depression…to name a few.  I don’t know if I can think of anything non-drug or alcohol-related that can claim all of that.

So what’s everyone waiting for?  Pump up the jam!

Okay, first and foremost, I want it to be clear that I did NOT go to see this film because it was some sort of Christian movie.  In fact, I had no idea that it was until after it started, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Around 10 o’clock this morning, I got a call from my grandmother asking me if I’d like to go to the movies with her.  She said she never goes anymore, and that there was some new film out she wanted to see called Fireproof .  I agreed, of course (who among us could say “no” to their grandmother?) and looked up the times for the nearest theater on Fandango and we decided to catch an afternoon showing.

As for the film, Fandango didn’t have much to say about it, and I knew nothing.  Being a Dave Ramsey budgeter, I hardly ever go out to the movies anymore and then being a Tivo owner, I no longer watch commercials so had not seen any trailers.  So in essence, I was a totally blank slate going into this with no preconceived ideas or expectations of any kind.

The story centers around a firefighter named Caleb Holt (Kirk Cameron) and his wife, Catherine (Erin Bethea), whose marriage is on full-speed towards a divorce until Caleb’s father challenges him to hold-off on proceedings while he completes a 40-day “love dare.”  Caleb reluctantly agrees, but finds it increasingly difficult as his wife appears to slip further away as a doctor at the hospital where she works begins to vie for her affections.  Caleb presses on, however, encouraged by his father and a fellow firefighter and eventually the story meets its inevitable happy ending.  The film is supported by some good comic relief in parts, and a decent score as well.

My first thought was that the people on screen (with the exception of Kirk Cameron) really couldn’t act very well.  Then I started to see the major Christian references and quickly picked up on what kind of movie this was.  Suddenly my grandmother’s interest in this film made a lot more sense.

Great, I thought, I’ve just unknowingly signed up to watch some sort of weird, cheesy, God-flick.  Flashbacks of elementary school visits to “The Christian Cinema” in Ambler flooded over me coupled with the time I rented Left Behind (admittedly not one of my better movie choices).  I sighed inwardly and decided to just relax and see if I can’t at least enjoy some aspect of it.  At the very least, it would be kinda fun to see one of my favorite junior high crushes on the big screen for the first time since LIke Father, Like Son in 1987.

To my near-complete surprise, I found myself enjoying the film.  The acting which at first seemed contrived, actually got better as the movie progressed…or I just stopped noticing that it was poor (which is probably more likely).  I liked the characters with the exception of the doctor (whose only real contribution seemed to be that of the worst acting overall) but really found myself hoping for the happy ending.

Acting aside, my main criticism of the movie would be that it went on long after what I would have thought to be the natural end.  I understand what they were trying to communicate in that excess time, but really feel it was unnecessary.  The writers could’ve given the audience a little more credit to infer the rest themselves.

My other criticism isn’t so much specific to this movie in particular, but to these so-called “religious message” films as a whole.  I appreciate whole-heartedly what they are trying to accomplish – and indeed I would love to incorporate “The Love Dare” as part of my marriage (should I ever have one someday) but I just don’t understand why Christians feel the need to be so insanely blatant in their storytelling that they end up painting themselves into a niche corner and risk potentially turning off those they most are attempting to reach.

I’m not saying that as Christians we shouldn’t be upfront about Jesus and our faith in Him.  Not at all.  But I think that if people feel like they’re being preached to when they haven’t gone voluntarily into a church, we may not really have the impact we’re trying to.  However, if we were to just put down the Bible-shaped bat some use to beat the world over the head with and instead just show others Jesus by loving them right where they are, the results just might be surprising.

I don’t want to be too hard on Fireproof – I basically really liked it…it’s a sweet love story and I would recommended it for anyone who is in a relationship, ever has been in a relationship, or ever thinks that they may one day be in a relationship.  All I’m saying is that I think it may have drawn in a wider audience if they had spent a little more energy on character development and let the story of love, humility, sacrifice, service, forgiveness, and redemption speak for itself.  All of these things are amazingly attractive even without being framed within a full-out alter call because they are all attributes and side-effects of knowing and loving our God.  If we show the world these in our everyday lives – from the way we treat each other to the way we approach difficult situations – then we’re showing the world Jesus whether they recognize it or not, and then watch them come looking for more.

But maybe that’s just me, so take it with a grain of salt (or pepper, if you prefer), but Christian or not, I still would say go see this movie.  The story really does stand on its own; and the underlying message of love being a choice backed-up (and at times made possible) through action rather than simply feelings-based is a strong, solid one worth the time and money.

Just for fun, I’ll leave you with a link to what the New York TImes reviewer had to say about it – always good to get that objective third-partier’s 2 cents…

FIreproof: Putting Out Housefires, Reigniting Passions by Neil Genzlinger

Laughing to myself, I instructed Tivo to play “The Final Goodbye” and found myself sucked into watching an hour of Kelly, Donna, Brandon, David, Dylan, Andrea, and others reminisce about the show which ended in 2000 after a 10-year run.

“Beverly Hills, 90210” was a show of the 90’s – a decade which served partially as a transition from the big hair, neon clothing, and leggings of the 80’s to the more sophisticated less concerning styles of the new millennium, but it was also the decade where my friends and I more or less grew from teenagers into adults and 90210 was the show that grew with us.

We were technically a year older than the 90210 class who graduated in 1993, while we all threw our caps in 1992. But for all intents and purposes, we went through high school, college, and even a chunk of our 20s with that show. Most of my friends and I were at least 24 when it finally had its last curtain call.

One of the things I loved about the show was that it had been a constant for me through a lot of change. During the 90210 decade, I had graduated from high school, moved to Tennessee, Alaska, and Manhattan. No matter where I was, dealing with the adjustment and change was always a little easier when I knew that I could see some familiar faces every Wednesday night. Sounds crazy I suppose, but when you’re surrounded by change, the littlest (and strangest) things can sometimes serve to help make you feel more at home. The show actually ended only a couple of months before my move to England so it came at a good time since I wouldn’t have been able to watch any current episodes had there even been any.

After the college days, there had begun an email list comprised of 90210 addicts. Most of whom had been classmates of Esther’s at Wheaton, but some were my friends as well. For those of you who remember, Wednesday was 90210 night so first thing Thursday morning, someone would get the ball rolling and we would bat around emails between us discussing what we thought of Donna’s latest hairstyle, Kelly’s newest boyfriend, or whatever the current love triangle was involving Dylan. It was frivolous. It was silly. And it was fun.

Feeling particularly nostalgic after watching the “Goodbye” special, I decided to pull out the Outlook archives and see what (if any) emails I might have kept from that era. I was shocked to find a number of them and thought I’d share a bit.

Just to give an example, below is a portion of a letter I sent dated 22 Sept 1995 where I commented on some 90210 observations that Es had first made about the 1995 season premier (I guess that would have been Season 5, right?). Even if you didn’t watch the show, or did but can’t remember all of the storylines, this is something of an amusing read anyway…

Okay, I have some observations on your observations of 90210:
1. I don’t like Kelly’s hair either.
2. Donna’s I do.
3. I hate the pumpkin-smashing Ray. He looks like some sort of rodent. He needs to pluck his eyebrows and get bigger eyes. He always looks like he’s staring at the sun.
4. The plane scene was a complete and total “When A Man Loves A Woman” take off!
5. Kelly’s guy: Potential jerk and what’s with his haircut?
6. Never too much of Donna’s mid-drift can be shown, it seems.
7. Claire’s hair: Definite 80’s style anyway but at least the stupid little barrette thing is over.
8. No concert I’ve ever been to has served dinner up front….then again, I’ve never been to an elevator music concert, so I wouldn’t know.
9. What I want to know is will they change the opening credits when Dylan leaves? (He won’t die.)
10. Jim and Cindy are clueless and really far away.

Hey, I also have a theory. I think that someone on the writing staff at 90210 is prejudiced against the East Coast. Valerie’s from New York and she’s a total bitch. Kelly’s new guy, Colin, also from New York and he’s turning out to be a jerk… I think I may be onto something here.

The show ran its series finale on 17 May 2000. We had one final round of emails on the following Thursday morning, but the one in particular I wanted to throw out there was from about a month before the end. If I remember correctly, I think we had only recently heard that this was going to be the last season of 90210…ever. The following is what Es sent around to the lot:

From: Esther Baird
Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2000 10:41 AM
Subject: issues

Ok – I am just going to be very sad when it’s all over. I know it’s so cheesy but when they do those “How do you say goodbye” little blurbs during the 90201 commercials I get all choked up. I am just DYING for Kelly and Dylan to get together and David and Donna. I can’t wait. But I can’t believe it will be over soon. I loved all of Donna and Camille’s little backless tops. I want one this summer!

Also watched PO5 -which I’ve not been as into – but it’ll be sad to see them go too and there’s only two left of those.

On the 90210 front, I have NEVER liked Matt.  Sigh – I can’t let go because it’s such a tangible connection to our fun-filled easy care-free days.

What if 10 years from now they do a 90210 reunion and show everyone at age 35. Ha ha ha. We’ll be like our parents when they do those Cagney and Lacey or Mary and Rhoda reunions.

Well, we’re not quite at 10 years yet, but it has been over 8…and while the characters from 90210 would all be only 33 at this point, we are teetering on the edge of 35.  So with the next generation of 90210 about to air its first episode next month featuring some of the original cast (including Brenda, if you can believe that!), I think Esther’s email begs the question… IS this like Cagney & Lacy trying to make a comeback after a Rip Van Wrinkle-like slumber? Are the shows we watched growing up (and us by extension) really as old, pathetic, and archaic as those weird 70’s show reunions seemed to us?

Please say it isn’t so!

This episode was only week 2 of this season which is good because I’m only in week 1 of my own attempt to become a big loser.  At one point they had something I think they called “The Hall of Truth” where contestants had been recorded before the start of the show and asked about their eating habits.  The show then took those habits and quantified the results.  For example, if Susie drank 3 cans of soda everyday, this would translate roughly 100 pounds of sugar per year.  It was pretty sobering stuff.  At one point, a husband and wife team that was in there listening to themselves and seeing these numbers flash up on the screens just started to cry.  The husband turned to his wife towards the end and said, “We are killing ourselves.  This has got to stop.”

The second thing that absolutely made me cry was when one contestant who won a challenge got to make a call home and completely lost it at hearing his baby boy’s voice over the phone.  His own voice-over from the video diary said that, as much as he missed his family, he knew that he was taking 4 months away from them now so that he could potentially have 15 more years to spend with them.  Wow.  Talk about a tearjerker.

Again, what a great show.  If you go to the website, they have before and after pictures of previous contestants.  Pretty amazing stuff, and very encouraging.  I may just watch it again next week.