"Gravity" The Movie, The 50th Anniversary of JFK, and the Navy Hymn - Peeking from God's Space Station

 "Gravity"  The Movie,  The 50th Anniversary of JFK,  and the Navy Hymn

A peek from God's Space Station

From Psalm 8:3-6:

³ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.   KJV

   Friends called today to invite me to a good movie playing in Salisbury, and I couldn't make the matinee time. I was at the computer working on a project all morning, and at 1:45 pm, there was no way I could make the 45 minute drive in 10 minutes, no matter how I winded through those back roads. Oh drats. And I had earlier wanted to join my friends for their afternoon Torah study. I really love Saturday's again. Couldn't make it there in time either. The bleak has turned a rosy color again, and weekends are feeling better than they had in a year. So I decided to finish my work, and then realized as the cats were rubbing against my leg for lunch. Hey you guys, all I had was coffee at 7 a.m., and you are hungry again. In feeding them, I thought I better feed me too, but found nothing in the frig worth microwaving or making. Boring. Maybe I'll head out to Panero's in Rehoboth, they have the best soups. That will be good after hitting my new favorite place to race walk, the Lewes Ferry terminal station and surrounding parks. It is a very brisk but sunny day, a perfect Shabbat. You can talk to the Lord, and even sing, and no one is around to see or hear you if you are far enough out on the dock. Besides, if people see your lips move, and you cover your head with a hat, they just think you are on bluetooth (whereas years ago they just thought you were crazy :). Only the birds heard me today, and they didn't seem to notice I was terribly off-key. They were circling figure 8's overhead, and I saw a boat go out and a Ferry come in. I was a water-baby all my life, in the water, on the water, every chance I got. I never tired of the waves. I never tire of what the sea suggests: a hidden life, the mystery of creation, and a sense of life and calmness, anytime I am by a port or sea. I can't even hear the Navy Hymn without getting all choked up. But I never expected to take myself to a movie today.

  Whenever Ben and I would hear "Eternal Father Strong to Save" (the navy Hymn), the words would move us. Here's the words to just the first verse:

"Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea".

  My God, we are all in peril on the sea of life. Every day could spell disaster or glory, blessing or demise. We do not know how the day will end when we begin it. Sudden deaths of friends and loved ones have a way making you aware of your absolute inability to save yourself, much less anyone else.

  The news channels have been running some good documentaries on the life of this nations 35th President, John F. Kennedy. Like most of us who were alive in 1963, I remember exactly where I was the day Kennedy was shot: I was in the third grade. Catholic School. I remember an announcement coming over the PA system and the Principal, who voice was shaky, announced the President was shot, and prayers were said over the PA system (yes, you could actually pray in the schools back then). I remember them announcing dismissal and we were sent home. I remember walking into the kitchen (my dad was at work) and my mom seemed different. Her eyes were wet: she had been crying. I still didn't understand what all this wa about: I was only 8 years old. I didn't really understand the scope of the history that was unfolding at that  time:. But I will always remember going out to the playground out back and swinging and thinking 'today feels sad, what is happening'. I was keenly aware that all the grown-ups were acting strange and sad. This is what it feels like to be living through history and not know the impact one event has that can change the world. Only as an adult did I appreciate the power of his courage, the man Kennedy. He spearheaded the Space race without apology. And this weekend marks the 50th anniversary of this mans death. And the Space movie 'Gravity' does the space race justice as well. So, on my way from Panero's, I see the Midway Marquee which announces 'GRAVITY'. Hhmmm. Well, I'm here. No time like the present. I go for it.

  So I', standing at the movie window, and the woman asks me if I want the 3-D Imax ticket or the regular one. Well, when asked like that, you know the latter (regular viewing) just has to be a dud, so of course I say '3-D'. I ask her what's a 3-D movie like (as the last one I saw was with my husband (then fiance') in Las Vegas when he proposed. (more on that later). So She says to me.."You know, a lady saw that in 3-D the other day and threw-up. You maybe just want to watch it on a regular screen".  Eeewww. How charming you are, I think to myself. I may regret this, but just give me that dang 3-D ticket.   

 Well, I am not going to do a 'spoiler alert' here, so if you want to see the movie, I recommend it. Time-Warner Productions is not paying me to endorse this, I promise you that. But for my 2 cents, Sandra Bullock (as Dr. Ryan Stone) and George Clooney (as the veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky) did a great job. I wont give away the plot, but I will tell you that when I put those 3-D glasses on, and the movie started, I blurted FAR OUT and hoped no one heard me. The special effects alone are worth the price of admission. When satellite space debris hurls Clooney through space, I nearly jumped out of my seat: I thought Clooney was going to land on my lap. (well, at least in the movies anything is possible, LOL). This movie made it easy to imagine the same sensations (panic, fear, oxygen deprivation, hope, joy, and finally insurmountable determination and courage) that it takes to keep on keeping on. Even when all hope is gone. A good movie can be a metaphor for life: we all have, and will have, those moments in life when it doesn't make sense to go on, when it would be easier to just quit, or at least, not try so hard. I mean, why struggle. For me, this movie reminded me how much faith is like this: we always will have a struggle, there will always be obstacles, but the end-game is to conquer ourselves! Conquering space is really all about conquering our fears. And who doesn't fear the unknown. Am I too old? Am I too young? Am I still smart enough, able to do this job, you name it, we all have those insecurities. Am I, can I, will I. There is not one of us who doesn't have those internal questions from time to time. Conquering the sea is about conquering all those demons and fears we try to quench down, but that arise again. Even though our life's journey seems to have unfixed coordinates in space - no absolute road map to tell us exactly what career to take, who to marry, when to build, when to birth), we are still given value and functions that guide us into a perfect destiny. The mathematics behind God's genius is that He allows us to choose: and in choosing Him to guide us, we are always on course. Because Our Eternal Father is always strong to save".

So this is this unpaid movie reviewer's thoughts. Go see the movie. If nothing else, you will enjoy the good acting, special effects, and by all means, do the 3-D thing. It's a hoot. And you might be surprised what you learn about yourself in the process. Although there was only one reference to prayer mentioned (when Bullock's character thinks she is about to die and realizes she doesn't know how to pray), the movie has plenty of alliteration. You will know the hidden meaning behind the plot. Yenta says: Go have some fun.

Addendum: Ok. I know you want to know. My other only 3-D movie was with Ben in 1997. Here's the scoop. Before he was my husband, Ben flew to Vegas from overseas (he was Army Veterinary Officer stationed on the prettiest island on the Pacific Theatre of our US forces, Okinawa). He flew to Vegas to attend a Vet conference, and asked me if I could take a few days off from work and fly out there (from Pennsylvania) and spend some time there with him. We had met 6 months earlier at a conference ourselves, and had talked, written, Instant messaged and basically made the phone company rich in those 6 months. But it was the best money we ever spent, and we both knew it. Dating long distance was the sweetest thing. You really get to know someone's heart when you cant be distracted by someone's face or anything you can see or well, you know....we do have five working senses. I remember the day before he proposed on the top of the tallest spinning restaurant I ever saw, on bended knee, with the military stance, he asked me if I would PLEASE PLEASE go on this Star Trek 3-D holographic ride experience with him. (aw, you thought it was something else I was going to say, haha). Yes, he asked that too! Would I marry him. Well, you know the answer to that. The big Trek convention was in town (and he later confessed to me he purposely booked this Vet gig now because he couldn't get Star Trek TV on the Officers base where he lived, and was Trek deprived), so he wanted to see this Vegas Trek Experience. A big 'Trekkie' venue - large hotel, made into a space ship experience. I  remember thinking to myself  'Dear God, what have I just gotten myself into". Am I now engaged to a Trekkie? Help!  Little did I know then, that the worlds' engineers, scientists, doctors, and even former astronauts grew up on these this show, and their many spinoffs. OK, for all of you Gene Roddenberry fans, don't get me started here. I know he was a visionary already! Heard it 1000 times.

     But, I found out I loved 3-D. It was a blast, and seeing Ben that excited sealed it for me. He was so happy he almost squealed with delight when we were on the elevator alone after 4 3-D Star Trek space rides. I will never forget the look on his face that night. Or how good his future looked. He said it all with his eyes and his smile. He sealed the proposal with a kiss in the elevator (that I still hope wasn't on tape at the security desk's camera). It was that good. That's how I knew. That old Betty Everett song from yesteryear "It's in his Kiss" really is true. It really was in his kiss. After that kiss, I let him talk me into dinner at the Trek themed restaurant. Weird little actors in tights running around, and women in Trek couture, and Ben wanting to take a picture of me sitting on the lap- of the little green trek character with big ears, whose thing was he liked to have his ears rubbed. (forget his name, but you diehard fans will remember it). Thank God that was before Facebook or everyone having a camera phone! Was it all worth it? A thousand times yes. I would do it all over again. That's my memory now, and I'm taking it into space with me. That's my personal space station.