This close to Valentine's Day, everyone has got romance on the brain. Roses, chocolates, teddy bears, dinner dates, it's become part of the culture. However, I experienced something today that reminded me that love is so much more than that.
I was at work in the church office when my boss Jay's wife called. Jay was out of the office for a moment, so I answered his cell phone, knowing it was his wife. She told me that something was happening at Baker Center (OU's multi-million dollar, 1-year-old student center for all you non-Athens folks) and that it had been evacuated and there was caution tape blocking off the entrance. A simple fire alarm, which we seem to have too many of here, wouldn't cause all that, but I didn't make any speculations. A little while later Katie #1 called me to tell me that the reason Baker Center had been evacuated was because there was a guy threatening to jump from the 5th floor to the 1st floor (again for all you non-Athens folk, the building has open floors, so at one small point, you can stand on the 1st floor and see all the way up through 5 floors to the ceiling- it's open like that because of the escalators). She said that police were inside trying to reason with him, but a group of people outside had formed an impromptu prayer circle, and some people were writing notes to the guy. These were notes of love to a person that most of the people outside the building had never met. They expressed their care for him, that even though he felt alone, he was still loved and taking his own life was not the way to deal with his problems. That was so encouraging to me.
What was even more remarkable was that when I got home a few hours later and was surfing Facebook, I stumbled upon an event called "Love is the Movement." The event page talked about the high depression rates in America, especially by teens, that often leads to suicide, especially this time of year. The event was sort of inspired by a group called "To Write Love on Her Arms" or TWLOHA. Beginning on Feb. 13, the day before Valentine's Day, people in support of this cause will physically write the word LOVE on their arms to show support and, most importantly, love, to people who believe that they no longer have any. I was so baffled that I found this event on the same day that a person on my campus was threatening suicide, and perhaps was dissuaded by notes and signs of love from people he had never even met. I can't describe how encouraging that is to me, to get out there and show love, even to people that I don't know, and that this group and this event had found such a great way to start it.
Think about it. If you have LOVE written on your arms in huge letters, how much of a conversation starter is that? Maybe one of the people who asks you about it is a person who is really needing some love in their life, and maybe you can be the first to show them that love knows no boundaries.
I think The Beatles summed it up best: "All you need is love."
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Only the good die young?
This entry calls for somewhat of a preface/warning label: While the following entry is my response to the unfortunate death of actor Heath Ledger, it is not a gushy "In Loving Memory" praising everything about Heath's life.
It's always sad to hear of a person dying young, especially when they're well known. Regardless of whether or not Heath Ledger's death was a suicide (at the moment, all that's being said is that it may be related to a drug overdose), it's a shocking and sobering piece of news. Of course, as soon as I heard from a person in my film class that he was dead, I subconsciously went into the first state of grief: denial. No way, he's like thirty-something, he can't be dead.
Yes, he is, in fact, dead. And he wasn't thirty-something, he was 28. I didn't know that. 28, he was only 8 years older than me. He was my age when he made "10 Things I Hate About You." This information, by the way, coming from his mini-bio on imdb.com, which also gave me sad news. He has a daughter, Matilda, something I'm sure I read as a headline on the "National Enquirer" or "US Weekly" in a grocery store line at one time, but she's only 2. The mother, "Brokeback Mountain" co-star Michelle Williams, was set to marry Heath up until a few months ago, when he called off the engagement, but the real thing I'm getting at is that their daughter is 2 years old. Two, plus a few months. And I can't even describe the amount of sorrow and empathy I feel for this little girl, because as the daughter of two A-list actors, she's probably going to be hounded by the paparazzi for most of her life. But more than that, does she even understand what's happening here? At the age of 2, does she understand the vast concept of death, and that it means she will never see her Daddy again?
My uncle died when I was 4. I barely knew him, but being that he was my uncle, I was still sad when he died. But I really don't know that I completely understood what was happening, or the levels of grief my parents, aunts, and cousins were going through. I remember being mad that my parents wouldn't take me to Cincinnati for the funeral, but in hindsight, if I had gone, I think rather than being sad, I would have been scared out of my wits. Does a toddler understand the forces of this world that take loved ones from us, and leave us with emotions strong enough to make the most composed of adults break down and cry their eyes out in the middle of a crowded room? To a toddler, that's scary.
And what about everyone else close to this situation? 3 or 4 months ago, Michelle Williams thought she was going to marry the father of her daughter, and then he called off the wedding, and now that man is on a slab at the morgue. It sounds cold and heartless, but it's the truth. I can't even begin to imagine how she has got to be feeling tonight and over the next few days. She loved this man enough to commit her life to him (I will disregard the facts that most celebrity marriages don't work because every once in a while there is one that does), and I imagine that even if they were having enough of a falling-out, or whatever you want to call it, to call off an engagement, they were still close enough emotionally and physically at one point to consider taking vows to one another. If I were in her position, it would be a miracle if i got out of bed tomorrow morning.
And friends? Jake Gyllenhaal, another "Brokeback" co-star and Matilda's godfather, has to live knowing that the man he shared the screen with in one of the more controversial movies (to date) of the 21st century is gone forever. They were more than just friends, they were very close co-workers and artists.
I don't think I know a single person who hasn't seen a movie that Heath Ledger has been a part of, from "10 Things I Hate About You" back in high school to "Brokeback Mountain" more recently, and everything in between. While 'Brokeback Mountain" was something of a groundbreaking film, most of his movies are far from being considered great films of our time. However, he has created some lovable, memorable characters that have earned him a strong fan-base and made a lasting legacy for his name.
This summer will see the last piece of Heath's work, in another ground-breaker (in a sense), as he appears on-screen in "The Dark Knight" as the first non-American to play The Joker in a Batman movie or TV show. The turnout and support for this movie, regardless of the opinions on the aging Batman franchise, will be one of Heath Ledger's lasting, and last, legacies.
R.I.P. Heath Ledger, April 4, 1979-Jan. 22, 2008. Beloved father, friend, and actor, you will be missed.
It's always sad to hear of a person dying young, especially when they're well known. Regardless of whether or not Heath Ledger's death was a suicide (at the moment, all that's being said is that it may be related to a drug overdose), it's a shocking and sobering piece of news. Of course, as soon as I heard from a person in my film class that he was dead, I subconsciously went into the first state of grief: denial. No way, he's like thirty-something, he can't be dead.
Yes, he is, in fact, dead. And he wasn't thirty-something, he was 28. I didn't know that. 28, he was only 8 years older than me. He was my age when he made "10 Things I Hate About You." This information, by the way, coming from his mini-bio on imdb.com, which also gave me sad news. He has a daughter, Matilda, something I'm sure I read as a headline on the "National Enquirer" or "US Weekly" in a grocery store line at one time, but she's only 2. The mother, "Brokeback Mountain" co-star Michelle Williams, was set to marry Heath up until a few months ago, when he called off the engagement, but the real thing I'm getting at is that their daughter is 2 years old. Two, plus a few months. And I can't even describe the amount of sorrow and empathy I feel for this little girl, because as the daughter of two A-list actors, she's probably going to be hounded by the paparazzi for most of her life. But more than that, does she even understand what's happening here? At the age of 2, does she understand the vast concept of death, and that it means she will never see her Daddy again?
My uncle died when I was 4. I barely knew him, but being that he was my uncle, I was still sad when he died. But I really don't know that I completely understood what was happening, or the levels of grief my parents, aunts, and cousins were going through. I remember being mad that my parents wouldn't take me to Cincinnati for the funeral, but in hindsight, if I had gone, I think rather than being sad, I would have been scared out of my wits. Does a toddler understand the forces of this world that take loved ones from us, and leave us with emotions strong enough to make the most composed of adults break down and cry their eyes out in the middle of a crowded room? To a toddler, that's scary.
And what about everyone else close to this situation? 3 or 4 months ago, Michelle Williams thought she was going to marry the father of her daughter, and then he called off the wedding, and now that man is on a slab at the morgue. It sounds cold and heartless, but it's the truth. I can't even begin to imagine how she has got to be feeling tonight and over the next few days. She loved this man enough to commit her life to him (I will disregard the facts that most celebrity marriages don't work because every once in a while there is one that does), and I imagine that even if they were having enough of a falling-out, or whatever you want to call it, to call off an engagement, they were still close enough emotionally and physically at one point to consider taking vows to one another. If I were in her position, it would be a miracle if i got out of bed tomorrow morning.
And friends? Jake Gyllenhaal, another "Brokeback" co-star and Matilda's godfather, has to live knowing that the man he shared the screen with in one of the more controversial movies (to date) of the 21st century is gone forever. They were more than just friends, they were very close co-workers and artists.
I don't think I know a single person who hasn't seen a movie that Heath Ledger has been a part of, from "10 Things I Hate About You" back in high school to "Brokeback Mountain" more recently, and everything in between. While 'Brokeback Mountain" was something of a groundbreaking film, most of his movies are far from being considered great films of our time. However, he has created some lovable, memorable characters that have earned him a strong fan-base and made a lasting legacy for his name.
This summer will see the last piece of Heath's work, in another ground-breaker (in a sense), as he appears on-screen in "The Dark Knight" as the first non-American to play The Joker in a Batman movie or TV show. The turnout and support for this movie, regardless of the opinions on the aging Batman franchise, will be one of Heath Ledger's lasting, and last, legacies.
R.I.P. Heath Ledger, April 4, 1979-Jan. 22, 2008. Beloved father, friend, and actor, you will be missed.
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