Some Journey

Hidalgo and other stuff

We watched Hidalgo last night, and were disappointed. It wasn't that it was that bad, I guess, but it has a lot of potential for being really good, and wasn't. It is based on a true story of Frank Hopkins, a Pony Express rider at the turn of the century. The basic premise is that, Hopkins, a half breed white/Native American and his mustang have won all the long distance horse races in the U.S. and are challenged to enter a race that traverses the mid-eastern desert for many days. The Mid-Eastern folks are convinced that breeding is everything and are very proud of the great horses they have bred. They think the mustang is a disgrace and cannot compete with their great steeds. Of course Hopkins and his spotted mustang, Hidalgo, win the race and win everyone's respect along the way, and Hopkins learns to embrace the beauty of his own mixed pedigree.
It is a great story. But it was poorly directed, poorly acted, poorly filmed and poorly written. The one bonus is that it's lack of realism made it a film which would have been okay for the kids to watch (the violence could be compared to that of a spaghetti western) except that a significant portion of the movie is in Arabic and subtitled, making it difficult for young readers or non-readers (Joseph loves a good horse movie, usually) to enjoy. Alas, I'm glad I'm still using my free trail month with Walmart's online movie rentals, which I'm not overly impressed with by the way. It takes a while to get movies, they are usually dirty and/or scratched, and there is not that great of a selection. But it is cheap compared to other monthly rental passes, so I son't know what I'll do when the free trial is up.

In other news. . .yesterday I was working upstairs trying to clean/organize my sewing/hobby room. Joseph desperately wanted to watch the boys playing outside with a neighbor's dog, but wanted to do so from somewhere where he could be assured the dog could not jump on him, so he came up and perched himself in the upstairs window. When I turned and saw him standing on the window sill of our open second story window, I felt that the screen between him and the concrete below was not enough security and told him to get down. Of course, he asked why. I explained to him that I did not want him to die, and that I thought there was a possibility of that happening if he remained in the window. He said, "What does that mean? To die?" I told him it meant that he would go be with Jesus, but that Daddy and I would not get to see him anymore and we would be really sad. He immediately responded, "So would I get to see his face?" He has been struggling with the fact that he is told that "God is spirit and has no body like men", but we sing songs about seeing Jesus' face. Legitimate struggle if you ask me. Most adults have trouble grasping the concept of the Trinity, and for a 4 year old, it is the most confusing thing he deals with. But at least he got out of the window.