Fionnuala and I went to the cinema last night. Without kids! We get to do this about once a decade. The movie was called ‘Adrift’ based on a true story of a couple whose dream of sailing across the Pacific turns to tragedy when their yacht is badly damaged in a storm leaving them thousands of mile from safety with insufficient food and water supplies. I won’t say anymore in case some of you are planning on going to see it yourselves.
There were only 14 people in the cinema (yes I counted them. I do have OCD you know) so we were able to sit back and relax without any distractions. I don’t like people sitting beside me in cinemas. Elbows touching, poor eating habits, annoying laughs and plot giveaways. The list is endless. Thankfully this lot were well behaved so I didn’t have to adopt my school headmaster routine.
Fionnuala frowns upon me smuggling food and drinks into movies. The shame of being caught doing so and forever exposed as ‘tight’ I’m afraid would be too much for her to bear. So we treated ourselves to drinks and snacks in the foyer beforehand which ended up costing more than the movie tickets themselves. But at least there was no having to wait until a noisy part of the film in order to slyly open contraband tins of Diet Coke.
Before any 90 minute movie nowadays one must sit through 100 minutes of adverts and trailers. The trailers elicited the standard ‘Ooooooh that looks good’ comments from both of us. But then trailers invariably look good as they are all the best bits of the movie cobbled together. If a movie has a dull trailer then you know it must be seriously bad. Trailers are designed to deceive and trick you into parting with your hard earned cash.
Imagine you had to make a trailer of your life so far. What would you include in it? What would you leave out? In order to impress someone and convince them that they needed to find out more about you and your life? A new boyfriend for example? Or an employer? Those neighbours or that church community? I imagine any highlights reel you chose would only feature scenes which portrayed you in the most favourable of lights.
I used to be like that on social media and towards the world in general. People only saw my best bits, the parts that I wanted them to see. I was desperate to be a box office hit so hid much of the truth of who I actually was from them. I was a facade, a fraud, a front. Lying was second nature to me. I became a slimy, selfish salesman desperate to impress and promote myself to the world while neglecting those who loved the real me. Warts and all.
The net result was that I, just like the movie we watched last night, ended up adrift. Buffeted by life’s storms and hopelessly off course. I was in danger of sinking without trace; a walking, talking shipwreck lying at the bottom of the ocean with all hands lost. I didn’t need any iceberg to breach my hull for I was more than capable of doing that myself. I was the architect of my own demise. Standing at the helm as I silently slipped beneath the unforgiving waves.
Thankfully I somehow survived. I cannot claim any personal credit. My wife and kids kept my head above water. It was they who hauled me out of the water and into the life raft. They reached out their hands and I clung on for all I was worth. If you are adrift today please pay heed. There are those who want to help. Who want to be allowed to save you and be a part of your life. For all good movies deserve an even better sequel.
What was the last movie you watched? Was it any good?
What are your pet hates at the movies?
Have you ever felt adrift?
Black Thoughts 
Reblogged this on Wendi Pasco-McGregor and commented:
What an interesting idea from this blogger! The movie of your life? And would it be different for different audiences? And what about the sequel?
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Thank you for the reblog.
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It was “everybody knows”…. they should have added “the end” to the title, as five minutes into the film and everybody actually knew it….
😄😄😄
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Have you seen it?
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I did….
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Are the cinemas good in Paris?
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Depends on the area… but generally I try to avoid those where I can have the kind of annoyance you encountered…
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“Same time next year” very romantic movie… that’s my story and it’s m sticking to it. 😉
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What a great post!
1. Last week I saw Oceans 8 (not what I’d normally go for, but it’s summer and not much to choose from). It was light entertainment.
2. I HATE sitting next to anyone eating popcorn – so distracting. Hate people making noises when they eat 😬😞
3. Absolutely – that’s why I turned to Poetry
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Three great answers. Thank you.
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Excellent word-picture! Thank you for your inspiring tale.
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Thank you very much Kent.
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Love this parallel! Intriguing.
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This is so amazing
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Thank you. What did you like about it?
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I feel inspired…no matter what we face there will always be people to help us up… the people who love us.It teaches us to never give up in life
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That’s great to hear 😊
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Thank you😄
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Ooh! I want to write on a trailer of my life now. Great writing prompt.
…oh, maybe I was to get more serious and introspective about it.
I tend to worry because I’m a very authentic person. I don’t admit to every disgusting habit when meeting a new acquaintance, but have no issue posting to social media that my house is undecorated or my children attempted murder. The worry comes from the lack of friends.
“Should I have hidden all that?” I wonder. Maybe then I’d have people asking to do social things.
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Is your social calendar relatively free then?
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Thank you for your posts. I know the feeling of be adrift. After a long while one wishes to just sink and get it over with. Thanks be to those who love us, right?
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Yes that’s very true. Thank you.
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We saw Ocean’s 8 last weekend – I enjoyed it, but perhaps not as much as Ocean’s 11 or 13. It wasn’t bad – it just didn’t have the same tension.
Ohh, pet peeves include chatters (which is one reason we go to a theater that *will* throw people out for being noisy). Spoilers. People getting into my space, touching me when I don’t know them, or sticky floors. I want a clean experience!
I think feeling adrift from time to time is normal. It depends a lot on how far you go before you ask for help, as to how adrift you are. There’s a bit of a difference between feeling “at sea” in wanting to help someone move and not knowing where things go, and being so far gone that sinking appears the best possible option.
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Yes, Yes and very Yes!!!
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I made Scott watch The Lucky One the other day- he wasn’t sure at the start but is a sucker for a happy ending 😊 I have seen this film advertised, is it worth a watch would you say? How many popcorns would you score it? 😄
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3.5/5 popcorns. It was good. Although I ate waaaaaay too much. I haven’t run in 4 days now cos of the heat. Feeling very unfit.
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Ah ok so worth a watch but not blow your mind sort of stuff. Haha standard cinema trip, eating your bodyweight in popcorn! I know the feeling, I’m almost not looking forward to the bbq tomorrow because I know I will eat unhealthy food and will undo at least a day of good work I’ve done this week 😂 I think at least the heat means I sweat more so the workouts are more effective 😅 But, I don’t run the risk of passing out miles from home after getting dehydrated! I did think Scott was mad for running 8 miles in the heat Thursday.
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Oh don’t be silly. You train hard. One BBQ won’t make a difference. I’m planning to run in the morning before it gets too hot
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Last movie was “I Can Only Imagine” This song was such an inspiration to me when I was fighting a battle with cancer and I loved the story of the young man who wrote it. Like you I hate it that the snacks cost more than the movie tickets. Glad you had an evening – just the two of you. Every marriage needs that “date time.”
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Thank you. We are going to try and do it more now that the kids are older and don’t need minded.
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I recently watched Pan’s Laberynth again. I really love the storytelling. I think it’s a great movie for discussion afterward about the nature of reality and the place that stories hold in our lives. I really appreciated your question about what I’d include in my life trailer. That’s one worth pondering for a while.
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Thanks Eric. I’ve never watched that movie. Must check it out one of these days.
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I love going to the movies. Sadly, I haven’t been able to go see one due to finances but I really do want to see Adrift. It looks good. I want to see Oceans 8 as well. I used to work at a movie theater which was pretty cool. I got to see movies for free and could have all the popcorn I wanted (although I got sick of all the popcorn after awhile, lol)
I’m going to have to think about my life’s trailer. That’s a very interesting way of putting it. I wonder what mine would show. Gonna give that some thought!
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Glad I got you thinking Leigh. Fionnuala used to work in a cinema as well.
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Last film I watched at the cinema was Moana with Number 1. Pet hates at cinema for me have to be a constant knocking of the back of my seat, and loud eating winds me right up………
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Yes. The old kick in the back. That’s a classic 😆
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What was the last movie you watched? Was it any good?
I saw TAG. It made me smile, laugh and sniffle a bit. It made me feel young. So yes it was great.
What are your pet hates at the movies? Talking during the movies. Gross.
Have you ever felt adrift?
Currently in my life I am in a constant state of feel like on adrift. I have no choice where I go,what i do… i simply roll with the waves.
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Great post. This really got me thinking, especially about what would be in the trailer of my life. We so often try to display only the best parts of us and our lives even though the harder parts (the bits we leave out) may well have been the making of us. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you. I agree. That’s what I like about blogging. People write about the good times and the not so good times.
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Awwwww, love the picture of you two! So cute! Let’s see…the last movie I saw was The Avengers: Infinity War and it’s one I want to see again. I love all of those Marvel superhero movies anyway.
My movie theater peeves: talking during the movie and using your cell phone during the movie.
Adrift: oh, yes. I feel adrift quite often 🙂
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Thank you very much. I think we all have our ‘adrift’ moments 🙂
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I am with you on the small crowds are my favourite for all the wonderful reasons you listed and more. I don’t ever know why but I am 5’4, and even if the theatre is empty except for one other person. They will sit in front of me. I have NEVER figured this out. Hubby always says it’s because I pick the best seat. He is being “funny” hehehe. We laugh because we have had it happen, we move our seat, and if another person comes in, they will sit in front of me. Like I said, we laugh and they turn around and look at us all mean like we are laughing at them. Oh my goodness, my trailer would be a disaster hahaha
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Ha Ha great answers. You should bring a cushion with you 😂
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Hahaha good idea
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I have to say that your writing is beautiful. You have just the right words to describe everything.
I think all of us, at some point, are pressured into portraying ourselves in a certain light on social media, which may be far from our authentic self. I think that it’s okay as long as we don’t get too carried away. Of course family and friend work as the ultimate anchors, holding our hands in rough waters. 🙂
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I have to say that your writing is beautiful. You have just the right words to describe everything.
I think all of us, at some point, are pressured into portraying ourselves in a certain light on social media, which may be far from our authentic self. I think that it’s okay as long as we don’t get too carried away. Of course family and friend work as the ultimate anchors, holding our hands in rough waters. 🙂:)
I am sorry for repeating the comment but I had to delete my old blog and I am still figuring my way through WordPress.
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Thank you very much. Your feedback has made my day 😊
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Great post (as always!) Stephen. Kodachrome was my last flick. Talking drives me bonkers. Most of the time.
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Thank you. Yes talkers should be shot on sight 😆
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RE: Most of the time I’m adrift. Talking makes me bonkers all of the time! Just to clarify.
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the last film i saw?well now, I cant remember! I havent gone to the cinema in ages! time to go I think! I want to see adrift and mama mia here we go again! xoxo
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Yes. Get out there and enjoy. We have seen Adrift. It’s very good.
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