my life as a movie
Richard Bach, one of my favorite authors, wrote: “If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats.” For some reason that came to mind not long ago, and after some reflection, I’ve decided that’s true, at least to a point.
There are people around me everyday that are far more complex and intricate than any character from any book I’ve read - and others that might as well be made of cardboard. Sometimes I think of my life as a movie, and some times, like now, I keep waiting for the director to yell cut, the lights to come up, and the film crew to suddenly become visible. Don’t get me wrong - I like my life, but I don’t remember seeing a class in school, ‘Scripting Your Life 101,’ or something along those lines. It would have been nice to have someone tell me I could have written my life like a comedy, or sci-fi, or horror, or any other genre mix I wanted. Instead, I got what every other kid in America gets basically - a bunch of useless knowledge that never sees the light of day outside a game of Trivial Pursuit, historical version. I digress, so back to the topic at hand.
This is the third time I’ve tried writing this paragraph. Each time I try writing it, a different idea comes out, and I look at it and say, yeah, but that’s not really what I wanted to say, or at least not the order I want to say it in. When all is said and done, I think my script is about me only by virtue of the fact that I’m the only constant in my life. Like my Piscean nature would indicate, I swim seemlessly into and out of people’s lives, leaving only footprints in the sands of other’s beaches to be washed away by the next tide and forgotten.
When I wasn’t looking, Fate scribbled some off-screen directions in my script, and the result was a scene change to South Carolina. Unfortunately, she forgot to make note of what I am supposed to do here, so I have a feeling that I won’t know it’s done until another off-screen note about a scene change appears. Sure, I could write my own in, but why? I’d just as soon learn the lessons(s) and avoid a repeat. Besides, I have friends here, i’d like to write them into my script more.
I have to confess: I’m a sucker for romantic comedies. Not that you’d ever guess it if you met me face to face, I don’t talk about it much. Some of my favorites are Serendipity, Simply Irresistible, and Dream for an Insomniac. And one I just bought recently is making it’s way up the chart, While You Were Sleeping. Serendipity and Simply Irresistible I like because of the whole aspect that Fate, or Spirit, or whatever you choose to call it, has our happiness in mind and will lead us to it if we are open to it. I think I like Dream for an Insomniac because of its cerebralness (is that a word?), it’s the thinking person’s romantic comedy. While You Were Sleeping is just flat out funny, and I’ve always found Sandra Bulllock charming to watch in addition to being very easy on the eyes. So, there you have it. I want more romantic comedy scripting in my life. I’d like it without all the craziness and complexities Hollywood feels compelled to put in them though. Add in some more friendship and a lot less soap opera drama at work, and it would be a very good script.
In the meantime, I’ll just keep on learning how to write my script and keep my eyes open for the next notation put there by someone else.