So how have you been spending your summer?
Going on a vacation? Heading down or up to the lake? Busy mowing the lawn? Excitedly throwing your mask in the trash as we passed July 11 here in Saskatchewan, meaning no more COVID-related restrictions?
Hey, I hear ya. Summertime is the time for all of that and so much more.
Myself, I've enjoyed the summer so far, but I also don't feel ashamed to admit that I've been enjoying the simple act of staying out of this extreme heat we've been getting. Don't get me wrong, I can take the heat - I've been to Las Vegas in August - but I've just chosen to stay cool and hydrated indoors when nothing is on my horizon.
So then, how have I been spending my time indoors on these blisteringly hot days? I could delve into the book I'm reading, but I'll just cut to the chase here - the TV. I've been watching a lot of TV. There you have it.
But as for what I'm watching on TV, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about this week. I'm not talking about the mind-numbingly boring soap operas on during the day, or the endless reruns of shows like Modern Family or The Big Bang Theory. See, what I'm talking about are movies. I'm fortunate to have a number of streaming services, so the movie possibilities are rather endless. But going a little deeper here, I'm talking about classic movies. I mean THE classics.
But here's the thing - I'm not necessarily talking about classic movies from the clear-cut definition sense. I'm talking about classic movies TO YOU. Those movies that are special and remain close to the heart FOR YOU. Those movies may indeed belong on any given person's Top 10 list, they may be bizarre picks to the uninformed, or they may even be some decades-old flicks that most people have never even heard of, but the point is that they're at the top of YOUR list.
I'll tell you why I'm thinking about one's classic movies this week. It's because I noticed that the Outlook Regional Park is running their summertime evening movie schedule, and the movies they have picked out? All three Back To The Future films, spread out over three separate nights! I was so jazzed when I read that, but it also tugged at my heart a little bit. That's because Back To The Future (the first film) is my favorite movie of all time.
It's a movie I've enjoyed for well over 30 years, and I can't exactly give you a deep, psychological reason as to why it's number one in my heart. But what I can tell you is that I maintain a clear-cut system for discovering what films make the cut of being on my own personal list of favorites. First up - does it make you happy from beginning to end? Yes, it does. Secondly - do you ever find yourself tired from having watched it so many times? No, I don't. I've seen Back To The Future dozens upon dozens of times, and I can honestly say I've never gotten tired of it. I always enjoy it, and I always will. Finally - does it make you feel a certain way? You bet it does. I feel emotional and joyful, especially at the end when George finally kisses....well, why spoil it for someone who perhaps hasn't seen it?
That's what a great movie does to you. It makes you feel certain things when you watch it, and it invokes memories of this or that happening in your life at a certain time when you previously enjoyed it. The sheer power that these films can have on you is gripping. The plot never changes, the characters never switch up their dialogue, and the ending always remains the same, but it's YOU that may be a little older, a little wiser, and a little more sentimental every time you sit down to tune in. That one movie will always be there for you and it'll never change, that job instead falls on you. We'll progress and we'll learn more and we'll have certain things happen in our lives, but the picture stays the same.
As it should.
As I close out for this week, I'd be remiss if I didn't share a few words about all of us here in the province crossing that finish line and reaching the stage where we can get things back to the way they were.
This week has been a long time coming in Saskatchewan. If you'd have told any of us who live here 16 months ago that it would take this long to reach the turning point in all this COVID stuff, I'm not sure many would believe you. Oddly enough, it feels similarly like as if it's passed like a slow crawl and jetted by at the same time. But, we're here: masks are no longer mandatory, no limits on anything, you know the drill.
It's something of a freeing feeling, and I can't begin to tell you how glad I am to leave the mask behind. We've come so far in such a short amount of time in Saskatchewan and we jumped at the chance to get vaccinated, resulting in these powerful numbers that now allow us to get back to "normal", or at least an early version of it.
I'm happy that we've turned this monumental corner and I'm looking forward to the simplest of things, such as walking into a store without my mask. That said, I'm heartbroken at the same time over the fact that my Mom isn't here to see it happen and experience it with the rest of us. She deserved to be here to see us cross that finish line.
It's okay, Mom. Your three boys will live it up on your behalf.
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
