Wonder: A Wonderful Family Movie

I know this is not a recent release or anything, but I just saw this movie and I wanted to let people know that if you missed this one, you should really go back and seek it out. I live in a small town without a movie theater, and other than a few blockbusters here and there (Avengers Infinity War!), I tend to watch a lot of movies from Redbox, rather than drive the hour to the nearest cinema. Don’t feel sorry for me, I can pause at any time for a potty break and the snacks at my house are way cheaper than the ones at the theater.

Anyway, I almost missed this one myself for a couple of reasons. My kids are grown, so even thought the trailers looked great, I might have passed on this one had my wife not wanted to see it. Also, I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to movies based on books. I’m a former English teacher, so I generally go with “the book is always better” philosophy, and though I often watch the movies, I almost always read the book first. This time, I so enjoyed the movie, I can hardly wait to read the book and I truly hope it doesn’t disappoint!

The blurb from IMDB reads “Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters 5th grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.” I’ll try to leave the story at that so as not to give out any spoilers. I will say that the story is presented well and although some may find it predictable, I loved the characters and the different perspectives were intriguing to me.

Let me start with the acting. The main character of Auggie is played by Jacob Tremblay, a marvelous young actor probably best known for Room, another excellent movie. Despite the disadvantage of the required makeup effects, he does a great job of portraying the boy through his eyes, his voice, and his general physicality. He never seems fake or costumed, but rather honest and true to the spirit of the character. I thought he was fantastic.

The parents are played by Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts and they do a superb job of communicating the love, the pain, and the enormous challenges with which they were presented due to their son’s appearance. As a parent, I was deeply moved by their strength. I have always been a huge fan of Julia Roberts and she is amazing in this role. Owen Wilson, much more well-known for his comedic skills, does a great job of playing the goofy, off-beat dad, who does everything he can to help his son survive. Mandy Patinkin, plays the sympathetic school principal, and is as good as always. And finally, the cool teacher who loves his job and his students is played by Daveed Diggs, an actor unfamiliar to me, but definitely compelling in this role.

Auggie’s friends are brought to life by a strong supporting cast of kids, but it is the older kids who really impressed me. I won’t list the entire cast, but I will say that Izabela Vidovic who plays the older sister is amazing. All of the younger actors do a solid job and overall, the acting is consistently good!

The film is directed by Stephen Chbosky, best known for the teen drama, Perks of a Wallflower. Although he does a good job with the younger kids, once again it is with the older kids that he truly shines. Throughout the film, we get the opportunity to jump around and see the action through the point of view of the different characters. It is an interesting technique that works well for this movie. The subplot involving the sister is very compelling. Her effort to find her place in a family that revolves around her brother is touching, and her relationship with her mother is fascinating. The abandonment by her best friend only adds to her frustration. This storyline was powerful, yet understated and I was captivated.

But the story centers on Auggie and his struggles to fit in. Having worked in both public and private schools, I will say that the good, the bad, and the ugly are all shown with accuracy. Kids can be cruel. So can adults. And it’s sometimes hard to watch. (Truthfully, I only yelled at the screen when the parents of the bully tried to argue with the principal and justify their kid’s behavior.) But overall, I think the movie has a great, positive message and I highly recommend it. Even if you don’t have kids at home.

Lessons Learned From My Father

Cecil Wayne Perry was my father. He was not a famous man, but he was well-loved and well-remembered by all who knew him. He grew up on a farm in San Augustine, Texas. He once studied to be a minister. He served his country during World War II. He was a welder, then a roofer, and eventually formed his own roofing company that thrived in Waco for over three decades.

Along the way, he married and raised four sons and a daughter. Although it’s been more than twenty years since he passed, I think of him often and I have always credited him with shaping me into the man, and father I am today. Allow me to share a few of the lessons I learned from him.

Love your family and take care of them.

I don’t recall ever seeing my parents have any serious arguments. I’m sure they had their share of disagreements, but they didn’t fight in front of the kids. At least not that I can remember. My father loved my mother. And he loved his children. And he worked hard all his life to provide for us the best he could.

Love God.

By the time there were five kids in the family, my parents’ attendance at church had waned considerably. Still, they took us to Vacation Bible School and encouraged us to attend church as we got older. The first Bible I ever read was provided by my parents and I knew they were Christians. They attended Emmanuel Baptist Church and when I was seventeen years old that’s where I was baptized.

Take pride in your work.

My father had a strong work ethic and he passed it along to his kids. We worked summers with him and we learned to do the work well and be proud of the job we had done. And when it was not done well? Tear it off and do it again. (Shingles, of course!) My father could point out to you every house he had ever worked on and he did so proudly, knowing that he had done his best on that job and every job he had completed.

Have fun and relax.

My father loved to hunt and I although I never went, I loved to hear him tell the stories. When we were younger, he taught us to fish, to bowl, and to roller-skate. He knew how to let go of work and enjoy himself and he taught us to do the same. He also loved to read and he shared his collection of paperback westerns with his sons (as long as we were careful and put them back when we were finished).

Discipline and a sense of right and wrong.

Growing up meant learning how to behave and when we didn’t, we were punished. No one enjoys getting disciplined, but I never doubted my father’s love and I always knew the correction was for my benefit. He was trying to teach us because he loved us and we loved him for caring enough to steer us in the right directions.

As a father myself, I’ve tried my best and hopefully, my kids will always know that I love them and I would do anything for them. And I hope I was as good a father to them as my father was to me. Love you, Dad! And Happy Father’s Day to all the men out there who have had the chance to experience the blessings of parenthood! It’s a tough job, but the rewards are priceless.

How LeBron James Completely Ruined the NBA

Once again, the Golden State Warriors have won it all! Is anyone really surprised? Here are my thoughts on the current state of affairs in the NBA and how one particular player has altered the league for good, in a very bad way.

Welcome to the age of the Super-Team! Before this season even started, I heard an ESPN commentator make the argument that only four teams (Golden State, Houston, Cleveland, and Boston) had any real chance to win the NBA title this year. Fast forward to the Conference Finals and those same four teams were the last ones standing.  And the Finals? Golden State vs. Cleveland. Again. For the FOURTH straight year! This past offseason, most of the movement of free agents in the league was done with the express purpose of creating teams of superstars while those teams without such combinations became a lower tier of competition. And who should we blame for this phenomenon? None other than King James himself.

To begin, how do we define a “super team”? Although some would say that any team with three legitimate superstars constitutes a super team, others are quick to consider how the stars arrived on these teams. NBA history includes plenty of dynasty teams with power-packed rosters, and the ability to draft and develop talent used to be what separated those successful franchises from the rest of the league. But things have changed. The new NBA is based on shortcuts, finding ways to sign or trade for All-Star caliber talents to add to already stacked rosters. And it all began with LeBron.

In 2010, James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade joined forces to create a Miami Heat team that would waltz to four straight NBA Finals appearances, winning a pair of championships. (Were it not for those pesky Texas teams, they could have won all four!) Although not very common, superstars had been known to move before, but in this case, the three players had actually planned their free agency moves years in advance. Ignoring the NBA’s tampering rules, and with the help of Heat president Pat Riley, the three intentionally set out to stack the deck and establish a team of stars that could win multiple championships. And the NBA ignored the infractions as well, and allowed it to happen.

Four years later, apparently not content with two rings, LeBron did it again. This time, he became a free agent and returned to his original team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his absence, the team had played poorly enough to accumulate multiple lottery picks (including three overall number ones), picking up a few other star players, and then trading for others. Welcome, LeBron to your second super team! Other teams were quick to follow the formula. Golden State added Kevin Durant to an already championship roster. Houston picked up Chris Paul. Boston acquired LeBron’s old teammate, Kyrie Irving.

So, what’s the problem? Nothing, if you don’t mind sitting around for the whole season just to get to the preordained finish. Nothing, if your team is one of the super teams. On the other hand, it is frustrating to watch some of the teams with amazing young talent and think about how quickly those players will jump ship as soon as they hit free agency. Just like Durant, they have learned from LeBron how to work the system. In the meantime, if you’re tired of watching the Warriors and the Cavs play in the finals every year, don’t worry. LeBron is soon to be a free agent again and will likely leave Cleveland in search of his third super team. The wildest rumor is that he will go to the Warriors!

If that happens, we can just skip the whole season and give them the rings. Everybody else can just go into the consolation bracket and have a big tournament for second place.

For a really interesting article about the history of the NBA’s super teams, check out the following by Andrew Lynch. https://www.foxsports.com/nba/gallery/nba-superteams-history-lebron-james-heat-cavaliers-warriors-061617

So why do I blame it all on LeBron? In fairness to him, superstars have changed teams before in pursuit of championships, but seriously, if you are the best player in the entire league shouldn’t a team be able to build a dynasty around you? If you are truly the GOAT, should you have to use (and abuse) the free agency system to get your rings? Just my opinion, but I miss the good old days when the season mattered more than the offseason and championships were won on the court, not in the GM’s office.

A Head Full of Random Thoughts: Collected Poems

I finished my book of poetry! Allow me to share a little about the experience. As it turns out, it was a longer process than expected and once again, I HATE formatting! Back in December, I posted the following about the book:

One of the books I’m currently editing for publication is a collection of poems I’ve written within the last several years. Originally, I had thought to round out the collection with a set of poems from my college days with the intention of assembling approximately one hundred poems. The mysterious disappearance of the blue folder containing all of my older works has completely destroyed that entire plan. My son Scott informs me that most of the books of poetry he owns contain far less than a hundred poems, with the exception being several volumes of collected works, so maybe I’m overthinking.

In my mind, I’m still imagining a skinny paperback volume of at least a hundred pages, so maybe I can get by with eighty or so poems, some of which will need more than a single page. If I believe the critics, nobody buys poetry anyway, so I really shouldn’t be stressed about it. I may also be forced to rethink my title. In searching online, I found many books with the title Random Thoughts, and most of them were books of poetry. I guess there are a lot of poets who consider their works to be random in nature. Who would have thought?

In terms of style, most of my poems are basically free verse, although there are some rhyming poems that are more traditional. The topics are truly random. There are a number of people poems, inspired by family or friends. There are some poems about social issues and a lot of poems about situational things, just everyday life stuff. Overall, I think anyone who takes the time to read them will discover a few random thoughts that remind them of themselves. And usually that’s a good thing.

So, I never found the old poems in the blue folder. I ended up with 83 original poems and I did eventually change the title. The skinny paperback is 112 pages and hopefully, I can sell a few copies to family and friends. Whatever happens, I’m proud of the work and I think the volume contains some fine poems.

The book also features two extremely well-written introductions. I asked my son and daughter to write them and each contributed a beautiful piece of writing. Of course, as their father, I am obviously prejudiced, but hey, if you don’t believe me, read them yourself!

While waiting for my kids to finish the intros, I double checked all the formatting and thought I had the manuscript completely ready to go. I copied and pasted those in, moved one poem to a different location, and then began to find errors one after another for the next two weeks! I swear my computer has a demon. How else do I explain the way my titles refuse to behave?

One of my titles is unexplainably lower than the rest. I double (and triple) checked the spacing, the font, the font size, the header, footer, page breaks, and everything else I could find to check. No luck. Every detail is exactly the same as the poem on the opposite page, but the title sits slightly lower. Why? I have no idea. Two drafts later, the titles of three other poems have decided to revolt as well.

Hours of research (reading the MS Word help pages and forums) later, I am tired frustrated and still don’t have a clue as to why my titles won’t line up properly. I make one change, resave, grab my ruler and pray. Somehow the titles miraculously match and I save one last time. Don’t ask me how I fixed it. I honestly couldn’t tell you.

And now for the real fun. Have you ever tried to format an ebook?