Wild

BudLiteGood morning, y’all. A few snow flurries to report, but nothing stuck to the ground. The roads are clear and we haven’t had to go to generator power, so all and all, a good day. The roads provided no problem for Mulva to get over to the Walmart to buy me a replacement bucket of paint to replace the one the Widow Ferguson kicked over at the Republican Debate potluck. If she doesn’t sue for the bruise she got on her knee, I won’t bill her for the paint. I think they call that detente.

Anyway, Mulva dug deep into the $2.99 movie bin and pulled out a selection that was a very odd choice. You might even say, a “wild” choice. It was the movie, “Wild” starring Reese Witherspoon. Now, I thought I was in for an evening of a “chick flick”, although one with possible empowerment overtones. I was ok with that, I guess. You kind of have to give in to a certain degree on date night movies. After all , there are two of you going on the date. I was just kind of amused at Mulva picking out a movie starring Reese Witherspoon.

For those of you who don’t know the story, Reese and her hubbie were arrested for drunk driving a few years ago in Atlanta. Mulva has what you might call a “Zero tolerance” for drinking and driving. I’ll let you figure out why. Mulva is especially critical of people who drink and drive that can afford a chauffeur, or a cab. She just sees there is no reason to endanger the public, particularly if you have the means and the ability not to. I can’t say I disagree with her. What made this story national news was that Reese got out of the car to protest the stop with the policeman. It is important to remember that police cars have dash cams, and if you’re going to act a fool, it’s going to be caught on the dash cam for the whole world to see. Mulva got overly pent up with Ms. Witherspoon asking the police man if he “knew who she was” about a hundred times. Not Reese’s finest cinematic moment.

So, imagine my surprise when Mulva brings home a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. Well, we all know Mulva is about giving second chances. She lives with her body of work. Ironically, the movie “Wild” is about a woman who lost her moral compass when her mother died. The mother, played by Laura Dern, is a single mom who does everything she can to make her children feel special. When she passes, Reese’s character, Cheryl, goes into a self destruction binge that is epic. Finally, as a means of regaining her self, and her sanity, Cheryl decides she is going to walk the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,650 mile jaunt up the West coast. People at the bottom don’t always make good decisions, and this is a good example.

The movie is based on the book “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. It is an account of Cheryl’s loss, her plunge into despair, and her subsequent redemption. By placing herself in the harshest of environments with minimal resources at her disposal, Cheryl was forced to use her wits to survive in the wild. During the course of the journey she learned about hiking and backpacking. She had to learn as she went, she had had no prior experience. In one of those classic instances of “not knowing enough to be scared”, Cheryl plunged ahead into extreme terrain that not even the most ardent hikers attempt to tackle. Desserts and snow capped mountains, bears, snakes and hunters with guns. The movie reflects Strayed’s many “what was I thinking?” moments. After being on the trail for 94 days, Strayed reached the Bridge of the Gods, and she ended her journey. The movie ends with Strayed telling the audience that in four years she will marry and have two children.

The movie was critically acclaimed, and Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon received Academy Award nominations. Neither won. No matter, Reese Witherspoon may have won her way back into Mulva’s heart again. She never left mine.

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