Chasing Tale
26 Sep
Animated movies give me gas. Really. I can’t take them. So when “Dophin Tale” debuted this week, I wholeheartedly agreed to take Zoe. I was hedging my bets on being entertained by Harry Connick Jr. (as my mother said, a shirtless HC jr. is the ONLY good thing that happened with Hurricane Katrina), but I got so much more.
Swim Sawyer Swim!
The story opens with Sawyer, a sweet but hapless tween, looking for something to hold onto in life. His dad split. His cousin is going into the army. Mom works 100 hours a day to make ends meet and all he has to look forward to is summer school. And he lives in the metropolitan hot-spot of Clearwater, Florida. Seriously, I’m bored for him. Then one day he rides his bike to school and comes across a dolphin, caught up in a crab trap and ropes, beached and listless. From there, it’s an adventure and a friendship of a lifetime.
About three quarters of the way through the movie, military vets with all kinds of transformer-like prosthesis are featured. It’s really amazing, what modern technology and mechanics can provide. From there the dolphin tail proto-type is created and then, and here’s what got me, the children with limb challenges came into play. Zoe BURST into tears. “I feel so sorry for them mama. I don’t want them to be like that.”
After the movie, we took a minute to walk around Miami Beach and talk. We have a friend, Nicole, who was born with one of her arms not fully developed. Nicole is amazing regardless of her arm issues. She can do anything that you or I can do, but better because she is working with a challenge. She’s smart, beautiful and kind. She is the kind of child/friend you want to have. Period. And if she thought you were feeling sorry for her, she might kick your butt. Embarrassingly so.
Zoe and I discussed Nicole. ”Now, do you feel sorry for Nicole because she has an arm that’s not fully developed?” Zoe said “No, she’s awesome.” Verbatim. We talked about taking that “sorry” feeling and turning it into compassion. Everyone in life has a different path. Some are more challenging than others. When we deal with people, we should take a minute and appreciate that their path might be harder than ours, and we should lead with kindness. Especially when differences are most obvious.
That’s a tale worth chasing.
Crap. Now I have to take the boys to see this movie. Thanks Uncommon Mom…
you’ll love it! Mwah!
I also thought this movie was wonderful way beyond Harry Connick. Such a beautiful message. I cried and I never do so, especially at movies. the boys also loved it and we are already talking about visiting Winter next summer!
My dad was in the VA Hospital here in Miami for several months early this year. Sam saw many disabled veterans there and asked about their injuries/disabilities. We told her they were mostly injured during their service to our country and that they were recovering and learning how to live with their various disabilities. One young man was a paraplegic with a broken arm who propelled himself in his specialized chair by blowing into a tube. He always stopped to say hello and chat. Sam asked him what happened and he told her about the land mine that blew up his truck in Iraq. She said, “You must have been scared,” and he said he was for a little while, but he was okay now and getting better. She just hugged him and I had to leave the room so they wouldn’t see me cry. Our little ones are so much more accepting of others and not afraid to talk about our differences.
My hope is that they take their compassion and acceptance into adulthood.
seriously, I’m crying now too. I just hope like you, that these kids hold onto that kinder way of seeing things. I hope they pick imperfect and unique things up first and always will. It’s where the magic is.