Sunday, October 6, 2013

The Tru-man Event


The September Event this year was last Friday, October 4 - my September schedule being so frenetic - and with Elliot. He chose to go to Kane's Harley Davidson Diner in Inglewood ...

















... followed by a trip to Recordland where you can choose three CDs for $25 - and where, when he chose an obscure jazz artist, the erudite, knowledgeable store assistant looked at him with deepening respect.


On his first trip to Recordland!




















The best part of the Event this month, as is true for most months and most Events, was the conversation. Elliot is discovering a new interest, and that is films. And - being Elliot - he doesn't merely watch the film; he digs deep, peeling back the layers to get to the core truth.

This Event we talked mainly about one movie: The Truman Show.

I have never seen this film; but now I know that I want to, and with Elliot and Elliot's Granny. Elliot quoted it, dissected it, elaborated on themes, alluded to the poignant passages - by the time he was finished, I felt almost as if I had watched TTS with him ...

The thought of the for the most part happy, strangely vulnerable, Truman growing up unaware of his artificially maintained existence; the parallels between TTS and CS Lewis's The Screwtape Letters; the authenticity of life in general and of our own lives in particular, and what constitutes a "real" life anyway.


How do we know what's real?

This lovely boy, teetering on the cusp of manhood, and I didn't stop talking as we drove from place to place, as we ate, as we checked out the CD options, as we dashed through Costco, as I paused long enough to dump him unceremoniously off in his driveway because of my abbreviated time allotment for Superstore before picking Dad up to head home.

We talked about how things change, how people move on - our grouchily dear Armand Cohen (who, in 1997 helped me catch the guys who broke into my apartment and stole a bunch of my stuff including my CD collection - but that's another story!), at 71 years old, had only three weeks earlier decided to retire from Recordland, leaving it in his sons' care - but how there is a thread of continuity, a measure of grace, to be found from birth through death and even beyond.

As I thought about our time together, I realized that we, he and I both, like Truman, are tapping timorously against the blue screen of the boundaries of our lives; we are learning discernment; we are working out our own salvation.

And in our season of change and thanksgiving, I am so very thankful that this wonderful young man, who is one of God's greatest gifts to my life, said to me as we skittered through the cars blocking the crosswalk, "I love our Events, Auntie K."

Me too. And in case I don't see you later, good afternoon, good evening and good night!

_________________________________

Here's a clip of some of the final moments in The Truman Show:




2 comments:

  1. Fries AND onion rings! Now that's a good event! Yes, Elliot is like a lighthouse whose inner walls are lined with a rich library of learning, thought and interest, whose sanctum is filled with music, depth and humour; a place you can stay a good long while, even while he shines unspoken hope to the world. Thank you for still having events. What a gift to "the boys"! Love you, Karyn

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  2. Working out our own salvation indeed. I too love your events, even when they are only experienced vicariously.

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