Going to the Movies - "The Butler"

We saw a movie last night. Well, actually we went to a movie theater and watched a newly released movie on the big screen rather than sitting in Bea's apartment and watching something on HBO that we really weren't interested in or had seen before. I can't remember the last time we did this; it's been that long. First, we haven't had an evening to ourselves in ages. Second, we're too cheap to spend big bucks to go out to a movie. Third, there's never anything playing that we're interested in seeing. So, when we had a rare free evening and found ourselves just sitting around AND the local movie theater only charged $6.25 for a movie ticket and there was something of interest to watch … well, let's just say it didn't take us long to get our acts together and head out the door to the Sharon Cinema 8. Please note that our idea of a movie aboard Nine of Cups is usually sitting on the saloon settee about 24” from the laptop screen to watch a DVD or (dare we admit it?) perhaps a pirated movie of lesser quality. Either the audio or video are faulty or it's a movie we've watched several times before. It's still an enjoyable evening, but nothing like the real thing.

It might have been awhile, but it didn't take us long to get into the groove. “Two “senior” tickets for “The Butler”, please.” “Marcie, go order the mega-tub of popcorn!” Who needs dinner when there's movie popcorn and a liter of diet Coke to be had? We were in a nirvana-type state by the time the trailers began.

We watched “The Butler” with Forest Whitaker in the lead and Oprah Winfrey as his wife. Based on a true story, the hero, Cecil Gaines, is an apolitical black “domestic” who served several US Presidents in the White House as a butler. Cecil's son is a black political activist. The story follows Cecil's career as a butler through American racial turmoil during the civil rights movement from Eisenhower in the 1950's to Reagan.

We liked the movie, but this is by no means meant to be a movie review. Rather, it's a commentary on how something as simple as a night out together to watch a movie, munch popcorn, and hold hands in a dark movie theater can have such a wonderful effect on a couple's attitude. The fact that the movie was a good one was a bonus!

Going to Church

 

We are not a very religious crew, but that doesn't stop us from appreciating fine architecture when we see it. Churches, whether they be cathedrals or little country chapels, mosques or temples, are usually an opportunity to observe and gain an insight into the local people and culture. Though we might not attend services, we rarely miss a chance to wander around inside to take in the ornate grandeur or the quiet, serene simplicity that exists there.

In Peru, the cathedral in Arequipa was extraordinarily beautiful. In Lima, we visited the catacombs underneath the cathedral which were quite eerie. They've since collapsed, probably leaving those interred a bit more at peace.

The blue domes of the cathedral in Cuenca, Ecuador could be seen from miles away and visually enticed us into exploring the church.

The elaborate, decorative detail of some of the Argentinian cathedrals we saw were almost overwhelming at times.

Australia has its share of cathedrals as well. St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, for instance, was pretty impressive.

Even in the more isolated areas of the South Pacific like the Gambiers, there were several churches and even a cathedral. In this case, the cathedral was built with the blood and sweat of forced labor by an overzealous, psychotic missionary. It lies in disrepair now, declared unsafe with little hope of restoration.

Sometimes it's not the church itself that intrigues us, but the architectural elements employed in its building like arches, pinnacles, gargoyles and balconies.

Stained glass windows are always eye catchers like these at St. David's in Hobart, Tasmania.

Ornate altars, columns and ceilings catch our attention.

Have you ever read Sarum by Edward Rutherford? It's an historical novel that traces the building of the Salisbury Cathedral in England through the eyes of generations of families who were involved in building it and its fascinating.

Probably more to our liking, however, are the tiny country churches and chapels that we've seen in rural locations throughout the world. In these places, you can rest your spirit perhaps and contemplate life a bit more easily than the massive, echoing halls of the more grand structures.

The simple grace of 200-year-old white, clapboard Unitarian and Congregational churches on the commons area of little New England villages is always appealing.

Let's go back to that first sentence. “We're not a very religious crew.” That's not quite true. Gazing out at a star-filled sky or over a calm, blue ocean fills the soul. And then, of course, it depends on the weather. I remember a few times in the middle of Force 10 storms that I chatted quite incessantly with the guy upstairs in an attempt to get him to fix the weather. So I guess I'd say we're more situational, rainy day believers.

The Games People Play

 

People, the world over, love to play games … usually competitively. Games that are popular in one country are sometimes unknown in another. Folks in Fiji rarely play hockey. Folks in the US rarely participate in banana relays. Traveling from country to country as we do, we get a chance to witness games that are different and many that are the same.

Football is an interesting sport. What we call football in America is not the same as Australian football. And actually, to most of the world, football is soccer and not at all like football as we know it in the USA, or Australian football for that matter. Then there's rugby, of course, which isn't like either American or Australian football. Soccer is certainly played in the US, but it's nowhere near as popular here as it is in the rest of the world.

Baseball is played in other countries, but its roots are here in America. Whitman said it's “America's game” and it's hard to find someone who doesn't have a favorite team. Oh, they play it in Asia and Europe, but it's nothing like the Americas (both of them). Little League is big here and if you grew up in the States you probably played sandlot baseball when you were a kid. On the other hand, we have no explanation for cricket. The bat is odd, the games last a long time and we don't understand the rules.

Basketball, both men's and women's, is played in several places throughout the world although the rules seem to differ depending upon the country. One fond memory was a group of young Embera men in the Darien Jungle of Panama playing basketball in loincloths in the middle of their village. It's an image that stays with you.

We've watched polo, a rich man's sport, but it's definitely not a team sport that most folks will ever expect to play.

Chess, checkers, backgammon and dominoes seem to be popular worldwide games. Cruisers in Mexico and the Carib were crazy for Mexican train dominoes, but we never caught the fever. We especially love those huge chess sets in downtown city parks where people have to move human size chess pieces from square to square.

In the Amazon, we played Sapo. Sapo in Spanish translates to frog and the object of the game was to throw a disc from a measured distance into a golden frog's mouth or into specifically marked holes with numerical values assigned to them. The person with the highest point score wins. There's some skill involved, but the novelty wore off rather quickly.

In French Polynesia, we participated in traditional Polynesian games which included stone lifting, banana relays, coconut husking and outrigger races. Needless to say, though the locals provided instruction and encouragement, we were a sad-looking bunch. It was fun nonetheless.

Re-enactments are popular in many countries. Here in the US, we attended several Civil War re-enactments. Depending whether we were north or south of the Mason-Dixon Line determined who won the particular battle. In Vanuatu, we witnessed a different kind of re-enactment where a century ago locals had attacked arriving missionaries … and subsequently eaten them. The re-enactment stopped just before the “having missionaries for dinner” part, but the attack was definitely authentic looking.

On board, we play lots of card games. Cribbage and gin rummy are two of our favorites. We play backgammon on occasion and Speed Scrabble whenever I can talk David into it. As uncompetitive as we are between us, we still keep score and have been for years. At last count, David was ahead 5,345 to my paltry 5210.

We regularly watch young folks in their tiny Optimist sailboats racing through anchorages and adeptly maneuvering around the big boats and the race markers. Though we always claim we are not interested in racing, it is said that whenever two sailboats are heading the same direction, it's a race. Quite honestly, we truly are not racers and we don't care … but we do like to arrive first.