Bella, making a difference

A few months back while in Tampa on other business we went by the University theater and viewed the movie Bella. I was somewhat reluctant because my wife wanted to see it, had heard great reviews and I, prejudging, wasn’t all that interested in seeing a “chick flick.”

I gotta tell ya, I was wrong. It was a story with a deep plot line, plenty of suspense and twists and just when I thought I had it figured out, a surprise ending. All wrapped up in a story with an uplifting and positive message of life and relationships.

The really sad thing about this movie is that it was so narrowly distributed that the closest place we could find it was Tampa or Orlando. Ocala certainly isn’t a big town, population 46,000 with a metropolitan area of 316,000. Not huge, but nothing to sneeze at either. We have 24 indoor screens in Ocala and not one of them gave us a viewing of Bella.

What brings this subject to mind now is an interview with Eduardo Verástegui I just heard. I subscribe to a number of podcasts and regularly listen to them weeks after the fact. Recently I heard Steve Brown interview Eduardo on his May 23 podcast and was again impressed with not just the movie and the message, but the man.

Here’s someone who has so much going for him. Looks, talent, intelligence, he has it all and has used it in his entertainment career to go places many would only dream of. That coming from an obscure background in a backwater area of Mexico.

Yet, he one time thought to walk away from it all to pursue a path he thought to be less challenging to his values. Thankfully, wise friends and advisors counseled his otherwise. He makes no bones about it; his mission and life priorities have changed. His desire is to make movies that make a difference in the life of those who view them.

Many people make that kind of statement. They want to make a difference. In this case, Eduardo is fulfilling it.

If you want to hear the podcast just click the player below.

If you want to buy the DVD, get it on Amazon.com. If you want to save a few bucks buy it used. Many times I prefer to rent rather than buy a DVD, but this is one that it would do well to view repeatedly.

View the Bella trailer on YouTube where you can also view his Today Show interview.

"We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and
we owe each other a terrible loyalty." - G. K. Chesterson

Congressional windfall profits grab...

The rising price of gasoline is hurting nearly every family in America. We are tired of Congress doing nothing but bowing down to the environmentalists.

It is time for Congress to develop a program that allows the exploration of America's energy sources without materially affecting our environment. Congress should put our families first, ahead of the environmentalists!

Recent actions by Congress to demonize oil companies while Congress does nothing of substance are deplorable. Senator Claire McCaskill castigates oil companies for earning $83,000 a minute in profits in 2007.

At the same time, for every minute of 2007 and 2008 Congress spends $5,137,000.00 of the American taxpayers hard earned money, and continues to ask for more. That's over $5 million a minute with nothing of substance to show for it.

As a nation our problem is not the oil companies, who produce a needed product and earn a reasonable 8-10% profit margin for their efforts. Our problem is a Congress who is in the pockets of the environmental cartels that are bent on the destruction of the American economy while Congress aids and abets the ruin.

It's time Congress acted with substance, not throwing fodder to the masses in the form of an oil company "windfall profit tax" "trust fund" that will be raided by this do nothing Congress in the same way the Social Security trust funds are.

If this is the best our elected officials can do I suggest they do the American people the greatest service a politician can and just get out of the way and allow the American economy and private industry go to work and fix this problem that by it's very nature Congress cannot.

"We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and
we owe each other a terrible loyalty." - G. K. Chesterson

Island life, ahhh!

Back in May we spent 3 days in a little town off the North Carolina coast, in the Outer Banks called Ocracoke. Its on Ocracoke Island and separated both by water and in some ways by time from the mainland.

We spent 3 days there and in that short time the stresses of life fell away as our contact with the world was limited by lack of cell phone service and limited Internet.

It’s not that these modern conveniences aren’t available on the island, they’re just available in very limited amounts. Our cell service, T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile, were both “barless” and while our hosts at The Island Inn, the oldest functioning business on Ocracoke, said they had wireless Internet, I could barely get a signal.

To connect my Palm T|X wirelessly I could go to a local coffee/smoothie shop. The Ocracoke Coffee Company on Back Road offered great coffee, suburb smoothies, and a selection of fresh bagels and pastries daily. Grab your drink choice and a pastry if you want and relax on the deck to chat with locals and visitors. If you prefer, find a seat on the lawn in one of the Adirondack chairs or the rope hammock swing and enjoy you paper, or just watch the world go by.

If you want to surf the Internet, come early. The shop closes for the day at 1:00PM. A wireless connection after that can be found across the street at the town library after 2:00PM. You have to wait until that time because the town shares the shelves with the local school, K-12, and is reserved for their use until school is out for the day.

This town of about 800 has plenty to offer in restaurants. For dining on the Silver Lake harbor off Pamlico Sound try the Jolly Roger. The dining room is on a covered deck overlooking the docks where you can watch the boats cruising in and out of the harbor while the Ocracoke Lighthouse stands guard as it has since 1823.

The food is good and is a favorite of locals looking for a good hamburger. That’s not to say their seafood offerings are anything other than great, it’s just that many islanders tire of seafood, if you can believe that, and like a good ole slice of beef from time to time.

At about a mile square, you can walk just about anywhere you want to go in Ocracoke. If you’re not up to that, grab a bicycle from one of the several shops that rent them. Our hotel has them available at a rate that makes the regular shops “see red” according to owner Cee Newell who shares this tidbit with a twinkle in her eye.

I’ll chat a bit more about our experience on Ocracoke Island in another post, perhaps the next one. I’m still feeling the lingering effects of island life and I’m not too motivated right now to….

Later!

"We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and
we owe each other a terrible loyalty." - G. K. Chesterson