On the second Saturday of this November, my girls and I watched the first snowfall. A gentle howl of wind captured jumbo flakes. From our dining room window, we stared at these snow swirls. My 4-year-old gleefully stepped out onto the porch. She shimmied around as if she was in her own snow globe. She reentered our home energized and finished breakfast.
Hours later, our family of four ventured to Westwood Plaza Theatre with special guest, my mother. The matinee of our day was Ron's Gone Wrong, an animated adventure in a technological age. Zach Galifianakis voices Ron, a robot that puts into question the ways in which we connect...and more importantly the way kids are losing connection. The connection thief - screens.
Ron's Gone Wrong is a film that would not have resonated a generation ago. If my grandfather were alive and in attendance, he probably would have pulled a handgun out of his jacket and put an end to the movie. This absurd premise deserves a pistol. Much like Wreck it Ralph and Big Hero 6, Ron's Gone Wrong challenges the audience to weave in and out of the technological forces that rule our day. To us humans of 2021, absurdity it is not.
The story ultimately is about friendship between Ron and a boy named Barney. No spoiler here, yet I will contend that the bot and the boy most came alive in one place - the wilderness. That was my takeaway as I ran home from Westwood Plaza Theatre. I waved goodbye to my mother, wife, and daughters. There is nothing like being inspired by a kid's movie and abandoning your family in a parking lot.
I ran through the streets of Westmont and entered into Stackhouse Park. The leafy trails and rocky terrain made for their own theatre - Hero Dad trying not to face plant (I fell once on Whispering Trail and have a sore left palm...HERO DAD. Shhh, don't tell anyone).
As I hurdled fallen trees and blasted beyond branches, I thought of Ron and Barney playing in the woods; about my 4-year-old trying to catch snowflakes in her mouth; about my 6-year-old's Girl Scout hike in this park a day earlier. The unrivaled connection that Mother Nature provides.
When I got home, my shoes were joyously muddy. In those few miles back to base, I thought about all my years in Stackhouse; of adventures gone by; of adventures ahead with my daughters. I had not blogged since early summer. Technology (film) inspired me to wilderness and back to technology (computing). Connected some dots powered by electricity and ecology - family and friends generate true power.
As I bring this blog to a close, my 4-year-old is taking a nap. She crashed hard post-movie. After doing some living room sprints where she repeatedly rocketed into the couch and laughed wildly, she needed to reboot.
I'd like to believe she is dreaming, catching an endless flurry of snowflakes. A big smile. A hearty laugh.
