Of Vern, Gordy, Chris and Teddy

Hi,

I saw on HBO this afternoon, "Stand By Me". If you were a big fan of River Phoenix, you might have seen this movie a billion times like me.

The first time I saw this movie was when I was in grade school on VHS tape. Apapa's former secretary lent it to us and thought we would enjoy it. We actually did. It was even in my list of movies I would never get tired of watching.

For those who are not familiar with the movie or for those who already forgot it, lemme refresh or introduce it for you. "Stand By Me" is about the four young boys who went out hiking in the woods in search for a dead young boy's body, their first taste of adventure. As the movie went on, it showed more than just having some fun time walking along the railroad tracks; it showed a great deal of dilemmas and personal grievances and insecurities and how they were able, though a little only, to resurface amongst those issues and enjoyed a bit of empowerment.

Now that I have watched it again, it made me ask some questions and well, compelled me to return to my thoughts and reminisce a bit. But my major question would be, how come the twelve year old kids of this generation don't camp out anymore? The majority of this age group had their noses stuck on their PS2s or on their PCs for some online gaming. Well, well, well. I wish they can watch this movie and make them realize how fun it would be to ride a boat and fish or climb up the hill, lie down under the sun and run in the rivers and swim naked!

Oh and I have one more question, do most of us have this kind of special friendship? Nowadays, I guess it's really hard to keep friends, those few people who, unintentionally, etched a huge mark in your heart and in your mind. And just the thought of them makes you smile and makes you appreciate life a little more. Well, i think that kind of friendship seems rare now.

Thank God, this isn't rare for me. They are abundant actually. Praise you JC.

End.