Monday, March 24, 2014

Chopping Locks and Movies

The concept of a movie being made into a book is as exciting as watching paint dry.  I can never understand why one wants to read a movie-book unless it’s about the production of a particular story made into a movie.  I’ve made the decision not to watch some movies based on books for the movies seldom will capture the intensity of a book.  A great contrast with these are the Star Wars series versus Lord of the Rings.  How can one honestly read the Star Wars Trilogy (I did).  Please torcher me with the digitally enhanced versions.  Mean while, LOTR movies leave so much out when comparing movie to book.  I’ve only read a few small portions of the books and though there is incredible depth to the movies, it hardly captures intensity of the chapters I read.

I ponder how do the movies based on the section hikes of Cheryl Strayed on the PCT “Wild” and Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” will capture their back stories? I found their stories to be less of the trail and more of why or how come they were hiking.  Does the movies capture her past? Will the lust for town come true for him?

Why so with and where am I going?  Easy, when one comes across a hiker please just don’t think ‘another dirty almost homeless bum encased in gortex’ or ‘an inconsiderate piece of hiker trash’  sure we are going to be dirty or we may laugh like there’s no one around.  There is shared experience in both and each have a rich back story to share.

I hitched via bus through Chicago long before I realized how adventurous I’d become.  As I took the shake rattle and sway transportation method called ‘the El’ people looked at a not so clean cut kid with a guitar and knapsack with a blanket rolled tied to.  I wondered what people thought of me then.  When I asked which stop I needed for the hostel, the person I asked sounded surprised on how polite I was.  They neither knew my story only had a perception.

As I stepped into work today, I got a few shocked looks, and comments of curiosity.  Unlike those looks in Chicago, I know these folks and yet we don’t know each other.  Is that long haired dude someone who likes to wear his hair long?  Or the gal with really short hair, is that really by choice?  What may be a common looking tattoo, is it really a normal tattoo or is there a deeper meaning behind it?  Much like movies and books, there’s a lot more behind what is seen then viewed even with the familiar.

My blog is more than just about me hiking the AT.  I chose on purpose not to start from scratch.  I’ve chosen to let what I’ve written in the past remain.  What for? Easy, the greatest books are made from a lot of short chapters.  Movies can’t explore the details within the pages of books even with the most skilled of writers working with the most skilled directors.

Where’d then did my hair go?  Hint it relates to this entry… http://preyingjaws.blogspot.com/2007/06/cancer-remains.html and ties into this organization http://www.locksoflove.org  somehow it’s become a major part of my story whether shared or unshared.


Ask the book for the details, forego the movie…
Hike on…

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