Nuptuals and The Maturity of Inspector Calahan

It is so rare these days that I get to sit in front of the computer and sum up my thoughts and musings. But here I am trying to assemble a blog entry to post online. Much has happened in the past little bit and here are some brief reflections on said events.

2009 has been the year of weddings. Just this past weekend I attended another one. This one was in Banff and I got to play two sax solos for the event. I was thrilled to meet the Honorable Judge Robin White who performed the ceremony and directed me in my blocking for my performance. Apparently this was big deal because said judge and the father of the groom (a wealthy Japanese business man) were very much upper tier on the social circuit in Banff.

Other than meeting the judge I enjoyed the food, (surprisingly, the highlight dish was the potatoes! I had thirds.) Horsing around with the MC’s son Glenn, (dude I really don’t think “Beautiful” by James Blunt is appropriate for a wedding!) And paying $3.00 for a can of Pepsi at the bar! (The waitress was eyeing me for a tip. Yeah I dropped another 2 bucks for that can!)



Tess had to work early in the evening the next day so after church I headed back to Red Deer early. Besides pushing the Fusion’s V6 and the car to speeds in excess of 140 km (North of 80 mph for you American readers! Something you don’t want to do unless you have a great handling car on Highway 1 in the winter!) I took the short cut around Calgary through Cochrane and Airdrie and made it back to Gasoline Alley (just before Red Deer) in about 2 hrs and 15 minutes. I arrived “early” at about 6:30 pm. So I figured I’d catch a movie at the Galaxy.

I bought a ticket for Grand Turino starring Clint Eastwood. Clint plays a character named Walt who is a Korean War veteran that has deep seated prejudiced views about Asians. These prejudices are a brought to the surface when Hmong family moves in next door. Tao, a teenage boy, is a member of said family and is shy and unassuming. Events escalate between Tao and Walt when the former is forced to steal Walt’s prized Grand Turino in order to be accepted into a local Hmong gang.

This is said to be Clint Eastwood’s last movie as an actor and as my status on Facebook alludes, it is a wonderful way to go. Once scene in particular stands out. It is when Su, Walt’s new Hmong friend and sister to Tao (yes the dude warms up to Asians in his way) is being harassed by black street gang and the aged yet still menacing Walt comes to her rescue. I couldn’t help but compare this to famous “Do you feel lucky punk” scene in Dirty Harry. It seems that cinema has matured and having Eastwood here is proof.