Live blogging The Princess Bride

Get the joke? ;-)

I'll tell you this much, the twins have asked about a million questions so far and we're only to the Pit of Despair.

Wil and I started talking about this movie last week when we were floating on the French Broad River: 'Are there any rocks ahead? If there are we'll all be dead.' Then I told him the rest of the rhymes, which he really liked. So we're watching it this morning.

Pretty fun to watch it after so many years. The writing by William Goldman is fantastic. Sarandon and Guest are fantastic. Elwes and Wright are pretty to look at, but comparatively poor actors. The music by Mark Knopfler is wonderful, too. I like how it punctuates the action. Remember back then when Rob Reiner couldn't miss?

Wil has been acting out the swordfight: 'I have to tell you something. I am not really left-handed.'

I see on IMDB that the movie is 20 years old. Sheesh. I'm getting old.

Wil pretty well acted the part of Fred Savage the whole time - not liking the kissing parts but really liking them, unable to cope with the death of Westley, (and thinking Fred should go back to playing his videogames after the story instead of resting).

No reason to tell the twins about the doubts Goldman introduces in the book: Westley relapsed. Inigo's wounds reopened. Etc.

I first saw The Princess Bride on videotape at Anisa Rodriguez' house around 1988 or 89. Being such a romantic back then, I totally fell for it. I read the book immediately.

There's something to fairy tales, of course. We should keep our sense of wonder. We do need to dream. But mostly they, including this one, play to our childish/adolescent sentiments: True love is young love between beautiful, youthful people. It's based on feelings and looks. It's better if the lovers successfully face epic challenges. I owned the soundtrack. I wanted to live that kind of love...

Maturity is more like living the life you've got. Sure, you can strive for more. And I'm not arguing for 'settling'. But don't miss what's in front of you. Yes, we should dream, but not in such a way to miss the blessings we have. Maturity is grandparents reading to sick grandchildren.

And true love means, at a minimum, serving the ones you have committed to. Yes, there should be beauty. Yes, there should be attendant good feelings.  But there must also be, and maybe principally, commitment, commitment that sustains through the hard times. Because, after all 'love will get you through times with no money, better than money will get you through times with no love' ;-)

(I just couldn't keep it straight the whole way though ;-)

Anyhow, please don't hear my preaching. Or, if you do, know I am preaching first to myself, as a reminder, militating against any 'romantic', adolescent notions about life and love and aspiring, someday, God help me, to maturity.