I can remember exactly the first time that I realized the value and beauty in social survival. It was during the Fall of ’69 and I had just finished watching the epic feature film “Shane” with my older brother. This was a usual late night event for us, as our parents, the original yuppies, were often out late entertaining contacts. In the 60’s “affluenza” swept the American Dream with a connection to skinny ties, big hairdo’s, massive smoking and a glass of booze in every hand. My parents were the quintessential 60’s young marrieds, except for one thing; they had me and my brother for kids.
Born the second kid, I grew up with a big brother. He was 1 year and 6 days older than me, but much larger and certainly of different temperament. I was the quieter one with no real need not to be since he was truthfully, “bigger than life.” He needed no one and proved it daily. He was tough, smart and popular. At 4’11 in the 8th grade I was just plain little, but being his little brother was always an adventure. Anyway, back to Shane. My big brother yells at me right at the end of the movie, right where Shane is riding off into the sunset, “You see that? Did you see that?” “What! See what?” I yelled back. “Did you see Shane fall off his horse? Whoa! Man he died!” he yells again. I didn’t see it but then I didn’t not see it either. Maybe he fell. I didn’t know for sure. I suppose it was possible, sheesh, 104 bullet holes can do that to a guy. “Naw, he didn’t fall” I said, trying to be convincing to my brother and myself. “He was just slumped in the saddle. It’s a cowboy gunfighter thing, We’ve seen it a million times!” I said, trying to get him to agree. My big brother wasn’t yielding. “Shane is dead, dammit, He fell! You missed it! So shut up! You’re stupid! Go to bed!” he barked. Pulling the big brother authority card was never fun for me. These were the days long before VHS or DVD movie rentals, all that stuff was way off in the future. You couldn’t just rewind the dang thing. There was no “Googling” it! If you missed it or imagined it, all you could do was disagree until it shows up in the TV guide again playing on some crumby late night program or Sunday Matinee. I went upstairs to bed as the “Dead Shane Debate” was just beginning to brew.
A few weeks later, I’m in my 8th grade English class and Mr. Grolz , my teacher says, “Alright guys listen up! This week we’re gonna watch a movie. It’s a two hour flick so we are gonna watch a half hour a day for the next 4 days and write a report on it on Friday. The movie is a classic called, “Shane.” What? I’m thinking, “Shane?” Oh yeah! This was too good to be true, I’m gonna see if he dies or not. I don’t have to wait for any rerun. No Sunday matinee for me, no way, I’m in the game right here at Cavalcade Junior High School and the coolest part about the whole thing is a guy can back up those reel-to-reel projectors! Teachers do it all the time to show you stuff they want you to see again, like human cell division or the reproductive “sperm races” in health class. And there off, “We got Joey Jock coming out fast, just in front of Sammy Smart Guy, and bringin’ up the rear is Geddy Geek! We’re in the corner! ITS JOHNNY, NOW SAMMY, AND HERE COMES GEDDY GEEK SWIMMIN’ HARD TO THE FRONT! IT’S NECK AND NECK, ITS GEDDY, NOW SAMMY, GEDDY, JOHNNY. SAMMY, ITS GEDDY GOT EM’ BY A NOSE AND AT THE LINE ITS …JOHNNY JOCK, IN EGG FOR THE WIN!! Of course it is. I knew all to well about comin’ in last against the big brother. I never won an argument, a card game, a bet or nothing’ and I really don’t want to talk about fights. I was the little brother who was good for proving that an arm thrown, just at the right time into the side of a guys head, could actually knock him down and maybe even out. Many times, I was coaxed into “learning” a new fighting stance only to be knocked out so quickly that I didn’t even SEE the move. I couldn’t learn without see in’ the dang thing. All I got was a sore face and warned by big bro that it better not look like that when Mom gets home.
Ok, back to Mr. Grolz. This guy was messed up. He was a football coach masquerading as an English teacher. We watched movies, read books, talked sports, did book reports and talked more sports. You could do a book report on Cyrano De Bergerac and call him a Nazi spy without any correction, but if you chose “The Story of Sandy Koufax” you had better get the earned run average right or an “F” was yours to be had. Looking for a chance to score points with Mack, I mentioned to him that my brother, one of his football players, had it on good source that Shane actually falls out of the saddle at the end of the movie. Mack, not even looking up from his newspaper mutters at me,, “Oh yeah. Hum, well I’m sure if your big brother says it’s so then it’s probably so, he’s a smart kid not like you.” I tell Grolz, Yea, probably so. But if I were you, I’d tell the class to watch carefully cause it really does effect the story.” “How’s that?” Grolz ask. I tell him, “Well if Shane lives, then he’s a warrior without a home. Always forced to be a warrior no matter how much he wants to be done with it. But if he dies, then the message is that Shane found peace by giving up his warrior life for a bunch of pacifist and weaklings. On one hand, he’s a hero and on the other, he’s a victim. See?” Grolz, now looking up kinda stares at me with a puzzled look and then says, “Shane doesn’t die! He’s the lone warrior.” “I don’t know,” I said, putting my hands in the air. “My big brother says he died. If I was you, maybe I’d ask my students to watch closely and take a poll. You have six classes all watching the flick, check it out!” “Maybe I will,” says Grolz. The next day in class Grolz announces the movie has possibly a very interesting dilemma or masked philosophical action toward the end. Does the main character die or not? I’m flabbergasted that Grolz even cares what I think but maybe he just wanted to seem insightful like my big bro. Anyway, days go by and at the end of the movie the “Dead Shane Debate “is in full bloom. So many swear they see him fall and so many swear they see him slump that, there is no easily defined winner in the debate. Later that day Grolz calls me over from my locker and asks, “Strange, do you know for sure rather he dies or lives?” Seriously I state, “I don’t know Coach, rather he did or didn’t but it sure makes the movie even more spectacular than it already is. It’s an amazing piece of film with real gunshot sound effects and simplicity at every turn. Even the hero is a little guy that everyone underestimates his power and cunning. He spends more time knowing who he really is and very little tryin’ to be something he isn’t. Well, I gotta go Coach.” I looked up and for just a second it almost seemed like we were the same height. “Thanks for playin,” I said with a grin and walked away. “Hey Strange!” the Coach yelled, “You’re a funny guy, you know that don’t you?” “ Yep! That’s what my big bro says too! I yelled over my shoulder.
Copyright © 2010 Rick Strange Words and Music