Sucker for A Sob Story
Today in my directing class, at the end of the day our teacher, Tommy, had a story for us.
He began to tell us how Andrea, his girlfriend at the time, lost her mom and they went to attend teh funeral. The girl's sister and husband, a marine posted in Germany, flew home for the funeral.
When the funeral ended Tommy found the man *i believe John was his name?* crying in a room in the house. Apparently this was a shock to Tommy considering he was 4x the size of him *And Tommy's a fairly big guy* who rarely shows that kind of emotion.
Tommy and John went for a walk on the family's large property and John opened up about how he had just stopped in Philadelphia, PA just before they came there for the funeral so he could see his grandparents who had basically raised him themselves. John and his wife were not doing well at this time and were having a lot of problems in their marriage. His grandmother suffers from dementia. Much like alzheimer's only it's back and forth.
He bought his grandmother daisies *her favorite* and took them to the hospital where she was staying. As he passed through the halls he looked in to see the old and sad people there. It was like seeing death.
There was a circle mirror *you know the kind, that let you see around corners and behind you and in all directions* in the hall and he could see into the room in which his grandmother was staying. There was his grandparents, his grandfather telling her stories of all their past trying to get her to remember things. After waiting for so long, John entered to be given a huge hug from his grandfather.
His grandfather told him that he'd leave them to talk, and pulled John aside to tell him that he should speak to her just like always had, treat her no different just cause of her condition. He said his grandfather literally soft-shoed out of the room and into the hall to go get a drink.
John began to speak with his grandmother but it didnt seem right. So like he had always done in the past, he began to tell his grandmother about his problems w/ his wife, and how it just didnt seem to be working. He just kept staring forward, not even noticing. John put his head down, close to tears, and as if sensing it, he looked up to see her staring right at him.
"Where is that man?" she said.
"Where is who?" he asked.
"That man, that beautiful man."
Realizing that she was asking for his grandfather he asked "Why?" and she responded "Because im in love with him. Im so in love with that man."
John began to cry hysterically. Moments later John grandfather returned and saw this. He began to shake his grandson, demanding why he did this after he said to treat her like nothing had changed. At this point John picked up his small grandfather and hugged him, and told him the entire story of what happened.
Unable to take it anymore John ran from the room, leaving his grandparents. Upon regaining his composure he walked back in, and in that same mirror as before...saw his grandparents laying in bed together spooning and holding one another.
They were still in love.
With the flowers in hand John rushed home, wanting nothing more than to hug his wife and hug his kids like he hadn't done in so long. Hug them just to hug them. He realized the "torch had been passed" and the flower he had brought for his grandmother, were now for his wife.
Almost 4 years later John and his wife are the happiest couple Tommy has ever seen and are still very much in love. The flowers that he had given his wife? They still have them, crushed down inside a picture frame.
Love is still very much alive.
Love is still very much real.
And for a guy like me to hear this story today, after feeling like love would never come back to me.
My heart was lightened.
It gave me hope...hope for everything and everyone.
Tommy's story touched me.
He's going to make this story into a short film.
Not to make money.
But to share it with the world.
Post it online, give copies to everyone, just because he feels like its a story that everyone should know.
And a moral everyone should believe.
He began to tell us how Andrea, his girlfriend at the time, lost her mom and they went to attend teh funeral. The girl's sister and husband, a marine posted in Germany, flew home for the funeral.
When the funeral ended Tommy found the man *i believe John was his name?* crying in a room in the house. Apparently this was a shock to Tommy considering he was 4x the size of him *And Tommy's a fairly big guy* who rarely shows that kind of emotion.
Tommy and John went for a walk on the family's large property and John opened up about how he had just stopped in Philadelphia, PA just before they came there for the funeral so he could see his grandparents who had basically raised him themselves. John and his wife were not doing well at this time and were having a lot of problems in their marriage. His grandmother suffers from dementia. Much like alzheimer's only it's back and forth.
He bought his grandmother daisies *her favorite* and took them to the hospital where she was staying. As he passed through the halls he looked in to see the old and sad people there. It was like seeing death.
There was a circle mirror *you know the kind, that let you see around corners and behind you and in all directions* in the hall and he could see into the room in which his grandmother was staying. There was his grandparents, his grandfather telling her stories of all their past trying to get her to remember things. After waiting for so long, John entered to be given a huge hug from his grandfather.
His grandfather told him that he'd leave them to talk, and pulled John aside to tell him that he should speak to her just like always had, treat her no different just cause of her condition. He said his grandfather literally soft-shoed out of the room and into the hall to go get a drink.
John began to speak with his grandmother but it didnt seem right. So like he had always done in the past, he began to tell his grandmother about his problems w/ his wife, and how it just didnt seem to be working. He just kept staring forward, not even noticing. John put his head down, close to tears, and as if sensing it, he looked up to see her staring right at him.
"Where is that man?" she said.
"Where is who?" he asked.
"That man, that beautiful man."
Realizing that she was asking for his grandfather he asked "Why?" and she responded "Because im in love with him. Im so in love with that man."
John began to cry hysterically. Moments later John grandfather returned and saw this. He began to shake his grandson, demanding why he did this after he said to treat her like nothing had changed. At this point John picked up his small grandfather and hugged him, and told him the entire story of what happened.
Unable to take it anymore John ran from the room, leaving his grandparents. Upon regaining his composure he walked back in, and in that same mirror as before...saw his grandparents laying in bed together spooning and holding one another.
They were still in love.
With the flowers in hand John rushed home, wanting nothing more than to hug his wife and hug his kids like he hadn't done in so long. Hug them just to hug them. He realized the "torch had been passed" and the flower he had brought for his grandmother, were now for his wife.
Almost 4 years later John and his wife are the happiest couple Tommy has ever seen and are still very much in love. The flowers that he had given his wife? They still have them, crushed down inside a picture frame.
Love is still very much alive.
Love is still very much real.
And for a guy like me to hear this story today, after feeling like love would never come back to me.
My heart was lightened.
It gave me hope...hope for everything and everyone.
Tommy's story touched me.
He's going to make this story into a short film.
Not to make money.
But to share it with the world.
Post it online, give copies to everyone, just because he feels like its a story that everyone should know.
And a moral everyone should believe.