tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post8993786128578512684..comments2023-12-18T07:59:16.525-05:00Comments on Hats and Rabbits: Little ShadowboxersChris Matarazzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-58891077870057165332011-09-08T19:54:41.337-04:002011-09-08T19:54:41.337-04:00Patty -- Yup. It is an age-old thing, writing stor...Patty -- Yup. It is an age-old thing, writing stories to reflect life's journey. It's best when they show hope, I think.Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-79697691079880791752011-09-07T13:08:11.555-04:002011-09-07T13:08:11.555-04:00While what I am about to say has nothing whatsoeve...While what I am about to say has nothing whatsoever to do with guns, your post reminds me of the movie Rudy with Sean Astin. I am very much a girly girl in that I couldn't change a tire if my life depended on it and I have a less than zero interest in football. Regardless of my inability to tell a fumble from a field goal (if that's even a thing : ), Rudy remains one of my most favorites movies for the same reason you seem to love Rocky. These are classic inspirational drama's that entice individuals to shoot for those proverbial stars. I tear up at the end of Rocky the same as I cry every single time I watch Rudy on that bench reading that "last opportunity" letter from Notre' Dame and again at the end of the movie (which I'll keep to myself in the shocking event you may never have seen this cinematic treasure :-) These compelling characters and as you rightfully point out each and every one of us want to find that priceless moment where we make our mark in whatever way we find we can do so. My grandmother, who barely finished 8th grade but was one of the smartest people I knew, always said (& I'm paraphrasing a bit here : ) that life's most precious lessons are not learned by the final result of an experience but rather on the journey toward attaining that goal. Even if I've gone completely off topic you have to at least appreciate and acknowledge the stream of consciousness that rode this train right off the track : ) PattyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-38958397484224981742011-09-05T21:13:15.655-04:002011-09-05T21:13:15.655-04:00'nora -- that is a fascinating story. Another ...'nora -- that is a fascinating story. Another testament to the danger of over-simplified views. The violent suface value isn't the end of the picture. In te case of your story, the benefit of looking below the surface was quite clear. Thanks for sharing that.Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-50491919605240651742011-09-05T07:48:05.285-04:002011-09-05T07:48:05.285-04:00Probably close on ten years ago now, I read a piec...Probably close on ten years ago now, I read a piece in some teaching magazine someone left in the faculty room at the school where I taught in which a mother described her efforts to raise her two sons as nonviolent individuals. This included no allowing them any toy weapons.<br /><br />Which meant of course that every crayon and stick became a gun or a sword in her boys' hands. Later, the older boy became a discipline problem and something of a bully at school.<br /><br />The psychologist from whom she sought help pointed out that when she said "You can't have a toy gun, guns are bad," what she was really saying was "guns are scary, and when you have one you are scary, but I'm afraid you won't be able to control it." On the counselor's advice, she started letting her boys have toy guns and swords, with rules like "don't ever point that at a person."<br /><br />The change she described in her sons after that decision was nothing short of miraculous. Toy guns weren't so much about teaching her sons not to be violent, as they were about how to handle the scary and possibly dangerous things in life thoughtfully.<br /><br />How much that has to do with Rocky I don't know, but I think of it every time I hear a parent proclaim their kids aren't allowed toy guns.'norahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673994227824410949noreply@blogger.com