Someday I will give up being a fan of American football, with its sordid brain damage/concussion history, and become a full-time soccer fan. I watched a fair bit of the World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay yesterday. I liked that both teams played solid, defensive games. I also liked that Uruguay won. I've always wanted to visit Uruguay. I still like the strategy and scoring of American football more than that of football, though.
Yesterday I also saw a large-ish bit of the movie "The Red Badge of Courage". Its star, Audie Murphy, is a northeast Texas local, from towns about an hour from here. He gained an acting career after he returned from service in World War Two. He won the Medal of Honor and a host of other awards due to his sharp-shooting skills and risk of self to help his comrades.
His story has a Hollywood cast. He learned to shoot well because his impoverished family needed him to be able to hunt game. His siblings were placed with orphanages when his parents could not care for them.
Far from an Arnold Schwarzenegger or Chris Hemsworth, he was a small, wiry guy--perhaps resembling the "before" Steve Parker in the first Captain America movie, seen as too small to serve. He was declined permission to enlist at first. But ultimately, he turned out to be a war hero, and became a western movie star later.Nothing in life is easy, though--he understandably had post-traumatic stress disorder from seeing so much war. He died in middle age after a spotty life.
"Red Badge of Courage" was seen as his best dramatic role. He looks so young in that film, though it was shot some years after World War Two. I liked the way the movie caught the fog and horror of war without being too gory for kids to see the movie. Audie Murphy did do a good acting job in the role. It made me want to re-read the book.
This books-from-childhood idea reminds me that they are removing Laura Ingalls Wilder's name from an award, due to racially insensitive remarks in her novels. I sometimes think that all awards and schools and parks and streets should be named after streets or colors or other similar things.
This morning I walked the Chisholm Trail, then went to Weight Watchers, then walked in Shawnee Park, then went to church, then ate fried catfish and green beans. I walked in Glendover Park after lunch. I liked seeing a Red-Bellied Woodpecker forage with its impossibly long tongue.
Last night my wife's car got a sudden flat as we drove home in the dark from the movie. Thankfully, it was not a dangerous blow-out. We limped the car to a QT convenience store and called AAA. In another time, I would have simply changed the tire myself. But when I saw the better jack the AAA guy had than the car jack, was pleased that we called for roadside assistance.Today as her tire was being fixed, I picked up my wife at Goodyear. We went to Kroger shopping together. This went quickly and well. Tonight we ate boiled shrimp and fusilli, prepared simply. It was very good.