Friday Five: Swan Song edition

Reverend Mother writes: Well friends, as I prepare for the birth of Bonus Baby, it's time to simplify life, step back from the Friday Five, and let one of the other capable and creative RevGals take the helm. It's been a great almost 17 months of co-hosting the F5, but it's time to say goodbye... so here's my swan song. On Endings and Goodbyes:

1. Best ending of a movie/book/TV show.

I can think of many great endings right now but I think one of my favorites is the end of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Frodo, being forever changed by carrying the evil of the ring, must leave his world with the remaining elves, Bilbo, and Gandalf. In changing the world and making it new, they lose the ability to be a part of the new world they created. Instead they sail off to the West leaving the saving and preserving for a new generation. I think the book does it beautifully and so does the movie. It is bittersweet yet the way it must be.

2. Worst ending of a movie/book/TV show.

The Princess Bride (the movie). The best kiss ever, they ride off into the sunset and everything is great. The kid says "can you come and read it again tomorrow Grandpa" etc. It is a fine ending, but I love the ending in the book so much better that now I'm very annoyed that they didn't include it.

In the book, the narrator says (in italics):

'And they lived happily ever after' my father said. The truth was my father was fibbing... I spent my whole life thinking it ended that way, up until I did this abridgement. Then I glanced at the last page:...

...But there was no reason to worry: they were on the fastest horses in the kingdom and the lead was already theirs. However, this was before Inigo's wound reopened; and Westley relapsed again; and Fezzik took the wrong turn; and Buttercup's hourse threw a shoe. And the night behind them was filled with the crescendoing sound of pursuit....

...I'm not trying to make this a downer; understand. I mean, I really do think that love is the best thing in the world, except for cough drops. But I also have to say, for the umpty-umpth time, that life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.

And yes, I did go find my book to type that out. I didn't do all of the final pages but you get the idea. But isn't that a much cooler ending than the movie. It is just more real. Protecting a son from unfairness but a son ultimately learns of it anyway. And yet there is hope too. Love it so much more than the movie ending. Ok, I think my geekiness just went up exponentially.

3. Tell about a memorable goodbye you've experienced.

When I was young (elementary or jr. high - I forget the exact age), I went for a week to a camp an hour away from home. As with all summer camps it was a great week and you come home dirty and exhausted and ready for a nap. When I got back, my Mom, Dad and sister were all in the car and they said to me, "We are going to Milwaukee (2.5 hrs away) to see Grandma. She doesn't have a long time." Being the tired almost teenager, I threw a fit. I didn't want to go to the hospital. I didn't want to see Grandma sick again (She'd had cancer for a long time). I didn't want to know that she was now refusing dialysis and only had a few days. I was angry and didn't want to go, and I was angry because it didn't seem right to have to say goodbye to her.

But I didn't have a choice in the matter and we went anyway. And I was able to see my Grandma before she passed away. I gave her a stained glass cat that I'd made in camp for her hospital room and she told me she loved me. I'm glad I was forced to go, even if I didn't know how important it was at the time.

4. Is it true that "all good things must come to an end"?

Nope, I don't. I think that the love of God and the grace of God are given to us always. And if that is true, and one of the best things, then I have hope for the other good things in my life: that they can be sustained and upheld. They may change and grow, but there are good things that do not end.

5. "Everything I ever let go of has claw marks on it." --Anne Lamott Discuss.

Sometimes I think we cling to things, habits or people that are unhealthy for us. We may cling to them for so long that by the time we are ready to let them go they have marks of being desperately and manically help onto. Even if letting something go is the best thing for us, it takes an effort to withdraw our claws and wills from them.

Bonus: "It isn't over until the fat lady sings." I've never loved thisexpression. So propose an alternative: "It isn't over until ____________________"

"It isn't over until - the last page!" Cheesy I know but I'm thinking about books I love now. It's really your fault!