SUITCASE

by Sharon Stevens

 In the movie, “Hope Springs” written by Vanessa Taylor, I was struck by the scene in the hotel room where Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep were packing to come home from their marriage retreat led by Steve Carell. They were having a very heated exchange as they disagreed on the purpose for coming. In anger Meryl folded her clothes into the new suitcases she had bought specially for the occasion.

What touched me more than anything is that it seemed her clothes were swallowed by the darkness inside that could never be filled. No matter how many clothes she had brought with her they would hardly cover the bottom of the bag.

After they returned home, she and her husband had reached an impasse and she was packing to leave. This time though there wasn’t enough space in her suitcase for all her memories and treasured moments from the marriage. She sat down on her bed and looked around the room at family pictures, the walls, the curtains, the windows, the carpet, and her dresser filled with the silly odds and ends all mothers and wives savor. Her face was terribly sad as she realized the suitcase wouldn’t close,…couldn’t close, with all the things she wanted to tuck inside. How do you choose what you leave behind?

What a wonderful image to explain going from an exciting adventure all the way through to horrific pain and distress.

I loved this movie for so many different reasons. Of course my husband and I saw this from totally different perspectives. I know that even the most perfect marriages have baggage dragging them down.  But what I saw from my side of the bed was thoughts not only about discord in everyone’s life, but about the writer who wrote the story, and the screenwriter who transferred it to the screen. I wondered what they packed in their suitcase to help them write their saga.

I have so much trouble packing my bags for any journey because I know I can’t stuff everything I treasure for the trip. In fact there will never be enough bags in the world, or big enough to handle the volume. And the weight charge would be greater than the national debt.

In “Hope Springs” there were only seconds in these two scenes to impact my psyche to store away in my soul for future reference. Powerful thoughts to help remind me when I get stranded somewhere down the road. I have no idea where, or why, or when these will reconnect, but I am quite sure they will be seen again when I reach my destination. Then I can unzip the bags, empty them onto the bed, unfold my clothes, and then either wear them or put them away.

As writers we sometimes ponder the big picture when our focus should be on the simple scenes in our life. We have a duty to break it down in smaller bags. We can’t pack it all in and expect the reader or the viewer to comprehend our innermost thoughts. I admit I am the world’s worst in trying to stuff every moment inside hoping at least one idea will be understood. I have to work on that not only with everything I write, but everything I say and do.

Terrible habit I have. I’ll work on that.

The most important mission we have as writers is that we need to know when we pen those wonderful scenes straight from the heart that someone out there will be touched enough to remember and relate.

And also we need to be aware that we should weave a story worthy of someday being good enough for our work to appear on the big screen, our words spoken by the greatest Hollywood stars, with direction from A-list directors.

After all, who by far is better than a writer to understand the meaning behind one egg over easy at the beginning of the movie, and TWO eggs cooking in the skillet in the final thoughts?

As I am finishing this, the Mitt Romney and Barack Obama presidential debate is playing in the background. I wonder not only what they packed in their bags to prepare them for their thoughts, but what their wives packed as well. After all, it is the anniversary of Barack and Michelle Obama.

SUITCASE

by Sharon Stevens

 In the movie, “Hope Springs” written by Vanessa Taylor, I was struck by the scene in the hotel room where Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep were packing to come home from their marriage retreat led by Steve Carell. They were having a very heated exchange as they disagreed on the purpose for coming. In anger Meryl folded her clothes into the new suitcases she had bought specially for the occasion.

What touched me more than anything is that it seemed her clothes were swallowed by the darkness inside that could never be filled. No matter how many clothes she had brought with her they would hardly cover the bottom of the bag.

After they returned home, she and her husband had reached an impasse and she was packing to leave. This time though there wasn’t enough space in her suitcase for all her memories and treasured moments from the marriage. She sat down on her bed and looked around the room at family pictures, the walls, the curtains, the windows, the carpet, and her dresser filled with the silly odds and ends all mothers and wives savor. Her face was terribly sad as she realized the suitcase wouldn’t close,…couldn’t close, with all the things she wanted to tuck inside. How do you choose what you leave behind?

What a wonderful image to explain going from an exciting adventure all the way through to horrific pain and distress.

I loved this movie for so many different reasons. Of course my husband and I saw this from totally different perspectives. I know that even the most perfect marriages have baggage dragging them down.  But what I saw from my side of the bed was thoughts not only about discord in everyone’s life, but about the writer who wrote the story, and the screenwriter who transferred it to the screen. I wondered what they packed in their suitcase to help them write their saga.

I have so much trouble packing my bags for any journey because I know I can’t stuff everything I treasure for the trip. In fact there will never be enough bags in the world, or big enough to handle the volume. And the weight charge would be greater than the national debt.

In “Hope Springs” there were only seconds in these two scenes to impact my psyche to store away in my soul for future reference. Powerful thoughts to help remind me when I get stranded somewhere down the road. I have no idea where, or why, or when these will reconnect, but I am quite sure they will be seen again when I reach my destination. Then I can unzip the bags, empty them onto the bed, unfold my clothes, and then either wear them or put them away.

As writers we sometimes ponder the big picture when our focus should be on the simple scenes in our life. We have a duty to break it down in smaller bags. We can’t pack it all in and expect the reader or the viewer to comprehend our innermost thoughts. I admit I am the world’s worst in trying to stuff every moment inside hoping at least one idea will be understood. I have to work on that not only with everything I write, but everything I say and do.

Terrible habit I have. I’ll work on that.

The most important mission we have as writers is that we need to know when we pen those wonderful scenes straight from the heart that someone out there will be touched enough to remember and relate.

And also we need to be aware that we should weave a story worthy of someday being good enough for our work to appear on the big screen, our words spoken by the greatest Hollywood stars, with direction from A-list directors.

After all, who by far is better than a writer to understand the meaning behind one egg over easy at the beginning of the movie, and TWO eggs cooking in the skillet in the final thoughts?

As I am finishing this, the Mitt Romney and Barack Obama presidential debate is playing in the background. I wonder not only what they packed in their bags to prepare them for their thoughts, but what their wives packed as well. After all, it is the anniversary of Barack and Michelle Obama.