Roger Ebert's latest blog post "Goodbye to All That" details his decision to no longer attend the Cinema Interruptus event in Boulder, CO where he has been an annual speaker for forty years. He tried it only once after his battle with thyroid cancer left him famously muted, but in the dark he couldn't type his thoughts. He was, without a voice, invisible. "When you can't run, you can't be in the race" Ebert writes.
But the most poignant line in his piece recalls a time in High School. An old teacher asked Roger why he wrote about so much death. He claims it was because he had an appreciation for the fullness of life. Ebert eloquently writes: "Even in high school I was keenly aware of floating on the river of time. I was placed in the current at birth, and given the opportunity to experience consciousness for an undetermined number of years as I drifted on the river out of Eden."
Humanity as drift wood or runaway leaves. Fragile, fast paced, unpredictable. A journey that we experience rather than control, at least for as long as we're allowed the chance.
A romantic perspective of life, for a romantic holiday. Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!
Oh Cate, always the romantic... Haha. In all seriousness though, this is a great spin to put on a sad story. I can't imagine being in a position where I lost the ability to communicate. Not because I am particularly fond of interacting with people, as much as I am of telling stories. After all, thats what drew us all to this career in the first place. Its not that we enjoy the rigorous revision process, or the laborious efforts of late night deadlines. Instead it is that thrill of entertaining. Of putting words on a page, and making something unique. I would imagine that Ebert shares a similar passion, and that even though he has lost his voice, he hasn't lost his love for storytelling.
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