Photo by Gracey Stinson
We had company in last weekend –our good friends Lee and Brenda and their two daughters, Jordan (nine) and Noelle (three and a half). We had planned on going to the zoo, but the guy who bought Mr. Meow’s piano came to pick it up at 10 o’clock on Saturday morning so we missed going during the cooler morning hours. (And they were leaving Sunday, so…)
However, we decided there was still a way we could spend time with animals and keep cool doing it: at an afternoon matinee showing of Evan Almighty.
I must admit, even though I’m an animal lover, animal movies kill me. I always cry. Even if it’s an upbeat family movie, like Evan Almighty, where the animals are not in jeopardy I cringe on the edge of my seat frantic for the animal’s dilemma to hurry up and get resolved. (Not that the animals had that dilemma in Evan Almighty, but I still feared I’d fret anyway.)
My husband will attest I’m hyper-sensitive when it comes to animals. I bawl every time we pass a dead cat or dog on the side of the road. That’s why I’ve never seen Free Willie all the way through. I got too emotionally upset when I tried. In fact, Homeward Bound was the last animal movie I intentionally went to see. I was beside myself by the end of it and vowed to never watch another such movie again. (Although, my sister double-crossed me one time and rented Paulie, proclaiming I just had to see it. Thank heavens we were (a) home and (b) she’d had the foresight to break out a new box of tissue. I almost used the whole thing!)
So it was with some trepidation I agreed to see Evan Almighty. (It was either that or Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and no one was game for that.) I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of our friends or their children, so every time I felt the tears well up I quickly wiped them away.
However, Evan Almighty charmed me. I think because most of the time the animal parts involved extremely humorous situations. (I did fret through the flood scene, but I kept reminding myself all would be well…)
But what really charmed me was the concept of the Ark –be it Evan’s or Noah’s.
Imagine a world where hunter and prey coexisted peacefully? Man need not fear man-eating beasts and beasts need not fear man because neither meant harm to the other. Similarly, beast-eating beasts would have no desire to eat fellow beasts.
Whether it’s just a Biblical tale or it really happened, imagine a time when, for 40 days and 40 nights, perfect harmony between all species reigned supreme. It sounds like a beautiful thing to me.
I think if I could invent a holiday it would be one that incorporated the above concept. I know there’s a food chain for a reason, but what if for one day each year it ceased to exist? Everyone’s bellies and bloodlust would be completely satisfied and total peace prevailed.
Ah…it’s a nice, but albeit farfetched, dream. Guess I’ll have to settle for the next best thing: the magic Hollywood created with Evan Almighty. I’m glad I endured it after all now.
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