small slices of life

"Other letters simply relate the small events that punctuate the passage of time: roses picked at dusk, the laziness of a rainy Sunday, a child crying himself to sleep.  Capturing the moment, these small slices of life, these small gusts of happiness, move me more deeply than all the rest.  A couple of lines or eight pages, a Middle Eastern stamp or a suburban postmark . . . I hoard all these letters like treasure.  One day I hope to fasten them end to end in a half-mile streamer, to float in the wind like a banner raised to the glory of friendship.  It will keep the vultures at bay."

― Jean-Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I wrote a real old fashioned letter the other day.  You know the kind I'm talking about, on paper, with an envelope, and postage stamp.  It actually felt funny, and strangely nostalgic. Even though I rarely send them, I am dreading the day they are totally obsolete.  I wouldn't consider myself a hoarder, just a romantic.  There are several boxes of correspondence, letters with lovely postal marks, stamps, familiar handwriting sharing small slices of life, that I can't bear to part with.  They are little preserved banners, saluting the glory of love and friendship, the simple things in life. 

image: Mr. Hulings' Rack, 1888, detail, by William Michael Harnett

Le Scaphandre et le Papillon

You've probably noticed from my sidebar, my Netflix queue was The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon), 2007. I don't know when a film has touched me on so many levels. I am
getting butterflies in my stomach just writing this post.

This marvelously artistic film, masterfully directed by Julian Schnabel and elegant screenplay by Ronald Harwood (The Pianist), is the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of the renowned
fashion magazine, Elle, who suffers a massive stroke at the age of 43. When awaking from a coma, he is totally paralyzed except for the use of his left eye. Developing a painstaking system of communicating
with his therapist by blinking his eye, he writes bit by bit, a lyrical, heartbreaking memoir of his struggle.

Wonderful surreal dream sequences and the realities of interpersonal relationships are woven through the film. Mathieu Amalric does an amazing job as Bauby and Max von Sydow is absolutely beautiful in the cameo role of Bauby's father. This film depicts both the fragility and strength of humanity. I came away realizing what a precious gift life is and to appreciate each small, seemingly insignificant moment.