Forrest Gump by Winston Groom – another look at this is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/06/note-on-forrest-gump-based-on-novel-by.html - 9 out of 10

 

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom – another look at this is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/06/note-on-forrest-gump-based-on-novel-by.html

 

9 out of 10

 

 

Forrest Gump is an astounding motion picture, when I first saw it, I was awed by the story of that flawed, charming man, and the circumstances of watching this have stayed with me to this day, and likely will not go away, unless, God forbid, dementia or other ailments set in and hence it is a wild guess what the brain will have in, if anything

 

It was in Caciulata, some special place in the hills, where people travel to cure their diseases, by drinking some foul-smelling waters, presumed to alleviate stomach pains and more, where at one point I had in my care some visitors from Israel – I see now the need for a spoiler alert, since I digress, and who knows where I am going with this

Anyway, the conclusion, what I have to say about Forrest Gump is there, in the first line, the film was overwhelming and impressive, it benefited from the fact that, after years, I went into a cinema theater, and the experience was novel, like coming back to civilization, after staying on an island, somewhere far away…

 

It was a busy time, with clients and travel, AT&T on top of it – the horrible side of that is told, in a nutshell, at the end of this note – and films were not the preferred entertainment for the few free hours, it was mostly trying to get dates and intimacy, which in this case went along with the motion picture, we had two girls with us

Back in the 1990s, I have had a sort of pupil, a man sent to learn about the hospitality business from me, and we took down two buses with tourists from Jordan, staying at the Amphitheater, in Olimp, where we offered them a clandestine, private special night, whereas the official package was maybe $ 30, we said we will do it for half.

 

It was not an easy business, the driver of the bus wanted about us much as the official $ 30, just for fifteen minutes of driving, he saw himself as a sort of mafia big shot, and we did it with a titicar, something like a tractor carrying some carts with it, and we shared the spoils with a 60% and 40% percent split

This angered Danny, who wanted fifty percent (guess who was in for the 60 share) only I had to explain that, when I started as a rookie, nobody even told me there is this thing you can do, never mind explain it, and take me in with a lousy 1%, so is in as one of the luckiest apprentices in the whole damn country, so take this and shut up!

Then I stole his girlfriend, we met her at the airport, and given that I had had a splendid partner- who had been committed to move to Germany, the free side, by marrying a mustachioed fellow, and as such, maybe she was not entitled to complete loyalty – she went as a date with Danny, and I took Nicole at the Baneasa Restaurant

 

Nonetheless, Nicky was interested in me, not in smart, but not that handsome Danny, so we started a – now I stop and hesitate…what to call this, love affair may be stretching it, but let us leave it at that, this was meant to be about Forrest Gump, and it ends nowhere close to him – and later, the situation changed dramatically

Danny started to rise in the business world, he is today one of the top thirty richest in the land, and bought an SUV, which was like having a yacht with a helicopter back then, and my success with our dates started to pale, and then got to zero, when set against the assertive, successful, smart, sarcastic, tall and rich guy

 

So, in Caciulata, we were staying at a villa that Danny had rented, where we drove in his SUV, we had had a grill the night before, and Saturday – I think – we went to the movies in the nice, small, quiet resort, with our partners – he had been at that stage with a girlfriend that he cheated on, and I helped with the ignominy

I had different partners on the weekends – there may have been ten in all, the man was busy climbing to the top, he was in the process of learning Greek, for he found a partner from there, selling sausages in big volumes, and it was not a joy ride, he would stay late in the office, while I was calling half of the city, the female population

 

And asked them to bring along a friend, cousin, so that we get to Le Club, in the nineties the crème de la crème, an exclusive pool and spa, where only the rich and powerful would be accepted as members, the hoi polloi could only hope to see the inside if invited by the aristocrats (actually, most of those ruffians were gross)

Once, the girls we took there (Danny in fact) wanted to get into the pool, albeit it was late, perhaps eleven or midnight, and Danny fixed it, paying a backsheesh surely, and they got in, with the premises shut down, and one got naked (surely), it is just that I can’t remember what the other did, being too overwhelmed by the first

 

Besides, the one that had the audacity to take her clothes off there was a new acquaintance, and there was more than curiosity and desire, the other was an old friend, we had had sex before – one way to solve the question of who is going out with us tonight was to call ex-lovers and girlfriends, when the end of the other lists was reached

The surprise of watching Tom Hanks as that ‘fool’, who was at the same time so charming, special, honest, brave, loyal and ultimately a sort of role model was immense – I wonder now what his voting will look like, I just hope he would not pick the loathsome Orange Jesus, the ultimate Confidence Man https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/09/confidence-man-making-of-donald-trump.html who has to pay about half a billion dollars, and soon  

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”