Thanks Woody

I don’t recall which Woody Allen movie I saw first. I think it may have been Annie Hall. Annie Hall was released in 1977, the year I graduated from high school. The year I turned eighteen. The movie represented a kind of coming of age for Woody Allen, too. No longer simply a comedy set in the past or in the future or in some nameless south of the border country where revolving dictatorships could be seen as comic. In Annie Hall, Woody Allen was funny, even as he could explore with intelligence, kindness, and depth, the joys and fragilities of human relationships. Annie Hall won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1977. It won my heart and soul for Woody Allen movies. If you’ve not seen Midnight in Paris, this long weekend may be a perfect opportunity.

A couple of years later, Allen released Manhattan, a film shot in black and white with a Gershwin soundtrack. Sad to say, I think it was the first time I ever heard “Rhapsody in Blue.” I loved the film. I still have the soundtrack on vinyl.

There is a scene from Manhattan that I have never forgotten, even if I have to look up the precise wording. Woody Allen’s character, Isaac or Ike, is reclining on a couch in his apartment. He is talking into a tape recorder. An idea for a short story about people in Manhattan who are constantly creating these real, unnecessary neurotic problems for themselves ‘cause it keeps them from dealing with more unsolvable, terrifying problems about the universe. It’s, uh… well, it has to be optimistic. Well, all right, why is live worth living? That’s a very good question. Well, there are certain things I guess that make it worthwhile. Uh, like what? Okay. Um… for me, oh I would say… what, Groucho Marx, Willie Mays, the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony, and Louis Armstrong’s recording of “Potatohead Blues,” Swedish movies, naturally, Sentimental Education by Flaubert, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by Cezanne, uh, the crabs at Sam Wo’s, Tracy’s face

scene from Manhattan

So what makes life worth living for you? Where do you encounter life’s goodness? For we who believe in God we might say these are places where we encounter in one way or another God’s grace, God’s creativity, God’s love.

My list changes, and the list of music, books and movies is long and ever changing. There are also some relatively unchanging items. Times when Julie, David, Beth and Sarah are together (like this Thanksgiving). Doing something nice for someone and they have no idea who you are. The end of a worship service where everything has all fallen into place. The video of Brian Wilson performing “Surf’s Up.” U2 – “It’s a Beautiful Day.” Bob Dylan, “Like a Rolling Stone.” Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run." John Coltrane, “My Favorite Things.” Dave Brubeck, “Take Five.” Miles Davis, “Blue in Green.” A Mary Oliver poem. Annie Hall and Manhattan.

So what makes life worth living for you? Ask the question. Give thanks.

With Faith and With Feathers,

David