Time changes things. Hey. I used to be 165-pounds and thin. Well, relatively thin. Since then, some time has passed. Things change. In the race between grey and bald, I used to root for grey. Now, I’m just pulling for a peaceful draw. Maybe a tie ‘tween the two. Resolved quickly.

I’m old enough to remember when women used to wear underwear on the inside – like, Under their clothing. Then along came the singer/performer Madonna and the cones. Like I said. Things change.

Thongs used to be footwear. Now, thongs are… –well, you know. Probably, Madonna wears hers on the outside. I don’t keep up with her that much. On her feet are flip-flops, probably. Not sure when that changed, but like I said… (Time changes things, in case you’ve already forgotten.)

Perceptions change too. I remember when – well, we don’t need to go into all that. I’m guessing if you put ninety seconds to it, you can remember a couple of your ways of thinking that have changed. Hint: Remember that guy Santa? Tooth Fairy? Not every perception is so grandiose as that which led to the discovery of the New World. Remember that one? Perception: The WORLD is FLAT.

Oops. Wrong-a-roo.

Concede the point yet?

Enough build up. Time has passed, but some things are the same. In particular, they have not released an Anniversary or otherwise-altered version of James Cameron’s movie TRUE LIES. When it is shown these days, is still the same film that was released back in 1994. Just as a reminder, that was the same year that Nelson Mandela won a majority vote in South Africa, when Blacks got the right to vote. Ireland and Northern Ireland called a cease fire. (Some of you are young enough to know nothing of the Troubles.)

OJ Simpson set out in his Bronco in the most-covered non-action video of all time, as he raced (sort of) to keep away from police over the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. Kurt Cobain committed suicide, former president Richard Nixon died, and Michael Jackson married the daughter of Elvis Presley. (He was still alive, back then.)

I know you’re catching on how those events seem like long ago. In fact, they were – relatively speaking.

So, when I was watching the James Cameron movie True Lies, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis, I was actually viewing it with new eyes. The events of that particular year didn’t play into the thing. No politics. No pressure. No hype.

This doesn’t happen often, I promise you. But I laughed out loud. It’s an action movie. But, it has more than its share of laughs – more than many films labeled as “comedy.” Remember, Arnold was strictly an actor when this was filmed. Not former governor of California. Or governor of California. He was actor-Arnold. That long ago.

The website Rotten Tomatoes has its infamous Tomatometer that rates the reactions of critics and audiences. True Lies has a 72% and 69% score. One of the rare occasions when critics like a movie more than regular viewers. I’m thinking both were a bit jaded. But, the scores are recorded and they are on the internet and cannot be withdrawn.

I – for one – would give the film a much higher score. But I have the advantage of time. As in, the passage of time. Times have changed. The film hasn’t. It’s a funny, action-packed movie. The Feel-Good movie of the Summer? I dunno. But I laughed. Out loud.

Perceptions.

A lady came in to the bookshop looking for old history books. A home-schooler. She didn’t want anything new. “They’re changing history,” she said to me. And, you know, she’s correct. What with political correctness and social responsibility there are difficulties owning up to the past. So we change it.

I just finished reading a history from an area of the south not particularly noted for grand race-relations. It was clear that the authors were aware of that fact. There were numerous occasions in which historical civic actions were purported to have been influenced by sympathies for a race-relations cause. Hard to swallow and I hated to brand it as such, but I thought: Revisionist.

The narrative written on the electronic-pages of the internet will be around forever (assuming that those predictions of the total-global-electronic-apocalypse are incorrect). Those ratings, praises, condemnations, thoughts-in-passing, curses, slanders, praises, observations (even this one) may ultimately be absorbed into the total human educational posture. Our collective history. History.

Be careful in stating what you mean. And be careful to truly mean what you state.

I’ve got Scooter Libby’s tell-all, and other relevant offerings (I don’t really, but do have some really good reading… And that’s no True Lie.) Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main Street, Broken Arrow, OK!