via npr.org
I must admit I seldom go to, buy or rent movies of late but when I have a persistent itch to view one I pay attention to the attraction. Such was the case with "Gran Torino," directed by and featuring Clint Eastwood. Its a movie obstensibly about a car (the GranTorino built by Ford in the early 70s) and its owner, Walt, a recently widowed and 360 degree bigot. However, Walt doesn't know what hit him as the story unfolds of how his heart opens to those he dispises. The movie's theme song, written by Eastwood and Jamie Cullen, is sung at the end of the movie and gives the film's many meanings even greater significance. If you haven't see it this is a great movie.
via lyricsmode.com
The lyrics:
So tenderly
Your story is
Nothing more
Than what you see
Or
What you've done
Or will become
Standing strong
Do you belong
In your skin
Just wondering
Gentle now
The tender breeze
Blows
Whispers through
My Gran Torino
Whistling another
Tired song
Engine humms
And bitter dreams
Grow heart locked
In a Gran Torino
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
Realign all
The stars
Above my head
Warning signs
Travel far
I drink instead
On my own
Oh,how I've known
The battle scars
And worn out beds
Gentle now
A tender breeze
Blows
Whispers through
A Gran Torino
Whistling another
Tired song
Engines humm
And bitter dreams
Grow
Heart locked
In a Gran Torino
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
These streets
Are old
They shine
With the things
I've known
And breaks
Through
The trees
Their sparkling
Your world
Is nothing more
Than all
The tiny things
You've left
Behind
So tenderly
Your story is
Nothing more
Than what you see
Or
What you've done
Or will become
Standing strong
Do you belong
In your skin
Just wondering
Gentle now
A tender breeze
Blows
Whispers through
The Gran Torino
Whistling another
Tired song
Engines humm
And bitter dreams
Grow
A heart locked
In a Gran Torino
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
May I be
So bold and stay
I need someone
To hold
That shudders
My skin
Their sparkling
Your world
Is nothing more
Than all
The tiny things
You've left
Behind
So realign
All the stars
Above my head
Warning signs
Travel far
I drink instead
On my own
Oh
How i've known
The battle scars
And worn out beds
Gentle now
A tender breeze
Blows
Whispers through
The Gran Torino
Whistling another
Tired song
Engines humm
And better dreams
Grow
Heart locked
In a Gran Torino
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
It beats
A lonely rhythm
All night long
After a 1.4 mile swim, a short soak in the hot tub and a little yoga this morning I went over to the adjacent pool to see how the waterbabies were doing. As you'll see in these two short videos taken with my iPhone they were doing just fine.
Sent from Ron's iPhone
The center is near St. Louis. The Meramec River is at right. You can click the photo to view it enlarged. Also, see related October 10, 2009 post on servant leadership.
In a few weeks I'm off to a 5-day contemplative servant-leadership retreat at the Marianist Retreat and Conference Center near St. Louis (see image above in following post).
While the concept of servant-leadership is ancient, Robert Greenleaf, former head of Managment Research at AT&T, gave it a modern articulation. "The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first..." - Robert Greenleaf
From Wikipedia: According to his essay, Essentials of Servant Leadership, Greenleaf’s philosophy had its roots from reading a work of fiction in 1958:
"The idea of the servant as leader came out of reading Hermann Hesse’s Journey to the East In this story, we see a band of men on a mythical journey. The central figure of the story is Leo, who accompanies the party as the servant who does their menial chores, but who also sustains them with his spirit and his song. He is a person of extraordinary presence. All goes well until Leo disappears. Then the group falls into disarray and the journey is abandoned. They cannot make it without the servant Leo. The narrator, one of the party, after some years of wandering, finds Leo and is taken into the Order that had sponsored the journey. There he discovers that Leo, whom he had known first as servant, was in fact the titular head of the Order, its guiding spirit, a great and noble leader."
Sent from Ron's iPhone.
After taking this snap at Whole Foods the store manager came out and said "you can't take photos - corporate policy." Life springs atcha sometimes. And least you think this policy is unique to Whole Foods, Starbucks has it as well.
Sent from Ron's iPhone
I had lunch with my office mates at Nordstrom's Cafe today and had this lovely dish - yummy.
Sent from Ron's iPhone