Excitement:

Been a while since I posted, and A LOT has happened since then, because I'm pretty sure the last time I did was before Christmas.

Well, long story made short: I am no longer a college student for the time being and am not living in the dorms.
Before I move I am staying with some friends in town for a little while. Said friends run a daycare out of their home, so I have been around kids 24/7, which is totally cool to me because I love kids and I've worked with them for years.
But something totally awesome happened today that I wasn't really expecting...

Most of you know that I am the creator and head author at Think Classic (links below), which is a blog that centers on all things vintage or classic, i.e. classic movies, radio programs, literature and vintage fashion. It's basically a hobby of mine run wild. What you may not know, unless you are the one person who I've ever really told, is that, while I love teaching preschool and working in a daycare, if I could choose one profession to do just because it'd be AMAZING no matter how ridiculous or un-achievable it seems, it would be to work as a film historian or work in film preservation.

Crazy, I know..

But it is days like today that remind me of that ridiculous little fanciful idea. I was working on scrounging up some Harold Lloyd videos to go along with the most recent Think Classic post (again, link below),and one of these little preschool kids came up to see what I was doing, so I showed him a video and he was laughing SO hard all the other kids came over. We ended up watching two of his longer movies plus one of his shorts for well over half an hour.
Maybe that doesn't seem that incredible to you, and if that's the case, maybe that's because you don't know who Harold Lloyd  was. For a full story, click the link below...but for the short version: he was the highest paid actor during the silent film era. Silent films. There are quite a few adults who, even if they have an interest in classic film, that level of interest doesn't extend to silent films. And I can understand that...I personally love silent films, but they are just harder for some people to get into. But these were kids..kids who probably haven't even really been introduced to the world of classic film at all, and they loved it! Not only did they love it, but not one of them questioned why there was no sound or why it was in black and white. They were just totally into it right away because it was funny. And I'm sorry, but in the same way that kids have a simplistic yet sincere idea of what is right and wrong, and just as they are so naturally intuitive, kids know when something is genuinely funny.

Harold Lloyd once said:

"It has been amazing to me that these comedies can still strike a responsive note of laughter with audiences of all ages and in all parts of the world. Laughter is the universal language. It establishes a common identity among people--regardless of other differences. It is the sweetest sound in the whole world."

Isn't that amazing? I mean, Lloyd said this sometime before he died in the early seventies, so that was a while ago. But it still rings true just shy of 100 years after some of his movies were made and released in the early 1900s. It just shows that all the fancy sound and visual effects are for stuffy adults who have lost a sense of imagination. I just think that's so incredibly awesome...and I also think that wherever Harold Lloyd is now, he is undoubtedly supremely happy that his good acting is still appreciated.

If you are still wondering who Harold Lloyd is or would just like to know more about him, please take a look at the new Think Classic post:

Harold Lloyd: "I just took life and poked fun at it.."

This will take you to the main page of Think Classic, where you can also read the aforementioned post:

Think Classic

And, if you're interested, here are links to the Think Classic Twitter and Facebook pages. There are also some good Harold Lloyd videos posted on that same Facebook page from the other day:

Think Classic Twitter

Think Classic Facebook

So in love..

"And now I'm all alone again, nowhere to turn, no one to go to.
Without a home, without a friend, without a face to say 'hello' to.
And now the night is near,
Now I can make believe he's here.
Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping.
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping.
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head.
On my own,
Pretending he's beside me.
All alone,
I walk with him til morning.
Without him,
I feel his arms around me.
And when I lose my way, I close my eyes,
And he has found me.
In the rain, the pavement shines like silver.
All the lights are misty in the river.
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight.
And all I see is him and me forever and forever.
And I know it's only in my mind,
That I'm talking to myself and not to him.
And although I know that he is blind,
Still I say, there's a way for us.
I love him.
But when the night is over,
He is gone.
The river's just a river.
Without him,
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers.
I love him
But everyday I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending.
Without me,
His world will go on turning--
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known.
I love him.
I love him.
I love him,
But only on my own."

"Marius:

Good God, what are you doing?

'Ponine, have you no fear?

Have you seen my beloved?

Why have you come back here?

Eponine:

Took the letter like you said.

I met her father at the door.

He said he would give it--

I don't think I can stand anymore.

Marius:

Eponine, what's wrong?

There's something wet upon your hair.

Eponine, you're hurt!

You need some help!

Oh, God! It's everywhere!

Eponine:

Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius,

I don't feel any pain.

A little fall of rain

Can hardly hurt me now.

You're here, that's all I need to know.

And you will keep me safe,

And you will keep me close.

And rain will make the flowers grow.

Marius:

But you will live, 'Ponine, dear God above,

If I could heal your wounds with words of love!

Eponine:

Just hold me now, and let it be.

Shelter me, comfort me.

Marius:

You would live a hundred years

If I could show you how.

I won't desert you now..

Eponine:

The rain can't hurt me now.

The rain will wash away what's past,

And you will keep me safe,

And you will keep me close.

I'll sleep in your embrace at last.

The rain that brings you here

Is Heaven-Blessed!

The skies begin to clear and I'm at rest.

A breath away from where you are

I've come home from so far,

So don't you fret, M'sieur Marius.

I don't feel any pain,

A little fall of rain can hardly hurt me now.

That's all I need to know.

And you will keep me safe,

And you will keep me close.

Marius:

Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine,

You won't feel any pain.

A little fall of rain can hardly hurt you now.

I'm here.

I will stay with you til you are sleeping.

Both:

And rain will make the flowers...

Marius:

...grow.."

Holy crap.I am a major dork and I willingly admit that but seriously...honestly...this is so amazing.So sad.I won't try to deny that it made me cry in the theater. I have absolutely nothing against Cosette, and I love that she and Marius both live and end up together since they both love eachother so much, but there is also no denying that poor Eponine really loved Marius, too.She loved him so much, and she did so much for him, and thinking that he would die in the barricade, she wanted to die along with him.
Sigh...
As the musical says at one point, "To love another person is to see the face of God."
And the ending, as I already gushed about in the last post, was so incredible.To pair all of these things together and then to add that final reprise of Do You Hear The People Sing, where all the dead are living again together and singing, "They will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord.."
How beautiful!

LesMisLesMisLesMis

"There's a grief that cannot be spoken.

 There's a pain that goes on and on.

 Empty chairs at empty tables--

 Now my friends are dead and gone.

 Here, they talked of revolution.

 Here it was they lit the flame.

 Here it was they sang about 'tomorrow,'

 And tomorrow never came.

 From the table in the corner

 They could see a world reborn.

 And they rose with voices ringing.

 I can hear them now!

 The very words that they had sung

 Had become their last communion

 On the lonely barricade at dawn.

 Oh, my friends, my friends, forgive me!

 That I live and you are gone.

 There is a grief that cannot be spoken.

 There's a pain that goes on and on.

 Phantom faces at the window,

 Phantom shadows on the floor.

 Empty chairs at empty tables

 Where my friends will meet no more.

 Oh, my friends, my friends, don't ask me

 What your sacrifice was for.

 Empty chairs at empty tables

 Where my friends will meet no more...

...Do you hear the people sing,

Lost in the valley of the night?

It is a music of a people

Who are climbing to the light.

For the wretched of the earth

There is a flame that never dies.

Even the darkest night will end,

And the sun will rise!

They will live again in freedom

In the garden of the Lord

They will walk behind the plough-share

They will put away the sword.

The chain will be broken

And all men will have their reward.

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Somewhere beyond the barricade

Is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the people sing?

Say, do you hear the distant drums?

It is the future that they bring

When tomorrow comes!"

Seriously.So inspirational...the ending gave me goosebumps.

Can't wait to buy the soundtrack.And to buy the movie and watch it again...and again...and again...

Happeh, happeh, happeh..

"God is so good.

God is so good.

God is so good,

He's so good to me."

Growing up in a church, I learned these words and the little tune that goes with them from a very early age, and I have always known they are true. But have you ever had a moment, with any song that you love, where, even though you know and understand what it means, it isn't until something happens that you really and truly are profoundly hit with how true and meaningful it really is?

You know, the Bible tells us that life will be hard and that we will struggle. It tells us that in every one of our lives, there are seasons that we go through and among those seasons are ones of sorrow, loneliness, etc. You probably know the old saying that there must be darkness so we can appreciate the light. And beyond all of this, the Lord promises in His word that if we remain close to Him and do His bidding in those times of struggle then we will be immeasurably blessed.

Like I said, I knew the words to that little Sunday school song, and I've known what they say for years of my life. But I never was truly rooted to the spot with their understanding and meaning until God specifically showed me what they mean in my own life. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. He's just so good like that :)

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

John 16:33

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever."

Psalms 146:5-6

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

2 Corinthians 9:8

There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes..

"There was a time when men were kind
 When their voices were soft
 And their words inviting.
 There was a time when love was blind
 And the world was a song,
 And the song was exciting.
 There was a time
 Then it all went wrong.
 I dreamed a dream in time gone by
 When hope was high
 And life worth living.
 I dreamed that love would never die.
 I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
 Then I was young and unafraid
 And dreams were made and used and wasted.
 There was no ransom to be paid,
 No song unsung, no wine untasted.
 But the tigers come at night
 With their voices, soft as thunder
 As they tear your hope apart,
 As they turn your dream to shame.
 He slept a summer by my side,
 He filled my days with endless wonder.
 He took my childhood in his stride,
 But he was gone when autumn came.
 And still I dream he'll come to me,
 That we will live the years together.
 But there are dreams that cannot be
 And there are storms we cannot weather.
 I had a dream my life would be
 So different from this hell I'm living.
 So different now from what it seemed.
 Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."

"Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people 

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade

Is there a world you long to see?

Courfeyrac:

Then join in the fight

That will give you the right to be free!

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!

So will you give all you can give

So that our banner may advance?

Some will fall and some will live.

Will you stand up and take your chance?

The blood of the martyrs

Will water the meadows of France!

Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!"

"Suddenly I see, suddenly it starts.

 When two anxious hearts beat as one.

 Yesterday I was alone.

 Today you walk beside me.

 Something still unclear,

 Something not yet here has begun.

 Suddenly the world seems a different place,

 Somehow full of grace and delight.

 How was I to know that 

 So much love was held inside me?

 Something fresh and young,

 Something still unsung fills the night.

 How was I supposed to know at last

 That happiness can come so fast?

 Trusting me the way you do,

 I'm so afraid of failing you.

 Just a child who cannot know

 That danger follows where I go.

 There are shadows everywhere

 And memories I cannot share.

 Nevermore alone, nevermore apart.

 You have warmed my heart like the sun.

 You have brought the gift of

 Life and love so long denied me.

 Suddenly I see what I could not see.

 Something suddenly has begun."

BEST.MOVIE.EVER.

Loving London

I am your typical college student in that when I am doing homework, I spend half of my time going through my open Facebook page and Twitter feed.
This afternoon I was doing just that and saw that one of my friends shared a page on Facebook called Loving London (link below). I checked it out and I'm still reeling from everything I read and saw there.
It is a page created by a young woman who is giving birth to her son, London tomorrow, December 7, and he is also going to die tomorrow. On the page she shares their story--how she wasn't expected to get pregnant but did, and it was part way through her pregnancy that their son, still in the womb, was diagnosed with Anencephaly, which is fatal. In reading their story, I was amazingly touched at what she had to say--it reminded me of exactly the reasons why I am pro-life. She couldn't bring herself to terminate her pregnancy because even if her son does not live very long once he is born, he is living now inside her womb. He is growing, moving, and kicking even as she prepares for his death by filling out certificates and various things like that.
I have no children, I'm not married, and I have never been pregnant, so I absolutely cannot even begin to imagine the strength that these parents have to prepare for a young son's life, knowing that it may only last a couple of hours, or maybe even less. The love abounds on that Facebook page, and it brought me to tears.

It was just an amazing little (actually, it was pretty big) nudge at my heart. I've been going through quite a bit of difficult things lately and I've been so stressed and overwhelmed with all kinds of things, but this was a miraculous reminder that life is such a blessing, no matter what you face, or how long it lasts. Life is a miracle in itself, and we should have more of an awareness of that--we are all just walking and talking miracles, no matter how long we are here on earth.And just like the Facebook page Loving London, our lives abound with love and blessings from God, no matter what form they take. And London's life will be no different-it is and will be a miracle that is obviously already blessing people from all sorts of different places and locations, including his parents.

I don't even personally know these people, but their story has touched my heart so much that I have to share it with others. And I ask that you, like me, will pray for them tomorrow as London is delivered and takes his first and last breaths more than likely in a matter of hours. It is apparent that they are strong and courageous people just by being willing to share their story in the hopes that it will bless others, but they will need even more strength and comfort tomorrow, no matter how much they have prepared in the previous months.

Please take the time to look at this page, share some words of encouragement and prayers.

I hope it blesses you as much as it has me.

Loving London Facebook Page

I'll be home for Christmas!

"I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love

 Even more than I usually do.

 And although I know it's a long road back,

 I promise you...

 I'll be home for Christmas.

 You can count on me.

 Please have snow and mistletoe,

 And presents on the tree.

 Christmas Eve will find me

 Where the lovelight gleams.

 I'll be home for Christmas

 If only in my dreams."

Only 2 more weeks exactly.

I'm so excited!