It's hard to get work done while sick. I'm a tad under the weather right now (nothing too bad, just a sore throat) so I was having a hard time coming up with a topic. I just decided to write about "sick days" and how one that I had when I was really young had a profound effect on me. It's funny how the little events in your life can have a long and lasting impact on you as a person.
When you look back on your life, you begin to appreciate those moment even more. I bet many of you are wondering how a "sick day", of all things, has such a fond place among many other events in my young life? It's funny how life works out sometimes, so just sit back and enjoy the tale about a "sick day" that changed my life forever.
Let's take the time machine back to the late 90s/early 2000s. It was a time where the political climate was relatively relaxed and 9/11 hasn't happened yet so Americans weren't consumed by a desire for vengeance and weren't aggressively paranoid. I'm not exactly sure what year it was but I was definitely in early grade school (first or second grade).
I remember being very ill with the flu at the time and I had to stay home from school. I was mostly bedridden, aching, and had the chills. I had to wrap myself in a blanket any time I had to get out of bed. To put it simply, I wasn't in the best of conditions. This was also during midday, so my viewing options were slim. However, on that day, the local channels were playing a little movie that caught my eye. It was a little film named "Star Wars".
To this day, I can't remember if this was my first viewing "Star Wars" or not. However, it remains one of my first memories with the series and acted as a sort of "gateway drug" to the rest of the series. I remember feeling relaxed watching it and it was the bright spot for me on that miserable day. I also feel that this "sick day" and many others after it helped inspire my passion for films and film making.
When you are sick and bedridden there really isn't much for you to do other than watch movies and play video games. I was usually too sick and sore to do the latter, so I indulged in various films that we had on VHS or discovered new films that happened to play on television (that's how I found out about "Starship Troopers").
During these "sick days" I would watch funny bad films, such as "Batman & Robin". I would watch some of my favorite childhood films to comfort me (this is one of the reasons "Toy Story 2" became one of my "feel good" movies). If a film interested me enough I would watch the behind-the-scenes footage that came on that brand new technology known as DVDs.
One of the first movies I did this with was Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man". I fell in love with the history of films and I wanted to know how they were made. This all came from the free time that "sick days" gave me and it has shaped the passions and interests I still have to this day. Some of my fondest childhood memories come from the moments I had the house to myself and was able to watch various film when I wanted.
I wanted to share these stories with all of you because it highlights how simple moments and sometimes bad moments can not only become fond memories, but can lead to life changing interests. That one "sick day" helped cement my fondness for the "Star Wars" franchise and allowed me to see more films.
These days gave me the free time I needed to watch all of the bonus features which lead to my desire to study films. The moments that change us stick in our minds forever and while my memory of the exact date is fuzzy, I will never forget what I watched on the television that day (my mind works in weird ways).
