I Don't Always Listen To Myself...Thank Goodness

I suppose I'm like a lot of people. I rush to judgment on some things. I make up my mind within a few seconds that I'm not going to like something or somebody; and then...sometimes...I have to eat those thoughts.

Funny thing is I've done it with some movies that I've come to love and adore. I absolutely hated "My Cousin Vinny" the first time I watched it. I have sensitive ears...profanity seriously rubs me the wrong way. But, one day, years after my initial viewing, I watched it again...and I loved it! I got the joke. Plus it was one movie about the South that wasn't too heavy handed at poking fun at us at the expense of the joke. I liked that.



"Groundhog Day" was another one that I just didn't like up front. I tried to watch it a couple of times, but never got past the middle either time. Then, out of the blue, I watched it again...and I loved it! I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen it now. One year, I played it every day when I entered my office. I have a dvd player in my office and it's usually playing something...albeit inconspicuously. "Groundhog Day" played every day for about a year or so. (I was having my own personal Groundhog Day...don't get me started on how weird I am.)



But the reason for this narrative is because of a Christmas movie that I watched tonight. I admit that I hated it the first time I saw it. Now...I can't go through the season without it. What is it? "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." I quote things from the movie all through the year. Cousin Eddie has to be one of my all-time favorite movie characters. I love it! From the opening animated sequence to the fiery explosion at the end. Uh Huh!



So, my advice is to have an open-mind this Christmas. Maybe there's some movie, some song, or someone that you didn't immediately "cozy up to" the first time out. Don't let your preconceived notions keep you from reawakening a respect or a love that you didn't know was there. There's no telling what you could be in store for. Oh, and by the way, that's not a pun about about Christmas shopping.