Insurmountable Problem Becomes a Golden Opportunity
Insurmountable Problem Becomes a Golden Opportunity
"No, he's not," Holly whispered. "No, he can't," she continued, imagining what would happen if he did. He did it. She gasped!
Our protagonist, Jamal Malik, all of seven years old or so, is sitting on an Indian version of an outdoor toilet. This is an outhouse set on the end of a pier jutting into what appears to be some sort of swamp in the Indian city of Bombay.
He is sitting there "doing his business" in his roofless toilet when a helicopter flies over carrying an Indian movie celebrity. Jamal recognizes it and knows it is landing nearby. His brother also sees the helicopter and uses a chair to trap Jamal inside the outhouse or so he thinks. Flashbacks show the movie star portrayed as a dashing hero inside the mind of Jamal. He wants to run to be first to meet the star. Except he is stuck. He can't get out.
Jamal looks skyward. No way to get out there. He looks downward. Wide open below is the enormous pool of human excrement. He hesitates. He sees the mental image of the star he adores. He looks again. He hesitates once more. Another image of his boyhood hero comes to mind. His face changes. He has decided.
This is the point at which Holly has started muttering to herself, "No, he can't." At that moment when his face registered the decision, I knew, as did Holly, what he was going to do. Still doubt reverberated through both of us. "He can't do it. He can't jump into that," was our silent agreement, the thought resonating inside both of us without ever being spoken aloud.
Jamal wasn't listening to us. He jumped. The pool of excrement swallowed nearly all of him. He quickly bobbed up. He had managed to keep a small slip of paper above his head, dry and untainted.
Holly started gagging. She turned partially away as if protecting herself from the images.
I laughed. I instantly admired this little tyke's willingness to do whatever it took to get what he wanted. My delight continued as the scene unfolded.
He swims to the shore and races up the bank, through the gathering crowd that willing parts to let our resolute Slumdog reach his hero. His stench has done what little else could. Still covered head to toe with a thick, adherent layer of brown, he asks for an autograph from the star.
The star reaches down and scribble's his name. Jamal is elated, racing through the crowd, waving the autograph above his head.
This act foreshadows our protagonist's life against odds that condemn most of the children coming from the bowels of Bombay to a life of deprivation, he pushes on.
This movie, Slumdog Millionaire, won the Oscar for best movie of the year. It is an incredibly well told story of three orphans and their battle to survive.
Sometimes life's lessons can come from unusual sources. Too often, most are not paying quite enough attention. They remain oblivious.
Jamal's willingness to do whatever it took despite what others said, what was "correct," and the hardships of being without adequate food, shelter and water while growing up, ultimately lead him to where his faith in himself and others is rewarded. He did not just wish and hope. He deliberately moved toward his goal, in spite of all the setbacks.
He never considered himself a hero, yet his heroic deeds give us the inspiration that "Yes, we can get what we want" no matter what we must go through to get there.
Jamal knew what he wanted. Do you?
Do you have the resolute tenacity to get there?
Best,
Charley
P.S. In all of the thirty two years I have been with my Holly, she has never once suggested seeing a movie twice until this one. Enjoy the movie.
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