That movie gets 2 snaps up

OK, so I did it.

I broke down.

weak moment

I apologize if I let you all down.

I saw Avatar.

Yep, its out on DVD now but I went and saw it in the theater. In fact, I had to drive 20 miles to find a theater that was showing it in 3D.

So anyway, Susan has been telling me I need to see this movie — in 3D. And, of course, I am not going to see it because . . . well, because everyone else has seen it. I mean, come on, you're talking to the guy who went to college in Memphis and never even drove by Graceland. The guy who spent more time on the Paris Sewer Tour and Euro-Disney than the Louvre (yes, it can be done in 10 minutes & yes the Mona Lisa is quite fetching).

But I needed an excuse to eat salty popcorn and Milkduds and going to "How to Train Your Dragon" by yourself is a short slide from pathetic.

So I saw this movie that has collected a bajillion dollars and, to paraphrase the late, great Tommy Callahan, "it was AWESOME." Visually stunning, clever modern retelling of Dances with Wolves. Gave me warm feelings as I remembered my childhood fascination with Smurfette. . .

Big complaint — the implication that the United States Marine Corp are cold-blooded mercenaries seeking only to kill and the conflicted emotions that you feel at the end when they are defeated. It would not have changed the plot at all to let them simply be a private corporate security firm. Otherwise, nice cartoon.

Now, to finish with my normal tenuous link to dentistry. The movie asks, "what is real and who am I?"

You tell me. It seems to me that as a business owner I get caught up in lots of things that consume my life — so they must be "real problems". But when I stop and think about it, when I have moments of clarity that allow me to separate perception from reality, I realize that much of what I do as a small-business owner is fantasy-land stress. My reality is that I am a husband and father, son, brother and friend. The stress of running a business, being involved in organized dentistry, and being a dentist are all secondary to my true being. Hours of boredom between patients will get you a little topsy turvy on this one. Who would have thought a James Cameron movie would have helped me right the ship.

Well I better go, the voices want to do the NYT Crossword.

Have a great week.

ric