Every single summer, I vacation at my family's two-room beach house in Strathmere, New Jersey, a town known mostly for being that stretch between the toll bridges connecting Ocean City and Sea Isle City. Exactly one square mile large, Strathmere is too small for a public sewage system, let alone a cable grid. There's only so much sun a fair-skinned redhead like myself can withstand, so at least once a summer I scour the local video rental store's limited selection of VHS tapes. It doesn't matter whether I've spent the majority of my summer making sandcastles, riding my Razor scooter, or sneaking out to the lifeguard stands; I always arrive, sunburned and sticky with aloe lotion, to the same battered movie case, and I know I won't be searching past the "s" section of tapes. I'm bringing home Stand by Me. Back in our warped, shag-carpeted living room, I follow Gordie LaChance, Vern Tessio, Teddy Duchamp, and Chris Chambers on their two-day trek along the railroad tracks in search of the corpse of Ray Brower, a fellow twelve-year-old rumored to have been hit by a train.
Like slipping on my leather flip flops for the first time since September, I take comfort in the film's familiarity and savor the anticipation of an unforgettable summer adventure. Stand by Me has taught me invaluable lessons about growing up, having friends, enjoying the present, being yourself, and dodging trains. And still, even though I know the secret knock, where the stolen lunch money went, and all the lyrics to the "Ballad of Palladin," I learn something new every time I watch the move, which has to be in the hundreds. Teddy taught me that little moments, like sitting around a fire with your best friends, can sustain you through tougher times in other aspects of your life. Vern is incessantly teased (one of my favorite lines: "Sorry, Vern. I guess a more experienced shopper could have gotten more for your seven cents.") yet he's earnest and not afraid to be himself, even it that's kinda weird. Gordie and Chris (who I'll always have a little bit of a crush on) also emphasize the importance of forging your own path, whether it's becoming a writer or lawyer, despite the obstacles your past will put in front of you. When I watched it when I was little, the characters seemed so much older than me -- practically adults. Now that I'm way closer to adulthood than they are, they still seem much wiser than I am.
Like slipping on my leather flip flops for the first time since September, I take comfort in the film's familiarity and savor the anticipation of an unforgettable summer adventure. Stand by Me has taught me invaluable lessons about growing up, having friends, enjoying the present, being yourself, and dodging trains. And still, even though I know the secret knock, where the stolen lunch money went, and all the lyrics to the "Ballad of Palladin," I learn something new every time I watch the move, which has to be in the hundreds. Teddy taught me that little moments, like sitting around a fire with your best friends, can sustain you through tougher times in other aspects of your life. Vern is incessantly teased (one of my favorite lines: "Sorry, Vern. I guess a more experienced shopper could have gotten more for your seven cents.") yet he's earnest and not afraid to be himself, even it that's kinda weird. Gordie and Chris (who I'll always have a little bit of a crush on) also emphasize the importance of forging your own path, whether it's becoming a writer or lawyer, despite the obstacles your past will put in front of you. When I watched it when I was little, the characters seemed so much older than me -- practically adults. Now that I'm way closer to adulthood than they are, they still seem much wiser than I am.
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| I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone? |
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