I've been researching some minor health issues for the past two weeks. If I get to the bottom of it, I'll write a summary report here, especially if it might help others in some way. It's taken a lot of time and attention, so I've neglected my blog. I assumed that most people would be bored by the topic, so I didn't hop on and give daily updates on my discoveries. It would have made for tedious reading and might have turned you off of my blog forever. On the other hand, I suppose that my long silences might turn you off of my blog, as well.

At any rate, I'm back with my random thoughts on life, love, family, reading, thinking, and questioning.

Last night my husband and I went out on a date, and we were debating about seeing several films including "Pride and Prejudice" and "End of the Spear." My daughter had heard about "End of the Spear" at church from some friends. [spoiler alert in the next sentence!] She knew that the missionaries were slaughtered. Having seen "Pride and Prejudice" herself when I took all the kids for that crunchy popcorn viewing I wrote about, she strongly urged us to go to "Pride and Prejudice."

"If a date night is supposed to be a special night, a fun night, then I don't think you should see a movie where people get killed," she advised. "Go see 'Pride and Prejudice.'"

Inspired by her excellent advice, we did see "Pride and Prejudice," and my heart was a'flutter in all the right places even though I'd already seen it. I saw this version first, then the Colin Firth BBC/A&E miniseries production. My husband saw the BBC miniseries first, then this version. It was fun to compare and contrast afterwards while munching on a snack at Chili's.

Whenever I'm immersed in a well written story--and this one was adapted from one of the best stories in the history of British literature--I live with it for days, even weeks, afterward. Among many internal responses, I often wonder if I will ever have a story to tell and if so, will I have the skill with which to tell it in a similarly lasting way? Of course I don't mean to suggest I could write with the skill of Jane Austen, but could I ever write a screenplay, short story or novel that has the same kind of effect that this movie had on me? So many movies and books stick with me, not just the famous ones. Could I write something that lingers for days after the reader finishes the last few words? Would a story flowing from my imagination captivate others so much so that they find themselves changed ever so slightly?

At this moment, sitting at my laptop on a Saturday morning, I have to say I haven't a story to tell. However, I keep asking myself, "What if..." If I concoct enough "what if" scenarios, maybe one will stick and I'll start tapping characters to life. In the meantime, I continue to seek out great movies, books, short stories, biographies and autobiographies, memoirs and blogs. A steady diet of excellent writing feeds my mind by introducing my imagination to that of others who use words to explore life in all its beauty, contradiction and complexity.

I'm about halfway through Pride and Prejudice. Yes, I plucked it from my bookshelf. After enjoying the screen adaptations, I wanted to return to the original. You must read it, if you can. It's even available online here:

http://www.literaturepage.com/read/prideandprejudice.html

or here:

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/pridprej.html