David & Goliath - FILM WORMS

“He said he was too small.”

We’d been at it for twenty minutes in the park. Me, him, his new basketball. I’ve never been good at basketball. I have the body for it and none of the ability, which is its own kind of tragedy.

The one thing I have going for me is that I’m three feet taller than my seven-year-old, the one I was playing, which turns out to be significant.

He took his shot. I swatted it, barely moving, barely trying, the way parents ruin things without meaning to.

He stood there, shoulders dropped in defeat, and said he was just too small. Seven years old and already keeping score on himself.

According to instagram I believe they call this a “teaching moment.”

So I crouched down and asked him if he’d heard of David and Goliath. He hadn’t. I told him. Two armies. One battlefield. Instead of everyone fighting, each side sends their best warrior. The Philistines send Goliath– enormous, armored, invincible. Nobody on the other side volunteers. Then David steps forward. A shepherd kid. No armor. Just a sling, a stone, and a belief in himself.

My kid listened. Stood up straighter.

“Check me the ball” he said.

I bounced it to him. Stood there, Goliath in work-wear, casting a long shadow.

He looked up at me, squinted, and threw the ball directly into my plums.

I went down. He went in for the layup.

I told him I was proud of him. From the ground. Which is where I was. He accepted this graciously, asked if we could go again, and was already dribbling before I answered.

X Lenski

L’ARGENT DE POCHE (1976) “Final Advise Scene”
Dir. François Truffaut · TRT 3:30 min
Truffaut watching children survive adults. Funny, tender, occasionally devastating. The final speech is Goliath choosing the right side. (Thanks Jake Perlin at The Film Desk) **REQUIRED FOR ALL GROWN UPS.

SKATE WITCHES (1986)
Dir. Danny Plotnick · TRT 2 min
Shot in one afternoon on Super 8 for sixty dollars. Three girls terrorize boy skaters with their pet rats. Now in the Smithsonian. David had a sling. They had rats.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009)
Dir. Wes Anderson · TRT 87 min
Three enormous, heavily armed farmers. One small fox with a plan and a very good coat. The farmers never had a chance. A fave in our home.

That’s all for this week. Class is dismissed.

P.S. Got a clip, short, or lost gem you or your kids loved? Send it my way. I’m always looking for the strange and wonderful stuff that slipped through the cracks.

xLenski