Polo was a Cat 5 Hurricane as he churned up the Pacific coast of Baja Mexico over the past weekend. It was a Cat 3 when it made landfall Monday morning. Residual rains were due our way Monday night with stronger rains and floodings for today.
While it did rain here Monday night, it was more of a mist. The low-lying clouds all day yesterday were more intriguing and reminded me that autumn is here. I did most of my daily steps at the high school in case it was a rainout later. (My goal is at least 6000 steps a day but I usually do 10,000+.) I did not walk any dogs yesterday.
Today's weather was more dramatic. I woke up to mountains hidden entirely by low-lying clouds. Sunrise was completely bypassed. Rain and thunderstorms were forecasted for late in the morning and arrived on time, flooding parts of the school campus. The classroom had a window and I'd watch the sky whenever I could. It rained for a good two hours, then stopped, with a second deluge due by 4pm.
It was the kind of weather I'd rather have witnessed from home with my dogs. I had taken this five-day sub position two weeks ago for an AP American History class and didn't nor couldn't cancel out now. History is one of my favorite subjects and AP students tend to be well-behaved and focused.
I had also made plans with Steve to try out Taco Tuesday at The Sierra Grill and steakhouse and then see the new movie "Heart of the Beast" starring Brad Pitt and German Shepherd Dog UberIII as Odin. Tuesdays all tickets all day are a mere $5.50 at our local Cinemark. This was a belated birthday treat for him since he was in Washington state with his daughter Margot for his birthday in August. This was my first theatre movie in well over ten years. The hyped human-dog relationship is what sold me. The natural landscape of New Zealand, where the movie was filmed, was another reason.
Both dinner and movie turned out well-timed. I left the high school at 2:30pm as a light rain began. I arrived at Steve's place at 2:47pm to shrouded Whetstone peaks. Five minutes later we were on our way to the restaurant. That's when the rain got heavy. We got to the Grill at 3:25pm to a near-empty dining area. We each had one beer and three tacos each. I had a side of beans, Steve had both rice and beans. The bill was $33 plus tip. We left the restaurant at 4:30pm to a cleared-up sky, and got to the mall at 4:57pm. The movie began at 5:20pm. We never had to wait around for anything all afternoon. The weather was never threatening to me as a driver. That had been my main concern because people in this town as a group are reckless drivers. We have bad vehicle accidents in town almost daily.
The movie was good but not award-winning. Both actors suffer from PTSD from their time together in Afghanistan. Pitt plays a retired Special Forces Sergeant Major and Uber is his canine partner. They were the only survivors when their platoon was ambushed. Scenes are played with flashbacks. The story focuses on the human-dog bond. The chemistry between the two is very believable. Odin's facial features reminded me of Sara, who died in 2013. But the story also has its flaws, which brings my rating of the movie to 7/10.
The two major flaws I had with the movie were the unnecessary CGI animals. The bear and wolf scenes could have been eliminated and the story line focused on the challenges of the terrain and weather alone to create psychological tension and character development. Pitt has a medical condition during the flight scene, which causes the plane to crash. His subsequent physical exertion seems unreal. His medical condition early on gives away the ending so the ending is predictable but yet still bittersweet.
Posters on Reddit were especially critical of the movie and the worst ones were former Special Forces soldiers. I will say no more to avoid spoiling the plot, but I agreed with most of them. I am a realist and the more real scenes are, the more of an impact the movie has on me.
We were out of the theatre just before 7pm and stopped at Punchy's for a second round of beer. Here is where we talked about the movie, as we sipped our pints on the lighted patio. I was still very full from the tacos earlier. The rain had cooled off the air. Our flannel shirts kept us comfy.
"I am 79 and Trace is 13; either one of us can go at anytime" said Steve. I silently agreed, None of us is guaranteed another day. Even I am concerned about my heart health.
I dropped Steve off at 8pm, just as the waning full moon rose above the Dragoons. I told him we should have more movie dates like tonight. I was home by 9pm to six very happy dogs. By 10:30pm I was on a walk with Gretel around the 'hood. She is my own Odin. We both walked past the rain damage together; the rain was heavy in my area. By 11:30pm I was getting tired for the night.
There was still distant lightning to the northwest as I went to bed shortly after midnight. The moon highlighted the rain clouds still hovering over the mountains.
