(Sea) Biscuit on a Sunday

I was feeling a little achey on Sunday so I stayed in. I was unsure whether those little quirky pains and pulls were from too much workout on Saturday, or perhaps I was coming down with the latest plague (H1N1 "swine flu") so I thought I should keep it to myself.

I raided the household DVD rack during one of my rare vertical moments and found a copy of "Seabiscuit." You remember the movie? Released in 2003, it bears watching again. It is about giving the nation hope after in the midst of The Great Depression.

Sometimes, it seems like we're never going to get out of this trouble. For me personally, writing at Voice of America and seeing news stories about economies around the world that are poised perhaps to come out much better than we are, it can seem very dark.

The movie depicts a smaller-than-average racehorse owned by a somewhat inexperienced owner who hired an older than average trainer and a larger than average, half-blind jockey. Yet somehow the combination worked.

The sight of that horse, running its heart out in races against much more physically compelling rivals, is somehow... heartening. I think for me to say more would really waste the impact.

The next time you feel a day of shut-in coming on, maybe you'll take the time to watch it. Or perhaps watch it again.