Annie, Jack and Payne.

So, Speed came on the television this afternoon and I couldn't help but watch. Yes, I know that Keanu Reeves can not act. Worth a damn, (Thank you JLS for your contribution to yet another one of my blogs) but I think the story line and the psychology surrounding the plot is brilliant.

Here we have this man, Howard Payne (hardy har har! Get it... Payne), played exquisitely well by Dennis Hopper, who loves bombs. He loves destruction. Yes, he's a sociopath. Yes, he is planning on killing many people just for giggles. But he has an eye for truth, and knows exactly what strings to pull in order to get the kind of reaction from others that validates his existence.  And then there's Can't Really Act But I Look Good On Screen Keanu Reeves who is playing officer Jack Traven who is attempting to stop him.  He's sure he can outsmart the terrorist, puts himself on the bus to be the savior, and tries his damnedest to stay a step ahead of Payne.  Oh, and Sandra Bullock plays Annie, a passenger on a bus just trying to get somewhere but later recruited as bus driver when the original driver is accidentally killed by a criminal. She is an unlikely hero, a born protector, someone we can trust. A someone who is an ordinary person who does an extraordinary thing.

What I find delightful about this movie is found in this quote. Yes, it's said by a maniacal, sociopath, lunatic terrorist, but it's true and can be applied to my life so I'm including it here.

A bomb is made to explode. That's its meaning. Its purpose.

How brilliant is that line?

There are so many times when I expect things to go a specific way, but the signs are there that assure me that it's not about to happen. I tend to ignore the little voice inside of me that says that a person is a bomb. They are made to explode. There is no purpose that they could possibly carry in my life (just mine -- they may be suitable in another person's life...) except to bring me a fair amount of discomfort and pain. For me to be upset when they fulfill that job requirement is about as silly as me being angry at a bomb that explodes. That's its meaning. Its purpose.

So I'm praying for a bit of discernment. I need help in understanding when I'm destructive and an unneeded element in a person's life,  as much as I need to know when another person is that for me. But there's also the  part of me that is all intellect and playing to win a game -- the mastermind that thinks I can outwit evil and sometimes surprises myself when I succeed. At least until the devil rears its ugly head again.  And then there's the ordinary me -- the girl that just wants to get somewhere and ends up doing something extraordinary. 


Yup.  I suspect that there's a little bit of Annie, Jack and Payne in all of us.