Penguin RushThe lesson behind...?
It has been a while huh? Oh, yes, has it been...
Each day had passed on so quickly, that I found it hard to recap! What with leaving IT, then having a nice two weeks off (which included spending some time away for the first time with wife and kiddo), attended a 16-day unforgettable course and now, having started at a new place with so much to do (and I kinda' enjoy it very much!).
Time had not allowed me to concentrate on anything else other than what's ahead of my career and family paths, that blogging was no longer part of my agenda, let alone free surfing and blog hopping and errrr... that other thing. What with the prospect of going mobile every now and then, the trend (of seldom blogging) may seem to continue. I just hope all is fine, especially my blog readers and blog friends.
During the course, I had the opportunity to join a community service at a welfare home for orphans and kids from underpreviliged native families.
Among the activities, we had some games organised for the kids. I was one of the facilitators for those below 12 years old. Since it was raining that morning, the games had to be done indoor, in one of their halls.
On one chart in the hall, something grabbed my attention. The words "ALL WORK WITHOUT PLAYING, MAKES JACK A DULL BOY" were written across the chart. Obviously, whoever put it there (I reckon one of the staff or regular volunteers of the home) was influenced by the movie The Shining, which is based on the book of the same title by Stephen King.
Just a quick info about the movie (I haven't read the book but the movie is one of my favourite horror movies of all time). It tells the story of writer Jack Torrance, who is in a desperate need to come up with a brilliant idea for his next book. For that, he applies for a job as the winter caretaker at the ominous, mountain-locked Overlook Hotel so that he can write in peace. Despite learning that the previous caretaker had gone mad and killed his wife and twin daughters before killing himself, he still agrees to take the job, bringing his wife and son with him.
During the long winter season, the hotel becomes eerily quiet and all communication (on the road at least) is shut from the outside world due to heavy snowing. So, just the three of them living in the hotel. Slowly Jack becomes possessed by the evil, demonic presence in the hotel and starts to act psychotic. In one scene, Jack's wife sneaked up to his work desk, and found out that all her husband had been typing for the past few months was this: "ALL WORK AND NO PLAY, MAKES JACK A DULL BOY"; and it was repeated lines after lines, paragraphs after paragraphs, pages after pages (with hundreds of those pages).
The movie was rated R for a reason. With scary scenes, which include blood pouring down and flooding the hotel floors; the naked and rotten old woman traumatising Jack; the twin girls appearing out of nowhere showing Jack's son where and how they died and Jack ripping apart the door with an axe to get to his wife. Even Jack's face expressions (played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson) was scary enough.
I find it hard to understand, of all the great and valuable quotations available out there, or perhaps lessons that could be learned from those children stories that the kids must have heard of or read from, that particular 'quotation' from the movie made it to the chart instead. They even kept the name Jack in it.
True, one part of our lives (be it working or playing) should not be too far more extreme than the other. However, when it comes to kids, it is common for them to prefer playing than working or studying. Having that 'quotation' up there is like in a way, giving the kids a green light to play more, so that they won't become dull due to working hard (or smart). Imagine a kid came to you and asked, "Where is the quotation taken from?" and you replied, "Oh, it's from an R rated movie." You can lie but it still feels a bit off, that's what I think.
P/S: The photo above represents the playful side of me, and also what I'll be blogging about next - Ikhwan's 2nd Birthday...
Labels: 'Little', Life, Movies
posted by The Pisces Man @ 8:24 am
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