March 7 Blog: DUDES! Today marks the 16th anniversary of the release of “The Big Lebowski’, one of my favorite movies of all time & a classic for the ages. Well, it might not be up there with “Gone With the Wind” or “The Wizard of Oz” or dozens of others you care to mention, but – to me? – I absolutely loved it! Why? Well, why do you think? Because of the Dude, that’s why. Jeff Bridges’ character in that movie – along with amazing performances by John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman & Julianne Moore, as well as another of our all-time favorites, Sam Elliott – was something to behold. See, the Dude didn’t give a ripshit. He didn’t give one iota of a ripshit. All he wanted to do was to have fun – whether it was bowling or sucking down White Russians, of which there were plenty. The Dude didn’t really care if school kept, if you remember that old saying. He laughed when he wanted to laugh. He moved through life like a man on a mission…..a mission to have fun & not worry about the rest of the goddamned world. And, as Sam says in the last line of the film, while sitting in a bowling alley & quaffing a sasparilla, “The Dude abides……” Now. I’m gonna tell you about another Dude. He’s a horse. A racehorse. And his name is Game On Dude. He’s a gelding. A seven year-old gelding. And he’s won some of the biggest championship races in the nation & he’s thrown his fair share of clunkers. To wit, he’s won the Santa Anita Handicap twice. The San Antonio Stakes, twice. The Hollywood Gold Cup. Twice. The Charles Town Classic & the Pacific Classic – among plenty of others. But…..& it’s a big ‘but’! He was in the 2010 Belmont Stakes – although not the favorite. Finished fourth. He went off as the 5/4 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. In 2012. And finished seventh. There are plenty of examples, but when this kid is on, nobody can catch him. But when he isn’t on, he’s flatter than the proverbial ‘pail ‘o piss’. In racing terms, he’s kind of an ‘in-&-outer’ meaning, of course, that when he’s on, he’s a demon. When he isn’t on, he looks like a bum. Dude. The name. The attitude. “Oh, man! I feel great today! I think I can bowl at least a 260!” Compare….. “Oh, man! I feel great today! I think I can break or equal a track record!” On other days….. “Oh, man…….let me sleep. I ain’t worth shit today. Don’t expect much from me today.” Or….. “Oh, man – you mean I have to go out & run today? Don’t expect much, man. It just ain’t in me.” Two Dudes. Wonderful, wonderful characters. Guys that we – or at least I – love with all my heart. Why? Because they’re characters. Personalities. Guys you wanna hang around with. Not guys you’d ever bet the ranch on, but guys you’d just like to be around, knowhutahmean? Because they make you laugh & appreciate the world for what it is, not for what we’d like it to be. Tomorrow, Game On Dude will try to make it 3 wins in the Santa Anita Handicap. Against such monsters as Will Take Charge & Mucho Macho Man. And a horse I like very much, named Blingo. Who’ll show up tomorrow? Game On Dude, the champion? Or Game On Dude, the Jeff Bridges character? Only he knows - & right now, he ain’t tellin’. Probably sipping a White Russian in his stall. But those two guys make me so happy! Why? Because they are who they are. And ain’t nobody gonna change them. The Dudes. And, the only way I know how to end this is by quoting ol’ Sam……. “The Dude abides…” Indeed. Peace. Out.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 21:11:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015