The book was a good read and held my interest, although it was difficult with some of the descriptions given of the various wrestling matches. I'm not really familiar at all with the sport, and still have no idea how the points are given, so those parts of the book were glossed over. I'm definitely more of a visual learner in that respect.
Another thing is that the author, Mark Schultz, writes from a perspective that I find a little unusual. His is not the story of an underdog overcoming odds and seeking the thrill of victory in his olympic medals. I found some of his commentary frustrating, and maybe if he had written it differently I could understand his story better. But, for an example, his explanation of losing in the 1988 Olympics sounds a little whiny - that he could have won, but just decided not to because it would have made John Du Pont happy. It seemed a little sad to me that he wouldn't seek victory for the sake of having it for himself. But maybe that's just me.
Now, I was looking forward to the movie. I enjoy some of those dark indie films, and was interested in the movie before I knew there was a book. But the movie also left me wanting. It didn't seem to rely much at all on the story given in the book, yet made assumptions that its viewers had read the book to understand some of the more subtle moments. It suggested that Dave and Mark were both working on Du Pont's property at the same time, and also completely ignored the angle that Mark was initially brought into Du Pont's world under the impression that he would work at Villanova for an up and coming wrestling team. So, the movie was a bit of a disappointment for me.
On a less "academic" note, I need to get a few things off of my chest. I suppose that's what a blog is for, right? So here goes...
The last two months have been hard. They have been a continued test of my patience, and a practice in better understanding myself. I think what God is trying to tell me through all of this is, "Wait. And please keep waiting."
Case in point: I am desperately trying to find a good parish where I can get involved and make good Catholic friends. I previously wrote about the various churches and their quirks, and we still haven't found a place to truly call home. We even thought we had, but I guess it's not our time yet. I seriously ache for the churches of Arlington. I feel like I'm going crazy in seeking out a parish that upholds the Catholic Church which is why I'm taking a step back.
We joined a parish and registered and everything. I then went to Sunday Mass on my own and was brokenhearted after the priest's homily. He saw fit to use the Bread of Life discourse as a jumping off point to discuss the current debate over divorced Catholics. Yet no where in his homily did the term "annulment" get mentioned. Instead, he proceeded to make off hand comments like, "I don't really care about Canon Law" and "It's funny these men are making decisions about divorce when they'll never get married." What's worse, the congregation ate it up, erupting in applause for him. I barely made it through the rest of the Mass.
So I'm back at square one in the church search, and I think I'll just take some more time to figure this out. I just wish I knew where else I might meet people to make some friends here.
I'd appreciate some prayers...
Love,
LL
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