del griffith

23 Nov 2005

You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I’m an easy target. Yeah, you’re right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you… but I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I’m not changing. I like… I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. ‘Cause I’m the real article. What you see is what you get.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is the first movie that ever made me cry. I couldn’t have been more than 10 the first time I saw it. If you don’t cry at the end of this movie, you’re not paying attention. If you don’t cry at least 2 more times the second time you watch it, you’re not even human.

Del Griffith is possibly the most likeable character ever created on film, and John Candy is no small contribution to the phenomenon. In a lot of ways, I think his character was a prototype for the morality that has guided me my entire life.

Lessons I have learned from Del Griffith:

• Never take a friend for granted.
• Never let money between you and a good time with a friend.
• Never take anything too seriously.
• Don’t be afraid to giggle like a school-girl at summer-camp after $5 worth of hotel liquors.
• Never give up.
• Never wear a parka in a car with manual seat-controls.
• Realize that “homeless” is an adjective, not an identity.

Happy thanksgiving, and RIP John Candy.