Bang the Drum Slowly

This was the title of the movie I saw at a movie screening at the Orem Library last night. The Library is showing baseball themed movies this summer, and indeed this was a baseball movie, sort of. It was released in 1973, and so it was kind of fun to see the fashion of my junior high days. It seemed a little slow moving, maybe methodical is a better word for it. I wonder if they would make it the same way now - probably not. It was apparently a big box office hit and critically acclaimed. Don't get me wrong, in many ways, it was a great movie.

There were two themes that really stuck out to me. The first was true friendship. This is a story of two baseball players, one the star pitcher of the New York Yankees, Arthur or Henry, the other a less than brilliant catcher, Bruce. The very first of the movie, the catcher is diagnosed with an incurable disease. The pitcher is a true friend, and determines to make this season a good one for his buddy. He tells no one, and even insists, when he hears Bruce might be traded, that a clause be added to his contract that he goes wherever Bruce goes. He protects him from a devious girl-friend, and tries to keep the manager from finding out that Bruce is ill. The other guys on the team don't treat him very well, and are always on him for something, the way he dresses, his hair, his hobbies, whatever. Arthur sees this, and quietly tells one person on the team that Bruce is dying. As might be expected, one by one the entire team finds out.

That is the other theme I find interesting. When the guys on the team find out, the start treating Bruce better. Not only does this help Bruce, it helps the entire team. They start out the season pretty well, but kind of slump in the middle. They have the potential to get to the World Series, but don't really play together. Bruce's illness kind of gives them something to rally around. Although, no one ever lets on to Bruce that they know. Things just change. They play better, they get along better, they win more often. And Bruce has his best season ever.

This brought to mind my last year's seminary class. Right at the end of the year, April 28th to be exact, one of my students was killed in an accident. She was hit by a train when walking on train tracks near a beach in Ventura. She was a smart, beautiful young woman with tons of potential. She was just six weeks shy of graduation. She was out class vice president. Our class was one that had known each other for years, they all grew up together. So they were friends, but there were divisions, especially where the girls were concerned. These two didn't like these two and were mean to them, etc. After Amanda's death, they all came together. They cried together, they clung to each other and to their faith. And they came to discover what did and didn't matter. One girl seemed to take Amanda's death particularly hard. At our final testimony meeting of the year, she shared what she had learned from this experience. She said that she learned that what is important is our relationships with other people and how we treat them. Because you just never know.

Why is it takes a tragedy for us to treat others with the kindness and respect? The movie was another great example of this. When his teammates found out Bruce was dying, suddenly they saw him differently. They accepted him and helped make his last days on earth happy.

I loved the final line of the movie. Arthur attends Bruce's funeral, and as he stands looking at his grave, he says, "From here on in, I rag nobody." Good advice for us all.