After Life (1997)

What's the one thing that every human being have in common, no matter of race or creed, of financial status or influence?

Death.

We all die. It is as natural to our existence as is our birth.

The book After Life, by Michael H. Brown uses in-depth research of near death experiences as well as visions from various religious to try and get his hands about what we can expect after we die. Inclusive in this short book are visions of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory.

Non-Catholics struggle with the concept of Purgatory. The short of it is, God is perfection. If we die with any sin or having committed grave sins in our lifetime, we are far from perfect and to assume we are worthy of immediate entry into the presence of the Creator simply because we were a good person... well, that doesn't really make sense.

Perfection cannot coexist with imperfection.

So how do we become perfect? The same way we grow here on Earth... through struggle. Through purification. In a place called Purgatory.

Purgatory fulfills two purposes... to cleanse us from our sin and to break us from attraction to sin... you know, those same sins we do over and over again. What makes us attracted to that sin? Well, whatever draws us toward sin also draws us away from God, so that attraction must be broken and we must be cleansed.

Only saints... extremely holy people, who have so little sin and history of sin to keep them from a near immediate presence into Heaven and allowed in the same room with the Almighty.

For the rest of us... there's Purgatory.

In After Life, Brown, using as many sources and resources as he could find, tries to piece together what our eventual and eternal location is like, whether that be Heaven, Hell or Purgatory. Hell, of course, is a dark and sad place, full of people who refuse to love God, to acknowledge him, those who have abused the sacraments and those who have pulled people away from God. It is dark and sinister and perverse. His descriptions are very disturbing.

Purgatory contains various levels from darkness to light. The more purified we become, the lighter it gets, until we are escorted into Heaven by the Virgin Mary or Michael, the Arc Angel.

Heaven is beyond our comprehension... as if all of our senses were magnified a million times. It is as if we are swimming in a bright and luminous love.

Brown also uses Marian messages from various apparitions where Mary talks about these three places and the work we must do to avoid damnation. One thing in particular stuck out in my mind... it is very simple, but very profound.

As Brown puts it, "every second here counts."

Every second, what are our thoughts, our feelings, our generosity, our focus... Jesus and God will judge us on every second of our lives. We are held responsible for every moment here, not just the big events.

He also mentions that our judgment is immediate and, once in the celestial arena, you fully agree with the outcome because you finally "get it." You understand the big picture. What it all means. And what your life meant in regards to it.

After Life is a very quick read... just over 100 pages, but it is a very interesting read.

How can we really know what is next after our soul is released from our bodies? No one can truly ever know until we die. But Brown's After Life does an admiral job trying to use what little information that is available to give us a possible hint at what is to come and what we can expect.

Someday I'll see you all on the other side.

The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)

With the 1930's depression in full swing and work hard to come by, a struggling single father (actor Ray Wise) leaves his street-smart daughter, Natty (Meredith Salenger), in order to get work across the country. He leaves his tom-boyish daughter with a custodian (Lianie Kazan) until he can save enough money to send for her. After the father leaves and the custodian betrays her, Natty runs away and starts on a cross-country trek in search for her father.

And there in lies the story of the 1985 Disney release of The Journey of Natty Gann.

During her journey she befriends a wolf, a young and handsome hobo (John Cusack), a gang of abandoned children, a small farm family and a strict orphanage. Riding the rails with no money or guidance, Natty struggles to survive. Through the growing reliance on the wolf for protection and his reliance on her for freedom, they form an unlikely friendship.

Natty Gann was one of Disney's first non-G rated releases in the mid-80's when they were trying to branch out. They released other non-G films such as Something Wicked This Way Comes during this time. Eventually, they formed the company Touchstone to release such work for them. But, at the time, Disney releasing a PG rated flick was real news.

Natty Gann is a good old fashioned family flick with perhaps one or two light four letter words sprinkled in. The story moves quickly from one scene and one location to the next. Salenger as Natty is cute and does a very nice job in the lead role. This was to be her breakout performance, but she never reached a very high status in Hollywood.

Cusack adds a touch of innocent, child-like romance to the plot. Actor Wise, as Natty's father, is perfectly cast as the struggling father. He has a classic handsomeness that fits the timeframe extremely well.

On a side note, the film soundtrack was composed by James Horner, whom I had learned to like with his work on Star Trek II. Horner's work on Natty Gann is very good and its sad to think that his work for this film was never released as an album or soundtrack.

The Journey of Natty Gann accomplished what it set out to do... to create a period children's film with a slight gritty edge. It's not brilliant, but it does work.

Prayers Requested...

My father's struggle with illness and infection has resulted in an inevitable situation. The doctors have stopped the antibiotics for my father, as they were not working.

It is now only a matter of time.

So, I ask for anyone who reads this to take just a moment to pray for Charles Leo Bauer, Sr. Pray that his soul is ready for his next great adventure, his Heavenly journey. Pray that the Virgin Mary stays true to her promise, to be with him at the hour of his death. And that his parents, whom he had not seen since his teen years, eagerly wait to meet him upon his departure from this world.

And also take a moment to pray for my mother, to give her strength and faith during this difficult time. She has never asked for her own will, but God's to be done.

And, finally, take a moment to thank God for his will being done in this situation. He always knows what is best for us... even if we don't understand it at the moment.

I thank you God for a wonderful father who visited me in my dreams last night. For a man who lived his faith, loved his kids and honored his wife for over 62 years. For a man who will always be my hero. For a man whom I proudly call my father.


Thank you, Lord. We have been blessed by his presence, example, faith and leadership. I only hope I can live up to the shadow of the man who shaped me into the husband and father I am today.

A Christmas Carol (2007)

My daughter's first real acting gig outside of films we've shot is A Christmas Carol at the St. Pete Little Theater. As an added bonus, my wife is also in the play.

My son and I sat down in this truly historic theater (over fifty years old) housing this equally historic theater company (over seventy years old) and watched a very enjoyable and relatively short version of the A Christmas Carol story. The show is carried and completely enjoyable due to the performance of Michael DuMouchel as the lead character Ebeneezer Scrooge. He has both a hard heart and a sharp wit. DuMouchel is able to find wonderful, small moments of humor in this iconic role, giving his character a full three dimensions.

The rest of the cast is solid and the entire production runs slightly over an hour in length.

As for a theater experience from my wife and daughter... my daughter has enjoyed every single moment of it. She truly loves the craft of acting and savors every moment of the process, from auditions to rehearsal to performance.

My wife, on the other hand, is not wired that way. My wife hates the process of anything. She likes the idea of dinner and eating the dinner, but not cooking. She likes the idea of decorating the house and looking at our decorated house, but not decorating. And she likes the idea of being in a play and enjoys the performances, but really disliked the rehearsal process.

All that being said, it was nice for her to be able to share our daughter's first "real" acting gig with her.

If you get a chance, check out SPLT's A Christmas Carol. It was added late into their overall program schedule and only runs through the end of next week. Tickets are cheap and the theater is big, so see the play if you can. DuMouchel's performance is worth the price of admission.

BTW - Michael DuMouchel's brother Steve played Lamont Vaughn in the low-budget feature I wrote called Ready, Willing & Able. Small world.