I'm not sure I'm fully qualified to write this review, even though I have seen Scott Tinkham's "24 Hours After Reading Tuesdays With Morrie" more than a few times. I almost- almost-programmed it for the Chicago Critics Film Festival this year, but blinked, second-guessed, and perhaps chickened out. "Are people gonna get this? Do I get it? Is 'Tuesdays With Morrie' a reference point that will register with the younger audiences who come to our fest?" These were the questions that kept nagging at me.
Ram Dass appears for our interview right on scheduleand without entourage. No fanfare. No pretense. No teacherly airs. The physical form has changed over the years, and the dark, tired eyes, incipient potbelly, and silvery hair (what's left of it) indicate that at 55 Ram Dass is no stranger to the wear and tear that come with age. (I don't have that act together, really, he replies later to a question about maintaining his own physical health.)
A cool evening air was descending on the 25-acre farmstead, blowing across the pond, around the barn, through the apple orchard and into the windows of Mike and Jenny Thomas's two-century-old, red brick farmhouse. The dinner hour had come. Edith, five, and George, three, enthusiastically rang a bell hanging near the kitchen door, sending metallic peals back into the early dusk. Mike sat down at the head of a wooden table, his wife at the other end, their four children along the benches between.
Awakening is an experience that many people seek. Indeed, awakening can bring clarity, peace, and insight, but it can also be one of the most difficult experiences that we humans face. Most of us need support on the journey, and many of us have no idea where to go for that support. As someone who "woke up" by accident, I am now devoting a significant portion of my time to helping others navigate this miraculous, yet challenging, journey.