 |
| Bob Shepton at the helm of his beloved sailboat. |
A 28-minute documentary that might be hard to find but I'm betting it's out there somewhere (try Vimeo.com), Farewell to Adventure was screened last weekend at a local art house we frequent. I consider myself lucky to have seen it. It tells the poignant story of a Scottish adventurer named Bob Shepton, who at 85 is forced to sell his beloved sailboat in order to pay for his wife's nursing home. Wow, talk about the gift of the magi! ("The Gift of the Magi", short story by O. Henry written in 1905, if you haven't read it by now, do so.) For someone who admits to being "addicted to adventure," this stage of his life is especially hard for him.
The film also bluntly illustrates the inescapable realities of aging, so if you are planning to get old or already have, there's a lot to learn here. Despite being a married father of five, Shepton has spent huge chunks of his life sailing around the world to foreign ports of incredible beauty, some of which are shown here in stunning color and sharp cinematography. Now in his dotage, his adventures have been whittled down to the final few local outings on his sailboat or cooking meals for his wife Kate, who has Alzheimer's, in their small cottage.
Old family photographs show Kate and Bob at various stages throughout their marriage, shocking us with how much they have changed over the years. If you live so long, it will happen to you too so it's best to take a hard look and get ready for it. Shepton offers valuable advice on healthy aging, and the most important one is to keep moving! Once his boat is gone and he is landlocked, hiking into the nearby mountains remains his one adventurous outlet, although it's obviously tough for him. But still he keeps going.
You will fall in love with Bob and come away determined to make the most of every minute of life you have left. I'd say that's a great takeaway from any film.
No comments:
Post a Comment