"Stupid Is As Stupid Does"

"Stupid is as stupid does." Do you remember that quote from the film Forrest Gump? What does that mean anyway? I think it means you can tell a stupid person by his actions...or rather, you are what you do. The biblical version would be, "by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matt 7:16)

The other night I watched Forrest Gump, one of my favorite movies. Released in theaters in July of 1994, I didn't see it until it came out on video. My sister Vanette saw it when it was first released. It was one of her favorite movies. (Vanette, who was just 18 months younger than I, lost her battle with cancer at the age of 32.) She loved this movie because she said it was a good example of a man following everything with exactness. It was a man who always kept his promises.

~~~

Drill Sergeant: Gump! Why did you put that weapon together so quickly, Gump?

Forrest: You told me to, Drill Sergeant.

~~~

Forrest: I ran and ran just like Jenny told me to. I ran so far and so fast that pretty soon I was all by myself, which was a bad thing.

~~~

Forrest: I made me a promise to Bubba in Vietnam that as soon s the war was over, we'd go in partners. He'd be the captain of the shrimpin' boat, and I'd be his first mate. But now that he's dead, that means, I got to be the captain.

Lt. Dan: A shrimp boat captain.

Forrest: Yes, sir. A promise is a promise, Lieutenant Dan.

I think we could all be like Forrest Gump...in some way.

"I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floatin' around accidental-like on a breeze. But I...I think maybe it's both." --Forrest Gump

~~~

And now a Tom Hanks story for you...

Why is there a picture of Lindsay Lohan here when I told you I would tell you a Tom Hanks story?

Keep reading to find out.

Keep going...you're almost there.

(A note about the young picture of Lindsay Lohan here: I like the Lindsay Lohan of yesteryear more than the Lindsay Lohan of today.)

~~~

A few years ago Daughter #2 worked on the film "Georgia Rule" starring Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan. Every day Ms. Lohan was late to work. She would arrive even 3 hours late sometimes. This made all the crew and other actors have to wait and wait. Each day she would arrive in a dark SUV, with dark-tinted windows. Like a well-rehearsed routine, the SUV would speed onto the set and first Ms. Lohan's hairdresser would get out. Next, her makeup artist. Next her assistant. Next her body guard. And lastly, Ms. Lohan herself. It was actually quite a comical routine.

One day my daughter got to work directly with Ms. Lohan. She came up to her and as my daughter described, talked at her...not with her. There's a difference you know. (Perhaps you've experienced this with someone before.)

~~~

Now, another movie...another actor....

The movie was "Charlie Wilson's War." Daughter #2 only worked on that film one day. And on that day she saw Tom Hanks come onto the set. He did not have a big SUV and and entourage of makeup artists and assistants. He didn't even have a body guard. Instead he just walked onto the set wearing jeans and a baseball cap, relatively unnoticed. During one of the breaks he went up and spoke to some of the children who were working that day. My daughter overheard the conversation. He asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. Many said they wanted to be actors. He told them that's great, work hard. And in contrast to Ms. Lohan, he talked with the kids, not at the kids.

My daughter said you could tell Tom Hanks is a nice person. He is genuine and kind. He continues to be a normal person who has a brilliant talent for acting.

~~~

"I love what I do for a living, it's the greatest job in the world, but you have to survive an awful lot of attention that you don't truly deserve and you have to live up to your professional responsibilities and I'm always trying to balance that with what is really important."

--Tom Hanks

I think we could all be like Tom Hanks...in some way too.