A call to keep on from Frederick Douglass.
Each and every one of us must keep demanding, must keep fighting, must keep thundering, must keep plowing, must keep on keeping this struggling, must speak out and speak up until justice is served because where there is no justice there is no peace.
Frederick Douglass
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Nyad tells the story of Diana Nyad (Annette Bening), a long-distance swimmer and sports broadcaster, who, at age 60, decided to pursue her dream of being the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida in the open ocean, a distance of 110 miles. She had tried and failed in an attempt when she was 28 but, at 60, felt her mental toughness would make it possible. The film chronicles multiple attempts to reach this goal over several years with the assistance of her friend-turned-coach, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster), and a team of experts who helped with specialized aspects of the swim, such as repelling sharks and jellyfish, navigation, and nutrition.
Even though I knew historically how the film would end, there was a lot of dramatic tension inherent in the telling. I also gained a new appreciation of the hazards involved and the amount of training and behind-the-scenes work involved in a project of this magnitude.
I am not a swimmer – or athletic in any way – and greatly respect those, like Nyad, who can accomplish such amazing feats. Kudos to Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, both of whom trained extensively in order to portray Nyad and Stoll, both of whom are accomplished athletes. The film does not use body doubles; Bening is doing the swimming, even in the most extreme segments.
I also appreciated that Bening and Foster insisted on not being “touched up” so that they appear as women in their sixties portraying women in their sixties. As a woman in my sixties, I appreciated that.
I also appreciated the sense that women in their sixties are mentally tough and ready to take on challenges and achieve life goals. Also, that we have learned a lot about ourselves and about life over the years and that we are (usually) ready to be part of a group to accomplish whatever it is we want.
Even if you are not a woman in your sixties like me, I think you would benefit from watching this film, which is currently streaming on Netflix and may be in theaters in some markets. It is appropriate for teens and adults.
(Image is an official poster for the movie through fandango.com)
Like many other places during this pandemic, our stores have been out of yeast for weeks.
I usually keep a jar of bread machine yeast in the refrigerator. Besides using it in the machine, B sometimes uses it to make treats like Chelsea buns. As my jar was running low, every time I went to a store, I would check to see if I happened to catch a new shipment coming in, but either my timing was never right or there wasn’t any in the warehouses to send to the stores.
I decided to look online. I couldn’t find any jars or packets, but finally found a one-pound bag of Fleischmann’s instant yeast. I wasn’t used to the term “instant yeast” but apparently it is the same as rapid-rise or bread machine yeast. The yeast is sourced from Canada, so perhaps instant yeast is the term most often used there.
It took over a week to arrive, but now we should be supplied for a long time, given that this bag is equivalent to four of the jars I usually buy.
The pandemic has changed my perspective of time so much. I admit to thinking maybe this yeast will last until we have a vaccine available to the public so that the pandemic will be well and truly over.
Of course, this won’t be a miracle like the story of Elijah and the widow in 1Kings 17, where the flour and oil did not run out until the drought was over, but it does symbolize to me that same sense of perseverance, that call to not be afraid while we wait, watch, and work for better times.
Joanne Corey 