"SURPRISE!" 60th for Robert..
giant "THANK YOU!" Robert was very moved by the turn out at park victoria church, and then our home. Especially grateful to Jerry & Sandy, Richard & Nancy, (Daniel & Mei Rose), who had been wanting to do something for Robert to thank him for all he does for others..
so, i asked if maybe that something could be helping me surprise him for his 60th.. and they stepped up in so many different ways, and allowed Robert to be the recipient of driveway happy hour treats..
everyone brought their cool, fun personalities, their love, support, some great dishes, desserts & drinks to "cheers!" thank also grandy & pops for helping me surprise him with new BBQ for 2025 berryessa blue zone happy hours; Jerry for the awesome hand-painted vikings birthday banner... and Rose & Tony for way upping the "SURPRISE!" factor..
All family & friends... "Thank You!" for helping turn this milestone celebration into a cherished memory! We love you!
i am a fan of this adorable, wonderful, delightful (secular) movie.. (me!) sandra, ~topps, writeousmom
if not for a long list of higher priorities, i would write in great detail, my response and experience watching inside out 2. i will jot only,
-written/told from an exclusively secular point of view
-and how long it took me, personally, to experience -to interpret, to learn, that i had evolved/graduated to getting to feel just, or merely 'embarrassed.'
; before i evolved and graduated, i exclusively interpreted/identified my [given] experience as 'feeling'
mortified! & humiliated!
-more when time/circumstance allow.. 2025-ish
God only knows, /i say with a smile. amen.
Officer Black Belt -movie review by (sexy! & topps!)
about the reviewers:
sexy, AKA, robert, couple weeks shy of 60 years old: 27+ years of public safety service as a santa clara county deputy, working in both the main jail in san jose, and elmwood correctional facility in milpitas.
topps, AKA, sandra, age 58 years old: three time victim of sexual predators (age 6, age 16, age 17); three different predators [details in other blog posts]
but, it is with this individual life experience; it is through this personal lens, that we watched this movie together: Officer Black Belt
/and for the record, i navigate to netflix for a commercial free viewing experience
*****
"WE BOTH LOVED THIS MOVIE!"
let's call it, hopefully, prophetically, a kickstart in mass media of the 'RISING of the RIGHTEOUS'
waaaay overdue..
but, robert, (and me too, but even more so, robert) he really, deeply appreciated a movie showcasing and featuring good cops -righteous cops
vs. the 1000's over the past, and current years, depicting very corrupt, evil, cops
and he really, deeply appreciated getting to see good cops supported and rewarded for their fight against evil criminals, vs. the 1000's of depictions where somehow the criminals actions are justified (ignored or celebrated even) and the fight against evil is criminalized
we have both had quite enough of the fight against evil being criminalized
*****
and i, (and robert too, but even more so, me), i really, deeply appreciated this movie for how sensitive it was to victims of sexual assault
as a three time survivor, i pay careful attention to how this subject is covered in media
-how this topic is covered in this movie, officer black belt, -is exemplary, in my experienced opinion
-they suggest the evil, for the purpose of the story; without asking the audience to witness evil, they keep the focus on the fighters of evil; "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
[i note here, that when movie makers include the evil, vs. suggesting it.. that means they have written; had actors perform; have filmed... and to process and contemplate that in full makes me nauseous -there is no valid reason for... suggestion alone will always be enough]
in officer black belt, we return at long last! to fighters of evil as heroes; not evil-doers as heroes
a refreshing reset in our current culture to be sure.
and
we both loved the cast... the pace... the message...
also loved seeing young men feeling compelled to fight crime; and the loyalty, friendships in the story
and the mentor/student relationships..
it was just solidly good all the way around. "Thank You!" to everyone who contributed to the creation of this film
****
additional cerebral hyperlinks for me personally,
-after many years, and much contemplation, research & prayer, i landed on:
sexual predators should be permanently removed from society. no exceptions. -in this movie, sexual predators are released and inevitably find new victims
sexual predators who also kill their victims, should be permanently removed from our planet.
****
i continue to believe, for example, richard allen davis should have been put to death decades ago. i also continue to believe, the public, the tax paying public, should know, to the penny, how much it has cost over these decades to keep him in prison; -how many free meals.. how much cleaning of his laundry.. how much medical/dental healthcare he has received...
let us, as a population, rise in the disgust collectively, until it results in positive, righteous action..
****
have i already written? so, worth repeating..
joyce meyer, and many other countless survivors of evil, incest, -many survivors of many different types of traumas,
if you fast-forward in their lives, they will, upon being healed, say something like this:
"i'm glad that happened... it made me who i am..." /many variations of that conclusion..
...made me stronger... brought me closer to God... etc.
but,
i remind, remind, remind: there is no time, no circumstance, no parent in their right mind, who would ever say, -even upon healing, and even many years post trauma, there is no parent that would ever say
'i'm glad my child was abducted, violated, murdered... it made me who i am today'
also, i've already written, but.. remind: as humans, we are both flesh & spirit.. when a young person spoke to me of being stimulated by evil sex scenes..
this is one analogy: you, as a human, have biological default systems; default reactions; -so, with certain foods, your body might respond by mouth watering, for example..
if someone tells you, there is poison in the given food making your mouth water; this knowledge might not stop your mouth from watering; but it would certainly prevent you from eating it
with our spirit, with our minds, we can observe our own and learn to recognize/discern default biological settings/reactions in our human bodies and over-ride them. we can recognize and ignore vs. non-consciously act on..
this is spirit vs. flesh; good vs evil; exercising free will all combined.
-for future writings: distinguishing between weakness and wickedness; free will choosing evil
*****
also, -going back to officer black belt.. cool how officer black belt was introduced as non-alcohol drinking, for unique reason, but comfortable in the company of...
and just recently, robert and i, put water in our vikings shot glasses, to celebrate their victory..
we do that too occasionally...
****
robert also watched a movie called ruthless.. i didn't see this one; was doing something else, but..
he loved this one too, and for many of the same reasons he loved officer black belt.. [several movies with 'ruthless' in the title, so picture here for specific reference].
****
rising of the righteous in the film industry... let it be the kickstart of many more to come..
****
in Jesus name, we sure do pray..
"SEPTEMBER!" @ Municipal Rose Gardens, San Jose, CA 2024
without a recent 'does this street go all the way through to...?' curiosity before our dentist appointments.. -if not for that, we would not have driven write past the rose gardens.. which blew us away, because we just didn't realize how in bloom the garden is in SEPTEMBER... spring, yes, of course.. stunning, -but we were there yesterday! Patriots Day.. [sign of cross] September 11th, 2024... and utterly surrounded in blooms of every color, and gentle fragrances galore -
and we had ourselves a very romantic, fun, delicious afternoon.. enjoying this treasure serves as our "Thank You!" prayer.. to God and everyone who contributes to gardening, maintaining, growing, pruning, cleaning, nurturing
and speaking of "Thank You's!" -my gorgeous 'fancy nancy' neighbor friend gifted me the hat i'm wearing in this picture... LOVE IT! -and the tumbler with scripture on it was part of a mother's day gift bag given to mom's, grandmom's, in attendance at dorado church in puerto rico.. LOVE this too!
from glory to glory to hallelujah & amen.
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