The Railway Children (1971) written and directed by Lionel Jeffries, based on the E. Nesbit novel. A great cast, Jenny Agutter, Diana Sheridan, a very funny Bernard Cribbins. It's sentimental in the best sense of the word - basically the story of a family's struggle to "carry on" after their comfortable way of life is shattered when the father is accused of being a spy, tried, convicted, and sent to prison. The mother and three children head for the Yorkshire countryside to begin a new life. Probably most appealing to 8-12 year olds. A gently told tale of how being part of a community makes life so much richer.

I've been reading some of the letters all morning in the hope of making some sense out of John McCain's VP Choice. Although many writers are talking about the candidates' "experience" or lack thereof, what I am not hearing is much talk about what it means for our elected leadership to have a widely educated mind capable of keen, balanced judgement as we as a nation and a race of human beings head into what promises to be an era of isolationism like we've never before seen. That is unless we have leaders who not only fully grasp the world situation, but who are willing to use carefully considered diplomacy as their first line of national defense while keeping us at the ready when necessary. Although I realize there are many kinds and sources of intelligence, I for one want to know that our President and his/her team have a worldview that understands that our world is now so complex that we must move beyond crippling partisan politics and exclusionary beliefs. That John McCain made such a reckless choice for his running mate speaks volumes about his understanding of the machinations of the world as we are now experiencing.

Yes, I am a Democrat who was proud of the dignity displayed in the convention and want, no, pray, that Barak Obama is elected President. But given that our country is a democracy, I have to accept the reality of the elected leadership of our country whatever the outcome of the election. At the very least, I want to sleep at night knowing that that person has a well-trained mind with the heart and morality to make sound judgements both about the United States and the rest of the planet...that he or she has been in and of the world, if only in rigorous intellectual debate and exhaustive contemplation of the world as we can know it with our limited human view.

I recently stood with my 15 year old nephew on the bridge in Concord, MA where the "shot heard 'round the world" began our journey to independence. Although he had made a visit to this spot a couple of years ago, he told me he was too young then to really appreciate what it meant. I've often visited the tomb of John and Abigail Adams; their bones rest, along with JQ Adams and his wife, in a small church in the middle of the bustling center of Quincy, MA. It's there that I keep reminding myself of what it really meant and what it took to make it happen. One more presidential term like the last eight years will put us even further removed from who we are, or who we are supposed to be.

O woe is us.

I'm losing respect for Salon.