"I'll Never Live to Get Any Shade Out of It"

When I was taking film classes back at the University, I was shown this short documentary in one of them.

I have never forgot it. It is not on YouTube, and I couldn't figure out any way to embed it, so if you want to see what I'm talking about, you'll have to follow the link.

I guess it doesn't really matter. Truth be told, I don't really care if no one bothers to click on the link and watch the video. Life is busy, we all have plenty to do.

I'll take it a step further and say...that I'm not even going to say...that you SHOULD watch this video. You 'shouldn't' do anything. I will tell you that it wouldn't hurt to watch it; it might do you some good.

As stated, I have never forgot this film, though I'm not sure what it was that inspired me to run a Google search on it this evening. A portly old gentleman, working his crossing-guard post 10 years ago. Who knows if Leroy is still around today? The kids in the video are graduating from high school. Some of them might remember him, most of them probably don't. I can almost guarantee that none of them remember his name.
It would be nice to say that this video was one of those "beauty of the everyday, find the hidden artistic side of being old and having little to do, I want to help you change your life...." sort of endeavors... but... it isn't.

I love it because....
Gosh, I don't know.
Because it was made with so much love. This is charity at its finest. Ben Unguren wasn't trying to make a hero out of Leroy. I'm not really sure he was trying to do much of anything. It is pretty unpolished. It is as it is.

Don't think I'm stupid enough to think that this is "Unbiased" or just a "slice of life" with no artistic lens on it. That would not even be possible. (No Unobstructed Views, remember?) But it does do a good job at getting closer to the heart of the issue, to the heart of a (possibly) lonely old man. It does a better job than a lot of what you probably see.

Is Leroy a hero anyway? Probably. I'm sure he was for someone, somewhere.

I guess he becomes a hero to me every time I think of his words that close the clip.

"Well. I guess it's about time to go home and plant my tree. I'll never live to get any shade out of it, but I'll go home and plant it.
What are you going to do when you leave here?"

No judgment, no nod towards striving to be inspirational. It is pretty raw, pretty unsalted, pretty un-sexy.

Watch it if you want. If not, no worries.