Walking outside, I can’t help but think how similar the cool, crispy clean air and bright blue cloudless sky is strangely similar to the way it was in New Jersey this same morning 11 years ago; moments before the inconceivable vastly shattered so many innocent lives, bored a hole in our country, and left the entire world in a sense of disbelief and shock. 

We watched a movie on HBO the other night.  Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close .  It came out in January this year but we hadn’t seen it yet.  I highly recommend it.  The story begins in NYC on September 10, 2001, the day before what 9-year old lead character, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), calls “the worst day.”  After his father (Tom Hanks) is killed in the World Trade Center, a heavy gloom hangs between him and his mother (Sandra Bullock), until one day Oskar peeked in his dad’s closet (still left exactly as it was on 9-11) and accidentally finds a blue vase containing an envelope with the single word “Black” on it.  It contains a key, similar to one fitting a safe-deposit box. Oskar is determined to find out who or what the key belongs to.  This obsession finds him having to work through his personal obstacle, borderline autism/Asberger syndrome, to become friendly with his grandmother’s border, an elderly man (Max Von Snydow) who cannot speak but wishes to help him on his quest.  We follow their journey through the 5 boroughs of NY as they locate and call on all the people named Black to see if anyone can shed light on the mysterious key.  While some parts of the story tip toward ‘fantasy,’ (for instance, Oskar still finds hidden messages to him from his father around Central Park, etc. from a game they used to play) overall it is a very captivating and heartwarming story.  And if you’re prone to a tear or 2, have a box of kleenex at hand ;-) 

By the way, for a newbie actor, Thomas Horn did an outstanding job playing Oskar!  I understand his only prior TV experience was winning Kids Week on Jeopardy once and acting experience limited to playing Grasshopper in his school play, James & The Giant Peach.  He’s pretty amazing!