Have you ever seen "Under The Tuscan Sun" with Diane Lane?
It's a beautiful film about a woman who is lost and finds herself again in golden Tuscany.
As we watch her slowly regain her footing in life, she continues to look out her window and catches a glimpse of an older man who also appears lost as he sadly puts flowers out on a pedestal.
He was mourning the loss of his wife.
Last night, at our favorite watering hole, my wife noticed an older man at the bar and said "That's the man from Under the Tuscan Sun." Not literally, but figurately. My wife said he was looking for something. There was a sadness in him. My wife noticed his book and engaged in conversation. It turns out his wife was in the hospital in critical care after open heart surgery.
My wife was so right. The random stranger in the bar was hurting. As we talked to him into the night, he talked about his architecture career, his love of trains, and life with his wife Helen. His sadness ceased growing for a moment in time.
Once again, art imitated life.
Once Diane Lane's character starts to really find herself, she finally catches the eye of the old man and he doffs his cap in acknowledgment as if to say "I see you and I know you have hurt too."
I've often talked about human connections and how important they are. However random they appear, they serve a purpose.
Bar neon or a Tuscan sun.
Both shine light into darkness.
