Survivor is starting to heat up. The men have been getting spanked in the challenges. They've lost 4 out of 5. They need to get serious or they're going to be short-lived. I'm rooting for Butch from the men's tribe and Heidi from the women's tribe. Butch is from Illinois and Heidi is from Missouri. Butch probably has the better chance. Heidi is a young blonde and I think that will eventually work against her. No one wants to be in the finals against a good-looking blonde.

I watched the video "Tuck Everlasting" last night. It was kind of a quirky film with Sissy Spacek, William Hurt, Ben Kingsly, an unrecognizable Amy Irving, and several others. The premise is that a family finds a stream that is the fountain of youth and they live forever. It is set in the early 1900's and they have lived for over 100 years. The movie makes you wonder whether living forever is as appealing as it first sounds. There are a lot of problems with not dying. For instance, it violates the circle of life whereby older people die to make way for new generations. Also when you live forever, everyone that you meet and care about eventually grows older and dies. It makes close relationships very difficult. A lot of people would begin to resent or even hate you for your gift. One of the characters was alive during the battle of Gettysburg and he has to live with the thought of the thousands who fought and died on that day. He also outlived his wife and his two children. A fifteen year old girl falls in love with a forever 17 year boy from the Tuck family. She had to decide whether to live with him forever by drinking from the fountain or just living out her life. Before I watched the movie, I thought it would be an easy choice. I've always thought that it would be great to be about 27 forever. Now, I'm not so sure. As the father says, "Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of a life unlived." Sometimes a movie is greater than the sum of its parts. This is one of those movies.

The Survivor episode was interesting last week. The men seem to be bonding better than the women, but it may just be superficial. The deaf woman is particularly having problems relating to the other women. I've worked with deaf co-workers and it can be a real challenge to reach understanding. Sometimes they feel slighted when you meant no offense. As much as you try, it is hard to put yourself in their shoes. I hope they give her a chance on the show.
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Another woman on the show has a problem with the immunity idol because it says in the Bible that one should have no other idols before God. Of course, the key is that you are not supposed to worship any idols. They are not worshiping the idol; it's more of a doll or trophy. It's strange how people read the words of the Bible without getting the meaning. It is easy to get confused, though. When you watch the Academy Awards, there are a few people who seem to worship the Oscar. I think that they need to examine their priorities a little. Winning an Oscar is not the meaning of life, nor is winning a million dollars on a TV show. Winning should be a tribute to God; not a substitute for God.