The premise for the movie is simple, 3 weeks to live before an asteroid hits the earth and kills everyone. It’s a romantic comedy that will have you laughing and crying or if you are me laughing and crying at the same time. I loved the movie. It is a bit predictable as two characters journey to help each other do different things but end up falling in love in the final days of the world. I don’t want to ruin it for all of you but suffice it to say the final scene was very moving. Dodge (Steve Carell) says the things you want any significant other to say to you in those final moments. It was brilliant and I dare you not to cry.
The movie left me once again thinking about what I would do if I knew the world was going to end? This is a question I have pondered before, usually after re-reading the Nevil Shute’s book “On the Beach”, which is also about the last days on earth. After seeing Seeking a Friend tonight with two of my best friends I started to think about the question again. Here is the answer I have tonight (in the order it would happen) if I found out the world was going to be over in three weeks. The answer is always different but here is the current version.
1. I would go into work and quit. I would probably say a lot of the things I would never say and leave in a fashion that I have only dreamed of. It would certainly be a burning the bridges sort of exit, possibly with a few punches thrown or at the very least lots of yelling.
2. I would try to contact the one man who loved me enough to propose to me and say sorry I never gave him the chance he deserved. I have always felt that I didn’t do right by him and that I should have explained better or maybe have been more open to the possibilities he had to offer me. I wouldn’t want anything more from him but just to simply say I’m sorry.
3. I would throw a huge party for all my friends. We would drink and enjoy each other’s company one last time. I would pull out all the stops for food and try all the recipes I have gathered but never done anything with. It would be a no holds barred, do what you want party. When it was over I would hug each of my friends and tell them how much they have meant to me.
4. I would go to one last Weight Watchers meeting to thank the people who have supported me there and to say hi to the guy I keep noticing and tell him I think he’s cute. (This might be awkward since I have no clue if he is even single but really if the world is going to end what do I have to lose).
5. I would spend some time with my sister and her kids. I would smack my youngest niece upside the head for being so silly and probably my sister too for that matter. I would take a photo of them as a family so I could carry it with me and hope that the end of the world would be enough for them to let all the grudges go, to reunite as a family again.
6. I would head to BC to be with my parents one last time. I would tell my mom how proud I am to have her as my mom. I would tell her that she is a strong woman even though I don’t think she always knows it. I would also tell her that I think my strength and perseverance comes from growing up watching the challenges she had to face after having a stroke. To my dad I would tell him that he is the reason I’m so picky when it comes to dating. He has set high standards for any man that comes into my life because of how good he is with mom. I know his life can’t have always been easy and I’m sure it is not what he planned but the fact he stuck around and worked so hard to support us has set the bar high for anyone I choose to have in my world. I would also tell him that I think he is the reason I’m as good as I am and why I want to help people.
7. Lastly I would head back to Austria and to the library in the monastery in Melk. I would curl up with my notepad and spend my last days writing all the stories in my head. I think this would be a perfect spot for the end. I would be surrounded by books and the smell you can only get in an old library. I would be doing what I love which would make me very happy.
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I guess some people reading this list might think it’s sad that I would spend my last days alone but to me I think it would be almost perfect. I have always enjoyed being on my own and I would have already said my good-byes. I would know that the people that matter know exactly what they mean to me and how much I love them. And besides as cheesy as it may sound I wouldn’t feel alone. I would have the love of my friends and family with me.
Take a few minutes and think about what you would do, but then ask yourself why are you waiting. What on your list can you do tomorrow? That is what I take away from this tonight. What is stopping me from doing any or all of my list? If those are the things that will make me happy maybe it’s time to start living like the world is going to end and see what good can come from it. (Although don’t worry I’m not planning on running away to Melk anytime soon).
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