Film "Cinderella Man"

I got some free tickets to go see the film "Cinderella Man". Interesting film... a "feel good" movie that wasn't too bad to sit through. Two thoughts struck me while watching.

#1 I'm watching "Gladiator" again, except they moved it 1930's United States.
#2 Jim Braddock may have been courageous. But he was dumb as a brick.

I feel terrible about bagging the guy. But honestly, I was unimpressed. The choices he made were reckless. He was lucky. Perhaps they simply failed to show some of the actions he took in order to make him more sympathetic.

One the things that bothered me was his inability to provide food for his family. I know it was the depression. I know that they had no money. I know that he could not find work. But, he had options. He was not caught in a natural disaster that prevented him from exercising his options. I could not help but ask myself what I would have done if I were in his shoes.

He mentioned in the film that they had sold everything in order to survive. If I were in the situation where I found myself having to sell everything to raise money to survive, then I would be damn sure that I invested in the minimum equipment I would need to eat after the money and assets ran out. I'd buy a good rifle, ammo, an axe, fishing gear, and good boots. He lived in New Jersey. That means there was the Atlantic Ocean near by. That means there is salt water fish he could catch. Going north and west there is the Hudson River, the Delaware River, and hundreds of smaller rivers and lakes. That means fresh water fish, even in the dead of winter. Also in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, there is plenty of game hunting. He could have gone deer hunting, duck hunting, and possibly even gone up to Canada for moose hunting.

I couldn't help but think that if I found my self in a situation where I knew the chances of finding work was bad, and I have a family to feed, I would invest time in hunting and fishing for meat to stockpile for later. I would have taken the oldest boy and spend a weekend deep sea fishing off the Jersey shore, or ice fishing on the Hudson in the middle of winter.

Also, why didn't they buy 5 or 6 hens? Where they lived there was a large open area where the kids played. They could have build a coop and fed the hens scraps and let them find worms and stuff. Then the would have had a regular supply of eggs, which contain protein. They also could have ate the hens when push came to shove.

The scene where his wife pleads with the man from the electric company to not turn off their electricity "because of the children" got me so mad. Why were they wasting money on electricity when the kids didn't have food? What exactly did they have to have electricity for? Their place had a wood burning stove for heat. They could have burned kerosene lamps or candles for light.

And the scene where one of their children suffering from a cold. I couldn't help but ask myself, why in the hell are you not out in the woods chopping wood to bring home to heat the place? Why are you sitting around freezing your asses off and feeling sorry for yourself? Why have you not stacked up a pile of firewood before winter set in? Why have you allowed your situation to deteriorate to this point?

In bad times, I can't help but think to myself "What would my ancestors have done?" How did they not only survive, but thrive in the New World before electricity and cars and grocery stores all the modern luxuries of life? How did they survive the cold New England winters? How did the pioneers do it?

Here is an example of another dumb, but courageous person that I DO NOT respect.
Aron Ralston, who in 2003 got his arm stuck while rock climbing in a remote part of Utah, cut his own arm off in order to survive. He wrote a book about the experience, and has a web site about it too. I don't respect him because he failed to take precautions that would have prevented him from having no choice but to do what he had to do. Because he did not climb with a partner, nor did he tell anyone where he was climbing and when to expect him back, he did not have any alert system in place. So when disaster struck, he was screwed.

Another example. In Santa Barbara in 1990, the Painted Cave Fire roared down the mountain into the San Antonio Creek neighborhood destroying hundreds of homes. In the local paper the next day there was one photograph that stood out. It was a picture taken of an old man on the roof of his house armed with only a water hose. The flames were behind him, and he had a bandana over his mouth for the smoke. He was battling to save his house. What was striking about the picture was the look of fierce determination and grit on his face. I've tried to find the photo on the Internet, but can't find it.

He managed to save his house. All the houses around him were destroyed.

Two years later the same reporter who snapped the picture went back to the neighborhood. All the neighbors who had lost their homes had rebuilt. The new houses were much nicer than that houses that used to be there. The reported tracked down the old man and talked about his story and what happened since that photograph was taken. It turns out that man was a tough-as-nails retired WWII navy veteran. When asked about that day, he said that he regrets doing what he did. If he had to do it gain, he would have fled and let his house burn down like his neighbors did.

24 months later, all his neighbors ended up with new, larger, nicer, and safer houses with fire resistant tile roofs. He still had the old 1940's tract home with the dangerous wood-shake roof. His house also suffered from water damage the winter after the fire because of leaks in his roof. His insurance company would not cover the water damage because it was caused by his own running around up there with the hose during the fire. And the worst part was the damage to his lungs from the smoke and heat during the fire. He used to be healthy, but now had to use an oxygen tank to breath.

See... Dumb, but brave.