Nothing gold can stay.

Darrel Curtis,* also known as Patrick Swayze, has died at the age of 57.

Yes, I know this is a reading blog. I know I've spent too much time of late blabbing about entertainment and non-reading news. But as much as it is possible to be sorry about the death of someone you didn't know, I am sorry to hear this news. I thought he was a good actor (anyone who can pull off the line "nobody puts Baby in a corner" without laughing is a capital-A Actor) and from what little I have read about his personal life he seemed like a good guy. And who can forget the Saturday Night Live skit where he was involved in a Chippendales dance audition with Chris Farley?

A moment of silence, please. Then go rent Road House.* I watched it this summer on TV because it seemed like a movie I'd always heard of, but never watched. Sure, it's violent and terrifically dated. You still won't be sorry.

*Swayze played one of the Curtis brothers in the 1983 movie The Outsiders, based on the fantastic novel by S.E. Hinton. (What is S.E. Hinton doing these days, I wonder?) It was a great movie, and if you know it, you'll recognize the quote from today's blog heading. If you don't know it, watch it immediately, and see not only Swayze but later luminaries like Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, and Diane Lane.

**And can you believe the movie Point Break was made way back in 1991? I am getting SO OLD. Sorry. I know this is becoming a common phrase with me, but really, holy shit.

Comments

[Laura]

I just rewatched Red Dawn a few weeks back and was surprised at how watchable it still was. Actually, it was a lot of fun. He will be missed.

[Rachael]

If I may be so bold, CR:
NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
--Robert Frost

I love that movie, love that poem, and always thought Patrick Swayze seemed like a decent, honest, and respectable person with a great sense of humor and more talent than most of us could hope for. Sad, sad, sad.

[Citizen Reader]

Laura,
Go Wolverines. How sad is it that I know that but have never seen "Red Dawn"? In Swayze's honor sometime before this year is out I will watch both RD and "Ghost," which I've never actually seen.

Rachael,
You most certainly may. I love that poem too, and I always loved Ponyboy for knowing it. Ah, Robert Frost. Poetry that rhymes. It may not be fancy but that's usually the way I like it.

I agree with you on the sad, sad, sad assessment. We're all suckers for a man who can dance, after all.

[laura]

Yes, sad indeed. I remember people running in gym class in sixth grade, and one girl yelling at another, "Run, run! Patrick Swayze likes fast girls!" Oh my.

As for S.E. Hinton, here's some of what she's doing: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/books/review/Zacharek-t.html.

[Tripp]

No Red Dawn? You need to fix that one.

I first saw that when in came out in my Navy hometown of Norfolk, Va. It was easily the best way to see it as you got extra "America, F%ck yeah!"

[Citizen Reader]

Laura,
Ah yes, who can forget watching "Dirty Dancing" and wondering when our very own Patrick Swayzes might come along and fall in love with our young, innocent, schoolgirlish selves? I never was a motivated runner in Phys. Ed. but if someone had been smart enought to yell such motivational phrases at me I probably could have picked up the pace.

Oh well, probably not. But it's nice to dream.

Tripp,
Yes, I do. Will watch "Red Dawn" at soonest opportunity.

[Robert Brown]

Hmmm... Road House. Though it has it's charms, I couldn't finish it. I watched it on the recommendation of Crow T Robot. (It's his favorite movie.) Go now to You Tube and search for Patrick Swayze Christmas. Trust me. One of the greatest bits from the greatest TV show ever. You'll watch it again and again and again.

Red Dawn is much referenced on my favorite net hideout, alicublog. Typing "Wolverines!" especially in the context of The National Review, always scores big yuks. I actually watched Red Dawn as a kid, and remember nothing about it whatsoever. Except Patrick Swayze.

Much maligned, much beloved, it doesn't get any better than that.

[Robert Brown]

By the way, how have you been handling the Dan Brownanza? (No relation.)

[bybee]

Thanks to Road House, there are so many teenage guys named Dalton running around my hometown.

[Citizen Reader]

Ah, Road House. Man, I felt bad at the time for wasting so much time watching TV the weekend I watched that, but now I'm kind of glad. Me and Crow T Robot could totally watch movies together. The Patrick Swayze Christmas song? Genius. Thank you for the lead.

I must now see Red Dawn. It has become a requirement.

The Dan Brownanza? Mainly ignoring it. Hoping he's still wearing his tweedy jackets with leather elbow patches--they're so HOT--but other than that, largely not paying any attention. Which is how I also cope with all international and national news, and updates about H1N1.

[Citizen Reader]

Bert--
BTW, how are YOU dealing with Brownapalooza? Is it affecting bidness in your store?

Bybee,
Ha, that's what helped the popularity of the name "Dalton." It's all much clearer now.