Centurion Challenge Coming Down to the Wire and Philomena Movie Review - Tues., Dec. 3

At the beginning of 2013, I signed up to do 100 Volksmarches (Centurion Achievement Challenge) this year. They have to be completed by December 31. I am working (or should I say walking?) diligently to get in my last walks to earn a badge. 13 walks are left to do.

Looks like we'll be walking in cold/wind/rain in Rockport & Corpus Christi this weekend. Nothing a displaced Oregonian can't handle. Ironically, the name of the club-sponsored Volksmarch in Rockport this Saturday is "Tropical Christmas." Wishful thinking. There will also be a swim in the heated outdoor pool. No thanks.

This morning Susan M., her husband Darren, and I did a 10K Maury Maverick Jr. Volksmarch in northwest San Antonio. The weather was beautiful. Our high today was supposed to go to 86, but by the time we finished walking at 10:30 a.m. it was around 75 degrees.

At 11:30 a.m., I picked up Sharon to go to see "Philomena" at Santikos Bijou Theatre. The Bijou is one of the theaters that serves food at your seat. Both Sharon and I ordered Citrus Cranberry Turkey sandwiches with chips.

"Philomena" with Judy Dench is another movie based on a true story. I have to confess I slept through quite a bit of the movie, but got the general gist of what was going on. As a young girl, Philomena was at a fair, met a boy, and was seduced by him. She became pregnant and was placed in a nunnery by her parents who felt disgraced and ashamed by her.

The nuns "punished" all the wayward young mothers by putting them to work in the laundry scrubbing, wringing, and ironing seven days a week. In short, they were slaves of the nuns.

With minimal assistance as her baby was coming out in the breech position, the head nun would not call in a doctor, saying whether the baby survived or not was "God's will."

Philomena gave birth to a live baby boy. As part of the punishment for the young mothers, they were allowed only an hour a day with their children. From time to time a child would disappear. Turns out the nuns put the children up for adoption, selling them at a high price to wealthy couples who wanted children. Philomena's son was taken away when he was about four years old. The nuns would not tell the mothers where their children were.

Fast forward 50 years when Philomena has been without her firstborn. It has been her deepest, darkest secret because she had been told it was such a sin. She finally tells her grown daughter about the child that was taken from her.

Her daughter enlists the help of a writer to tell Philomena's human interest story. Together, the writer and Philomena embark on a trip to the United States to find her long-lost son. Philomena has no idea if her son remembers her or that he was from Ireland.

Because I do not want to give away the ending, I will end the review here. The movie is heart-wrenching as we watch this tortured woman look for her long-lost son. I give the movie 3 stars. In my opinion there are much better movies to be seen this holiday season.

Welcome to our newest blog followers, Keith and Brenda, who have the blog Damn Near Perfect Couple.

Travel Bug out.