I was watching a movie the other night, an old man sits at a lake fishing with his equally old dog. When three boys happen upon them, the boys start out with friendly enough conversation about their day out hunting. One boy doing most of the talking is holding a rifle. After a few moments of conversation, the young man with the rifle starts talking about money to go get something to eat. After that brief exchange the boy starts to threaten the old man trying to what cash he hand on him, after finding out the man had nothing he shot the old man’s dog in the head and started laughing. Two of the boys begin to laugh the one that fired the shot and his friend who at first seemed very scared, the third young man was barely able to hold back his tears at the sight of the man’s shot and dying canine. The three leave the man alone at the side of the lake with his dead dog.
The man returns to his home and at once buries his dog. The next day the old man sought out a guide trying to find the model of shot gun that the boy had used to kill his dog. Once he found the type of gun he called around the very tiny town to see which stores carried that kind of weapon. After trying one store he located the second store that sold the gun to the young boy and his father just a few days prior to the shooting of his dog. The old man sought out the home of the boy to speak to his father and tell him of the incident that had taken place that ended with the death of his dear beloved dog named Red. But of course like all punks the two boys who were brothers, the one being the shooter the other being the one who cried when the man’s dog was shot. Both the cowardly boys lied about ever meeting the man, shooting the dog or ever being out there in the area on that day. The boys wealthy crude father believed his two sons, told the old man that he was wrong about them than sent him on his way.
However the old man wasn’t pleased with the response that he received of course with the death of his dog Red a fifteen year old friend to him the only other living thing he spent time with on a daily basis. The man wanted remorse from the three boys, so he sought out the parents of the third boy, a dirt poor, white trash family that couldn’t care less about their boy’s actions or one another for that matter. So the old man received nothing from those parents not even sympathy for the loss of his old dog and best friend. So the old man became set to seek out an apology or some form of punishment for the boys. The local law wanted nothing to do with the case refusing to prosecute which would have only landed a charge of animal cruelty a fine of 100.00 dollars and maybe ten days in jail. The old man thought maybe going public being on television having his story told would get the district attorney to maybe prosecute the case, however it only got him a rock through his living room window along with a death threat. The old man became so consumed he followed the boys every move, even pushing the older brother into an angry rage that made the boy attempt to hurt the old man, which the old man replied by kicking the little punks ass. But that still wasn’t the end of it, that caused the man’s grocery store to be burned to the ground. Even after this the old man refused to stop trying to seek out an apology from both boys, by this time the younger brother had secretly came to the old man and told him how sorry he was, but refused to tell his father what he an his brother had done to the dog.
So the man dug up his old dead dog Red, than delivered him to the steps of the boys home, where he was greeted by the entire family, father and older son where pointing guns at the old man. Once again the old man’s words sent the older son into a rage that caused him to shot off part of the old man’s ear, with this action the boy fell onto the man which ended up with the old man getting the gun. So with the gun in hand the old man decided he was going to take the boy to the local police and have him arrested for shooting him in the ear. All said an done the story ends with an a car accident the old man was beat in the head with a stick and left on the side of the road for dead by the boys and their father. Never the less the old man hadn’t died, he awakes to return to the home once again to recover his dog’s remains, there the younger boy helps him to locate his dog, while doing so the father, brother and friend approach with shot guns in hand. They shoot at the old man hit him and kill the younger brother, the old man shots the father, son and friend. The two brothers died that night from the injuries, the old man however survives. He is sad, remorseful because he refused to just drop the search for an apology from the boys for killing his old dog Red.
The name of this movie is of course named Red, it was long drawn out an pretty boring most of the time. This movie came to me at just the right time in my life though. This movie came to teach me something that I really needed to learn. Life is to precious, short, an unpredictable to let something like revenge take a hold of you. I have been lied on, stolen from, used, mistreated and hurt by so many people even by someone I thought I wanted to spend my life with. I have had many thoughts cross my mind in the past few months, weeks, thoughts of all the things that I could easily do to make this person feel a hundred times worse than I do. It wouldn’t be worth it in the end, it wouldn’t make everything alright again, it wouldn’t bring back the things I’m out of, it wouldn’t give me a do over for all the months of hurt feelings either. I know that every human being feels that they would be satisfied with someone receiving pain, hurt, loss, or whatever in return for doing something to them. It just won’t make things better in my life, it won’t undo what was done, it won’t take away the lies that were spread about me to the countless number of people willing to listen to the made up stories. For this I will just have to seek my peace in knowing that one day Karma will work out, that one day this will come back falling on their heads ten, twenty or a hundred times harder than it was done to me. I know the truth and even though they’ve tried to cover it up they know what they’ve done as well and it is only the truth that shall set them free.
Revenge may bring about temporary satisfaction, but karma and the power of God will bring about a sting that will last much, much longer and leave you with clean hands in the process. As for the film Red it one at the sun dance film festival, it was not filled with the action of many of the movies today that people are seeking. However the other night for me it served it’s purpose, two young boys died because of killing an old dog that was already near death one boy wasn’t even eighteen years old yet. That was worthless, absolutely a waste of human life over nothing, I am fine with my lot in life. I am fine letting go all of what was ever done to me, even though I still deal daily with some of the fallout my is clean, my hands and heart are too. I go to sleep knowing that I have treated others the way that I want to be treated and I have buried these people in my mind, they aren’t ever going to be a problem again.
