O is for Outsiders, OC, Old Yeller, Owen, O-town

ALERT: I have something special planned for my Q post! But it will be long so BEWARE and be EXCITED!!!

Movie:

The Outsiders is a classic movie from the 80's with a bunch of big stars as the cast.  The story is

based off a book written by S.E. Hinton.  The movie is about a gang called the Greasers that live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  (Hey it's based in my state!) Great male actors star in this movie including Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Ralph Maccio, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, and Rob Lowe.  The story is that two of the Greasers are hitting on a rival gangs girlfriends at a drive-in after being confronted the girls go home with their boyfriends and leave the two Greasers alone.  Later that night in a park they are jumped by the rival gang the Socs and one of the boys ends up getting killed. The two Greasers end up going into hiding, while in hiding they see a church being burned down and hear the screams of children.  Three of the Greasers go into save the children and after everyone is safe, one of the Greasers played by Maccio ends up becoming badly hurt. The story is actually a written essay by Ponyboy, one of the survivors of the fire as he tells his class all about his summer. This movie was greatly cast, and Francis ford Coppola did a great job bringing Hinton's story to life on screen.

Television:

None of the shows that start with O, and involve teen actors/actresses ever really spoke to me.  I think I maybe caught one or two episodes of The OC but never really watched the show.  I guess the basic premise of the show is that Ryan Atwood is a troubled youth who gets adopted and brought into a rich families life, the Cohens. Ryan and his surrogate brother Seth are brought up in a different world then they were born into.  From the wrong side of the tracks Ryan and Seth have to adjust to their new found life of endless possibilities and navigate through the tough relationships they meet on the way.  From what I read the plot basically surrounds their relationships with Summer (Seth's Crush) and Marissa ( the girl next door).  The show sounds pretty interesting but I just never got into it.





 

Book:

My daughter has been bugging me to buy her some classic books for her birthday.  Her teacher read

her Where the Red Fern Grows, so now she wants that book, it's sequel and Old Yeller.  I have of course seen Old Yeller the movie, but I never had a chance to read the book written by Fred Gipson. Old Yeller is a tragic story involving a boy and his dog. A young boy named Travis is asked by his father to take care of his farm while he is away.  He lives there with his mother and younger brother Arliss. While he is taking care of the farm a yellow lab begins sniffing around the property and reluctantly Travis ends up taking the stray dog in. He names the dog Old Yeller. Soon Travis becomes attached to the dog, and when the dog's original owner comes looking, he ends up seeing the bond Old Yeller has with the family. The ending is the sad part when Travis is forced to do something unthinkable to Old Yeller to save his family.  I will eventually end up getting my daughter the book, and then I can read it myself!







My Book: 

So for O I decided to do a character who is only mentioned in the first couple chapters.  Owen is Dillon's cousin who died from cancer two years prior to meeting Genevieve.  I chose Owen as a character in my book because I wanted to give Genevieve and Dillon a common ground to bring them together, losing a loved one before their time.  Dillon and Owen were very close, almost like brothers. After Owen died Dillon wasn't sure how to function socially anymore and ended up going off by himself all the time to get away from everything and suppress the void he has for Owen.  I can't give too much away, on why Owen's character, despite not being in the book is so important. But let's just say he plays a big role in a decision down the line for our two lovebirds Dillon and Genevieve.

What's For Dinner?

Song of the Day :

O-Town - All or Nothing