My wife and I went to see Bobby last night.  We’d been arguing–something we rarely do–so seeing a flick seemed an easy way to spend time together without speaking.  Worked fine; made peace today.

I loved how this movie is character-driven, following the lives of several people in one massive hotel during the course of one tragic day, not unlike Grand Hotel.  And yet it also has its comic moments (the two interns doing acid, for one).  Films of this sort are all too rare, since Hollywood still has an addiction for blowing up 30 cars in the first 30 seconds of most flicks, under the mistaken notion that 18-year-old males call the shots in ticket sales.  Estevez had real guts taking on this project, and is to be lauded.  Sure the movie does seem a bit uneven, but I can easily overlook that for the sweep of it.

As for the loss of Bobby Kennedy, that happened at a time in my boyhood when one of my brothers was in Vietnam (soon to be badly wounded), DC was under siege, and all our best leaders seemed destined to be shot.  It was a strange way to grow up, but a whole generation did.

Now a different generation is growing up with a different war–one that is no less crazy, and probably more so.  I wonder what the long-term ramifications will be.  Either way, it’s hell on the poor infantry who are forced to serve for political/corporate greed.  I’m not sure that Lincoln, or Washington, would have approved.