Australia

My wife talked me into going to the Mall on the fourth largest shopping day of the year, and seeing the Movie Australia. We had to park a 20 minute walk away. The crowds were enormous. I watched people for a long time and marveled at the diversity of humanity, every age, shape, size and ethnic origin passed by my perch.
Several observations. 1]Teens are very needy of approval, and they dress oddly to identify with each other. 2]As a nation we are getting fatter 3] guys wearing their pants halfway down their rear ends looks stupid 4]We are a nation that dresses very informally 5] Families are beautiful. Fathers who love and protect their kids, and moms who are so caring and thoughtful at the mall impress me.6] Most people are trying to enjoy life and being at the mall with friends is a big time for fun.
7] Since I left my phone at home and lost Laura, I was very lonely and isolated waiting for her.

I saw Ice T, the former gangsta rapper and present TV actor and his entourage/family. Folks were grabbing their cameras and cell phones to take pictures. I had to ask who he was.

Australia started slowly, but finally grabbed me. It was a nice mixture of history and story interwoven with messages of unity and hope and of course, three deserving heroic characters finding and protecting each other. Great Scenery, great action, longish but enjoyable, and the bad guy gets it in the end. The historic use of the original release of The Wizard of Oz and its proximity to Pearl Harbor were stunning.