Movie Rango

Two lines lingered with me in the movie Rango we just watched. 

• It is the deeds that make a man.
• You can’t walk out of your own story. 

In Rango, a pet lizard was let out of its cage by accident on a dangerous freeway in the desert (looking very much like the freeway running between Southern CA and Las Vegas). His high tales encouraged by the booze in a creature town thirsty for water and his accidental killing of a much feared hawk made him the official sheriff of that despairing town. Then the adventures began with details identical to a typical Western where heroes are made by saving the people from pending threats after overcoming many obstacles and dangers. In the case of Rango, it was the search for water and the exposure of the mayor's evil plan that made Rango. The only difference is that in Rango, humans were substituted with all sorts of desert creatures. But the metaphor remains. 

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We cannot walk out of our own stories no matter how bad that story is. Often times when times are harsh, we wish it were a dream or it were someone else’s story in making. Little would we be willing to stick it through. Eventually we would come out of it but not because we wanted, rather because we had no other recourse. 

Our stories define who we are and who we are defines our stories. There is no escape and neither are there exceptions.