"I can do nothing for you son"

I saw True Grit when I was a little girl. My parents took me to a drive-in, somewhere in Queens. I remember the movie somewhat, but mostly what I remember was that I could not take John Wayne seriously. I could not take his eyepatch seriously. I could not take the fact that he didn’t punch Kim Darby straightaway seriously. But mostly I could not take him seriously because his sidekick was Glen Campbell. At that time, Glen Campbell had his own show--the “Good Times Twangy Happy White Guys Hour” or something like that--which I had seen on TV and thought was ridiculous even at the tender age of six. (Now if John Wayne had taken along Tom Jones instead--who helmed the "Tom Jones Sexy Welsh Man Hour," which I thought was sexy even at six--I might have felt differently.) Little did I know that more than thirty years later, Twangy Glen would transform into Angry Drunk Mugshot Glen, who definitely would have made a great partner for any US Marshall looking to shoot people. But back then, there was only twangy young Glen and grizzled old John Wayne, already seeming to be something of a parody of himself (which I sensed before I understood the word “parody”).

I was not crazy about the film. So why am I so fascinated by the trailers for the remake? When the trailer comes on I perk up, and stare, and I don’t think Jeff Bridges looks silly at all, even when I ruminate on his mini-performance in the True Grit trailer during commercials for Tron.

Then I realized why I’m so drawn to that trailer. It’s that scene where Rooster Cogburn is staring down at a man that from what I can tell seems to be dying. I don’t remember the story well enough, but from the trailer it seems obvious the man’s fate is of his own making. You can tell by the look in Rooster’s eyes. And even though the dying man has done it to himself somehow, he wants Rooster’s help.

At this time of year, I too stare down desperate people caught in fates of their own making that want my help.

can i not have a point to pass i tried really hard on that final

I tried very hard at the beginning and super hard on the final paper. I have been very sick with kidney stones and then I was seeing a counselor on campus for depression. I will lose my grants and scholarships.

I see that trailer and I am one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, watching that man on the ground, and what comes out of his mouth is the same thing that comes out of mine.

(Except, you know, without the blood and death and everything. I mean, I am only an English professor after all.)