The Time Of My Life
Recently my wife and I went to the theater to see Dirty Dancing. It was part of a Sunday Night throw-back series and, yes, it threw me back with wonderful memories. I saw this classic when it was first released in 1987.
My wife was in Seventh Heaven, a term that we borrow from the Islamic and Judaism doctrine which refers to the highest of Heavens, a place of extreme joy. Yep, she was there. I mean, we are talking about Patrick Swayze…dancing in tight pants, and other fun romantic stuff.
I did enjoy the movie on the big screen with all of the movie going trappings including my box of Raisinets which I tell myself is fruit. I enjoy every chocolate covered raisin one at a time. Lasts almost the entire movie. My friends, that is what I call savoring.
As I was leaving the theatre, still buzzing from my sugar high, I had a few thoughts about the movie. Thoughts that were different from my first viewing experience 37 years ago. And they involve the final climactic scene that we all know and love. I will give you a moment.
OK, let’s discuss.
The scene starts with Johnny (Swayze) making his triumphant return, marching over to Baby (Jennifer Grey) and her family to deliver the famous line “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.” Well, my observation, Baby really wasn’t in the corner but against the wall, and the accusation kinda came from left field. A feeling shared by Swayze who, during filming, refused to say the line because he thought it sounded “too corny”. He was convinced to try it and the rest, as they say, is history. It became the most quoted line from the movie and the #1 most memorable movie lines of all time according to Buzzfeed.(ranked differently by other sites)
As it turns out it wasn’t the geography but the metaphor that mattered (the corner thing), which some of my literary friends may have picked up on, but came to me 37 years later after multiple viewings. Nobody puts Baby in the corner really meant “no one with talent should be stopped from expressing it.” A broader interpretation might be that people should not let circumstances stop them from living their best life possible.
During Swayze’s struggle with cancer, he used a variation of the line in his book. When asked how he was doing, he often responded by saying “ nobody puts Patrick’s pancreas in the corner”. He was living his best life possible given his circumstances. Cancer took him from us in 2009. We still have the line.
The second thought I had came from the finale song (I had) “The Time of My Life”. As the song played and they danced, I thought this is what the “time of my life” should mean. No, not dancing, at least not for me, but enjoying people and experiences. All of the happiness research in the world would agree. The song and movie helped me feel it.
There is a line from the song that kinda bugs me. Please don’t tell my wife the heresy I am about to share. The line “and I owe it all to you” reminds me of the hedonistic treadmill we often jump on looking for others to bring happiness into our lives. OK, call the romance police on me, I would not blame you. I prefer the Dali Lama’s explanation of Joy when he says it can be found within us “a healthy body and a warm heart”. Maybe I had too much chocolate.
There was another line in the song that did hit home for me, at this time in my life - “Cause we seem to understand the urgency”. In his book “Four Thousand Weeks,” Oliver Burkerman reminds us that the average life span is 4000 weeks long. Urgency.
I enjoyed the movie, again for the nth time. I think at this time in my life some perspective has changed. I still love the memories and the romance, but other life elements have expanded my point of view. Maybe the same for you.
Let’s sit back, watch Baby run down the aisle and jump into Johnny’s lift as we hear the (slightly modified) words -
I’ve had the time of my life.
…Yes I swear that it’s the truth
…Cause we seem to understand the urgency
And I owe it all to you…and me.
Enjoy your day,
Just a little extra-
The film Dirty Dancing is loosely based on the screenwriter, Eleanor Bergstein’s own childhood. She is the younger daughter of a New York physician, spent summers in the Catskills where she dirty danced and yes her nickname was “Baby”. Maybe not so loosely.
For filming they could not find a suitable location in the Catskills as many of the family resorts had closed by the 80’s (sad.) They instead filmed in Lake Lune, NC and The Mountain Lake Hotel near Pembroke VA. Yes, they found the imaginary Kellerman’s.
The Mountain Lake Resort is still open and hosts Dirty Dancing weekends throughout the summer. You can tour the 11 filming locations, see the site of the lift, sleep in Baby’s cabin and, of course, do some dirty dancing. Check out the website for more information -
https://www.mtnlakelodge.com/
Yes, enjoy your day, and I hope you all have -
”The time of your life”
References
Gallagher, Caitin. August 21, 2017. Why This Dirty Dancing Line is Much More… Bustle
Eames, Tom. September 12, 2019. Why Patrick Swayze hated “Nobody Puts Baby in The Corner” line. Smooth Radio
The movie- Dirty Dancing