Saving Ferris

I found out a couple of days ago my 16-year-old cousin had never watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off. 

Dude. What are they TEACHING these kids nowadays??? He'd never even heard of it! Nor had he heard of Breakfast Club! I suddenly realized there must be thousands of teenagers out there who have no idea who John Hughes was! (May his soul rest in peace) How's that even possible?

So, I told him he was gonna download the movie for us to watch - and so he did. And there was no better way to start 2011!

(Not to mention that someone had to teach my poor cousin how to skip school.)

Ferris has got to be the most adorable rogue ever. He decides to ditch school (which, honestly, is a lesser evil, specially when you're just about to graduage), lies to his more than caring and trusting parents, lies to a schoolful of people, getting them all worried about his health, "steals" his best friend's father's beloved car - and almost drives said best friend into complete insanity in the process - lies about who he is and threatens a maitre d' into getting them a table, and disturbs half the neighborhood in his attempt to get home before his sister.

And yet, you can't help but love him.

He's adored by everyone; even his ever spiteful sister bends to his charm in the end - even if it is rather the work of Charlie Sheen's charm at the police station!

What is it about the Ferris Bueller's of the world?

If you're not Ferris, you need to be friends with one. I knew one while growing up - still do, actually. He remains one of my best friends to this day, and calls me"sister". He was the boy next door, and I'd be way too boring a person if it weren't for him.

Everyone in the neighborhood loved him - except, of course, for the Ed Rooneys and Jean Buellers of life, who couldn't come to terms with the fact that he is likeable the way they'll never be; that people are drawn to him and naturally follow him; that he is one of the few who know how to truly appreciate what life gives you.
And when he got into into my school, everyone loved him as well (that kinda made me cool by association, by the way), including teachers and janitors, and doormen and the cafeteria ladies. He just has something that no one can resist.

My Ferris Bueller taught me how to climb trees, ride a skateboard, play volleyball and cards; he showed me how to better read people, and how not to take shit from anyone; he introduced me to rock n' roll, and cried when I moved out of town.

But most importantly, he was the first one to ever tell me to loosen up. 

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

When you do remember to look around and loosen up, you become a whole different person.

Yeah, it's important not to ditch school, and it's not nice to lie to people who care about you. But it is important to stop and look around, to live it up. Sometimes, we need to take that Ferrari out of the garage. We need to say we're Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago, and stick to it no matter what! We should sing in the shower, and we should go to a museum and see priceless works of art.

Otherwise, we might end up being the hypochondriac guy, stuck in the bedroom, afraid of life itself. The "young man who doesn't think he's seen anything good today ".

Or much worse: you could end up being the guy making the roll call - "Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?..." - and lecturing about boring stuff to uninterested students - "Anyone?... Anyone?...".

So my advice for 2011, and for the years to come: even if you don't know what you're gonna do with your life, just take part in that parade, grab the mike and sing "Twist and Shout" as loud as you can. Odds are everyone will burst into song with ya!

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("You're still here? It's over. Go home. Go.")