"You Are The Pan"

Tonight's post was supposed to be the next chapter in Rodger's Craft Brew Caper, but a higher calling has been made. 

For those of you who do not yet know, I regret to say that the world has lost a brilliant actor, comedian and human being. Mr. Robin Williams passed away today.

The beloved man has made the world laugh with his incredible wit and humor. He warmed our hearts in roles like Andrew Martin in Bicentennial Man, Patch Adams, and the Genie. He brought hope and comfort to countless through his charity work, raising funds and awareness for a wide variety of causes. Whether it was laughing with him while suffering from hot flashes on his first day as a woman in Mrs. Doubtfire or bending over in stitches from his stand up, he could always brighten even the darkest of days. 

In honor of this great man, I would like to share what role of his stands out most to me and how influential he has been and will continue to be for me. 

Ever since I was a young child, my favorite movie is Hook, with Dustin Hoffman as the "scary ol'" Captain James Hook, the elegant Maggie Smith as Wendy, and Robin Williams as Peter. The story is about the same three Sir Barrie characters we know and love years after Peter left Neverland. He has children, a wife, a career, but most importantly, he has grown up, a fate he swore against as the proud youth leader of the lost boys. And though his memories of mermaids, Indians and pirates were stolen by the tides of time, Hook is not about to let their quarrel die. 

If you haven't seen this movie, do. It is the greatest demonstration of how important it is for one to find their inner child and to live and to love purely and wholly. Robin Williams' portrayal of a man bound by professional expectation, turned back into a little boy who only wants to have fun, has left some of the most impressionable lessons in my life.

We become so consumed by work and material nonsense that the finer things in life, like the laughter of our loved ones and the beauty of the world around us disappear. The transition of Peter's perspective in Hook is portrayed so beautifully by Robin Williams. You truly believe in this man's metamorphosis and it infects your soul. I often think of the scene that I have included here, it's power and it's message of finding one's spirit and setting it free: 

Thank you so much Mr. Williams for your unbelievable contribution of laughter to us all. Thank you for the words and portrayal of a character that has helped to carry me through the more weighty of times.

God bless you Mr. Williams. May you find peace and may it be as grand and as wonderful as Neverland. You are and always will be the Pan. 

Your humble author,

S. Faxon