“Like most men who never knew their father, Bill collected father figures.”
A line from Kill Bill, Volume 2. That line struck me when I first heard it because I remember reading that Tarantino was raised by his mom. As someone who’s never seen even a picture of his father, I think the line may have resonated with me even more.
I don’t know if I’ve really “collected” father figures, but there are some guys that I grew to look up to and I can’t see any harm in acknowledging them for helping me to acquire an appreciation for other people, an appreciation for knowledge, and for giving me profound things to strive for. So, thanks to François Truffaut, Roger Ebert, and Carl Sagan.

I think of these guys and I think of Kurosawa’s great Ikiru which implores us to leave something worthwhile behind. Amiri Baraka also sums it beautifully in Bulworth: Be a spirit, not a ghost.

Here’s to some of my favorite spirits.