OMG- He's Gotten to Me

Picture this:

Sean & I are watching a movie. Maybe it's a military flick, maybe not. An actor, dressed in military garb, is on the screen. Suddenly, Sean sits up, and comments about how the person is wearing his cover (That's a hat) wrong. Maybe it's not his cover. Maybe it's the wrong uniform for the time of year or place. Maybe a woman is wearing something from a man's uniform. Maybe it's the salute, or lack of one. The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on.

Now: picture this:

I am at my parents' home. My parents, brother, and I are watching "The Sand Pebbles." It's a Steve McQueen military movie from 1966. It has a great cast. It also makes a some mistakes. At the start of the film, Steve McQueen, who received an Oscar nod for his role as Jake Holman in this movie, gets off a small boat in China. He picks up his seabag in his right hand and walks up to three other sailors, senior officers. There is no salute. His right hand is occupied. He speaks with them; then goes on, his seabag now on his right shoulder. From the very beginning my mind was focused on that damn seabag. "IT'S IN HIS RIGHT HAND!!!" is all that occupied my mind. A sailor would never carry anything in his or her right hand. No military member would. The right hand, and right shoulder, must be free for saluting. Sean points these things out all the time. I kept my mouth shut, rather than burdening my family with this insanity. But in my mind, this has made me crazy. It lingers, refusing to leave. Why? Why do I care. This is the role that got Steve McQueen his only Oscar nod. The director, Robert Wise, held annual parties to celebrate the film. It's a great film, but the thing stuck in my head is that stupid seabag.

I blame Sean. After 23+ years of knowing Sean, he's gotten to me.