forever harold

Recently, outside of an old arthouse cinema in Los Angeles, I spotted Bud Cort’s hand prints. He’s surely had a varied creative career but, to me, he will forever be Harold, the misfit teenager who falls in love with life by falling in love with Maude.

I remember my Mom taking me to see Harold & Maude in an arthouse cinema when I was a kid. I was reintroduced to it at age 15 by a new high school friend. The movie and the music felt profound to me, certainly more profound than anything I was watching on television at the time.

Last year, I introduced my teenage friends to the movie during an overnight visit to my apartment. It was like passing along a treasure, initiating them in an experience. They were both quite moved by it, too.

One day, I hope my young friends watch it with people who aren’t even born yet. A story about a guy falling in love with life has to keep being shared, don’t ya think?