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Goodbyes are not Forever

A friend told me once that he didn't believe in saying goodbye, only in saying "until next time" or "see you later." I thought of my friend today as I watched "The Goodbye Girl," a 1977 Oscar-winning romantic comedy about two roomates who fail to resist the temptation to fall in love. It was not the content of the film that struck a mental chord of remembrance, but really the ending itself.

Eliot is leaving Paula for the opportunity to do a film on the West coast. Having been dumped many times before, Paula suspects that he will never come back while he insists that he will return. And he does. After his flight is delayed, he takes a cab back to their shared apartment to reemphasize to her again that he will come back. He also asks that she come with him. Paula knows she cannot leave. She has a job and a ten year old daughter to consider. But she exclaims that she is elated only that he asked her at all.

In this final scene, Paula stands outside her fire escape in the pouring raing hugging Eliot's beloved guitar and proclaiming to Eliot, who is outside, standing by his cab, that she's crazy about him. He has left his most valuable possession with Paula, this woman he loved. And Paula realizes that Eliot would come back for her, her daughter, and his guitar. She realizes that "Goodbyes are not forever."

Like my friend, I no longer believe in saying goodbye. People enter and exit at appropriate and inappropriate times, but there presence never fully exits.

Comments

  1. Sadia7/16/2005

    I feel like my friend's not saying goodbye only makes me miss him more. Uf.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7/16/2005

    HabibiSalamAlykm: u may have one of the most interesting blogs ive ever read
    AZi93: post that!
    AZi93: that has inflated my heart

    Love you! ~Deeps

    ReplyDelete

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