“The worst part about being old is remembering when you were young”  – Alvin Straight.

.Yesterday I sang the praises of James Joyce’s short story The Dead which contains the affirmation that it is “better pass boldly into the other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age”.

This truth of this sentiment is enacted in David Lynch’s unique road movie The Straight Story which he made in 1999 and which I have just watched for a second time.

It is based on the true story of Alvin Straight (1920 – 1996) who, being unable to drive, decided to travel 390 km (240 miles) from Iowa to Wisconsin on a lawn tractor to see his estranged brother, Lyle, who he learns has suffered a stroke.

This is more than the extravagant fulfilment of a family obligation; Alvin, aged 73 and in a poor state of health, also wanted to prove to himself that he was capable of meeting such a challenge – “I want to finish the way I started” he says after refusing to accept a lift for the last stage of the journey from a kindly stranger. Continue reading →