What is mine to do?

Educate myself

I watched this powerful movie yesterday, a true story that feels like a documentary, except that we see into this young Harvard graduate's heart and his passion for justice.  It follows this brand-new lawyer as he defends a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence.  Johnny Lee (played by Jamie Foxx) was convicted of the murder of Rhonda Morrison.  The conviction was based on perjured testimony.  Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan) has come to this Southern town to defend the poor and bring justice to death row cases.  He believes Johnny Lee is innocent and attempts to get his conviction overturned.

Usually, I choose to read the book rather than watch a movie.  But yesterday, someone posted a link on Facebook to the article Warner Bros. Offers Free 'Just Mercy' Rentals to Help Educate on Systemic Racism.  A free movie?  The subtitle of the article says, "The 2019 legal drama stars Michael B. Jordan as Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson."  I found information about it on Wikipedia.  Wow!  This is a brand-new movie that opened in theaters at Christmas, a mere five months ago!  Look at the accolades for this New York Times bestselling book turned into a movie:

Named one of the most influential books of the decade by CNN • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times • The Washington Post • The Boston Globe • The Seattle Times • Esquire • Time • Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction • Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction • Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award • Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the Kirkus Reviews Prize • An American Library Association Notable Book

The real person, Bryan Stevenson, was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need:  the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system.  One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit.

This may be the best movie I've ever seen.  It's for sure I'll never forget it.  Here's how you can view it for free, too.  I went to Amazon.com, did a search for "Just Mercy movie," signed in, clicked that I wanted to get it, and it was immediately available.  I could watch it immediately, with 48 hours to finish viewing it.  So I closed other "windows" I had open on my laptop and sat down to play it right then.  Warning:  I was in tears several times, so be prepared.

Wear a mask

The Crown Center for Senior Living requires that we wear masks whenever we go outside our apartments.  If we don't, it's is considered a lease violation.  And nobody can enter the buildings without a mask, as signs like this one at every door show.  We have large groups of Russians and Chinese as well as English speakers, so notice it's in three languages.  A new study shows that face masks greatly reduce the risk of getting the coronavirus, so I'm very happy the staff here are enforcing this rule.

Exercise to stay healthy

Have you been exercising?  Here's a 30-minute stretch and mobility workout from Silver Sneakers, if you want to try it.  I haven't done this one yet, but I plan to.