Field of Dreams

This is the movie starring Kevin Costner which is based on the novel Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. Costner's character builds a beautiful baseball field in the middle of his corn field and while most people consider him crazy, it becomes a very cathartic experience which makes many extraordinary dreams come true. It is a magical story and it has always held a special place in my heart for this reason as well as its connection to baseball. Here is the original trailer for Field of Dreams...

Field of Dreams has been included on my Best Baseball Movies list as well as my very popular Best Inspirational Speeches from 80s Movies list. Be sure to check out both of those if you have not before. They both include a link to watch my favorite scene from the movie when James Earl Jones delivers an outstanding monologue. When I visited the film site, I stood in the exact place that Jones made that speech and it gave me goosebumps just thinking about it.

The Field of Dreams movie site is located in Dyersville, Iowa. When Costner's character says in the film when asked by Shoeless Joe Jackson, "Is this heaven?" he responds, "No, it's Iowa." Click on that link to go to the website for the location which does not look much different than it did back in 1988 when filming took place. I personally enjoyed my stop there very much. I have included a couple pictures from my visit here. One is of the house and the bleachers that you should immediately recognize if you have seen the movie. The second is of me and a friend "having a catch" right there on the field. Since my visit was in late May, the corn is only ankle high so it does have quite the same effect it did in the movie. I think I will go back again in late July when the corn is taller to get the full effect.

I definitely recommend watching the movie again if you haven't seen it in a little while or never at all. I also highly recommend any fans of the movie to make the trip to Dyersville, Iowa to visit the place where so many of the scenes were filmed.

That's all I have for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: This is kind of amusing. Grab a calculator and follow the directions below. This quick procedure will calculate your age by how many times you think about Kickin' it Old School. It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read. Be sure you don't scroll to the bottom until you've worked it out!

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you think of Kickin' it Old School (keep it less than 10, though I am sure many of you would like to choose a number over 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759, if you haven't, add 1758.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should now have a three digit number (unless you chose zero, then just put a 0 in front of the two digit number you get).

The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times
you think about Kickin' it Old School each week.)

The next two numbers are...

YOUR AGE! ------ (Oh YES, it is!)

This is the only year (2009) it will ever work,

So try it out on others while you still can this year.

Quote of the day: "If you believe the impossible, the incredible can come true." -tagline from Field of Dreams (1989)