There’s a scene in the Lost Boys (awesome vampire movie, circa 1987) where one of the characters wakes up floating with his face pressed to the ceiling. One might think this sudden awareness that he can fly would inspire exhilaration, however, his reaction is to panic and somehow he ends up out the window, clinging desperately to the telephone cord (fortunately cordless phones weren’t totally in vogue yet) to keep from … well, we don’t really know what would have happened if he’d let go. He floats past his brother’s window and begs him to let him in, to help him. His brother is hesitant for what might be obvious reasons (vampire stuff) but when asked, ‘if you’re not a vampire, what are you?’ the response is, I’m your brother.

This is a classic example of how grasping at things in a panic (telephones for example) in order to stay connected might seem reasonable, but it’s not an ideal long term solution. What keeps us grounded? Someone who loves us enough to reach out and haul us in from the cold.

I honestly thought this was going to be about tether ball (which I was pretty damn good at in the 80s), or kites or even hot air balloons (how do they steer? who thought driving a wicker basket with flammable gas and fire was a good idea?) but sometimes 80s vampire movies are a damn fine source of practical and moderately applicable life lessons too.