Memory 23

Of all the fictional men I've loved, Gilbert Blythe will always be the first and longest running.

For those of you that weren't homeschooled in the 1980s and 90s Gilbert Blythe was Anne Shirley's best chum in the 1980s Canadian adaptation of L.M Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series.

I cannot tell you how many sleep overs were had to binge watch both Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel. With a combined running time of just over 7 hours these movies made the perfect marathon sleep over movie (along with the BBC Pride and Prejudice, a running time just under 6 hours, with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy...swoon) 

I was not prepared to be so heartbroken when I heard the news of Jonathan Crombie's death. And yet it really did feel as if an old friend had passed. I immedietly dug up copies and recreated my old binge watching. 

One article, "Why We Loved Gilbert Blythe" by Sarah Larson perfectly describes my ache. She says, "The “Anne” series let us dream about adolescence while holding on to childhood. The world of Avonlea—Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, the apple blossoms and the knickers and caps, dance cards, hay rides, Gilbert’s patient and steadfast heart—was gentler than what we might have imagined about adolescence. It wasn’t “The Breakfast Club,” and that was, on some secret level, very exciting—a last moment of being able to enjoy gentler childhood ideals. “Anne of Green Gables” appealed to those impulses without condescending to us. It wasn’t exactly cool. It had no edge. You didn’t want to race into school and announce that you were obsessed with “Anne of Green Gables.” But, to your bosom friend, you could discuss its many joys to your heart’s content."

What is one movie from your childhood you still watch today?