THE PENNY PUB
The 007 of the Family
The James Bond tradition
I love traditions. They act like glue that helps families and friends stick together. Traditions, simple or profound, big or small matter — even the more somber ones — like us visiting our ancestral graves on occasions like Eid. But today, I will share a simple and cheerful tradition that I enjoy with my dad, the James Bond of our family.
Thank you, Kim Kelly Stamp for inspiring me to share my family tradition via the Penny Pub Prompt.
My dad is a big James Bond fan — we were told that during his younger days, he would try to dress up and talk like Sean Connery — the original James Bond of Hollywood. I am sure my father was not alone, and many people around the globe adopted Connery’s James Bond style and image.
Growing up in the eighties, my siblings and I huddled in front of our old television set every Saturday morning. My dad would rent a Videotape of one of Sean Connery’s James Bond movies from the local Video store. We were glued to the TV the entire time — munching snacks. We watched and re-watched almost all of Sean Connery’s James Bond movies.
Once the movie was finished, we would reenact some of our favorite parts from the movie. During the reenactments, our dad always played the James Bond.
Was it appropriate for kids our age to watch those movies — probably not! Looking back, smoking, alcohol consumption, violence, and, of course, sex were not exactly child-friendly viewing. But it helped us bond.
Since the TV did not have a remote, Dad would issue shrill instructions like cover your eyes, earmuffs, etc., from time to time. I once tried my hands at ‘cover your eyes instructions’ with my kids — all I got were quizzical looks.
My dad worshipped Sean Connery and never acknowledged Roger Moore as James Bond. All that changed when Timothy Dalton came along, and we began watching some of Roger Moore’s classics like “The Man with the Golden Gun” and “For Your Eyes Only”.
The videotapes were replaced by DVDs but our tradition stood the test of time. Eventually, we grew up and most of us moved out to pursue education and our careers. But the tradition of watching a James Bond movie continued. Each time we were at our parents’ house, we would watch it with our dad, followed by the reenactment. Experiencing this every time brought my inner child to the fore and helped us bond as a family.
Unfortunately, I have not kept this tradition alive with my kids. The times have changed and activities that were okay for the kids to indulge in the eighties aren’t considered appropriate nowadays. I guess, I need to find a similar tradition that blends with our modern-day social standards.
My dad has grown old, but the James Bond inside him hasn’t. Last month he visited us at our house, and guess what we did after the kids went to bed. You guessed it right! We watched another Sean Connery’s classic James Bond movie for the umpteenth time. It was equally satisfying.
I enjoyed reading responses to the Penny16 Prompt by Kageno and Jennifer Nelson.
