You've Got Mail

               Late last night I flipped through the television channels and came across the movie You’ve Got Mail.  Even though I have the DVD, and I should really have been heading to bed, I felt the need to stop and watch.  This movie is simple and endearing, making it very difficult to resist.  It also helps that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan make such a great on-screen couple.

                In the movie, Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) runs a children’s bookstore, the same shop her mother ran.  Kathleen’s rival is Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) who is part of the family business, a large chain bookstore.  Unbeknownst to them, Kathleen and Joe are pen pals over the computer.  Through e-mail, they get along beautifully, neither knowing many personal details about the other.  In person, things do not run quite as smoothly, especially with Joe’s store taking over the neighborhood.  Joe does eventually discover that Kathleen is his internet friend.  At first he is not too thrilled, but when he figures out he loves Kathleen, he does whatever he can to be a part of her life.

                As wonderful this movie is, watching Kathleen struggle to keep her shop open is very sad.  This may hit me harder than it did before since my favorite bookstore closed a few years ago.  I still miss it and sometimes forget it is gone.  Then there was the children’s bookstore I used to visit so long ago, which I have very fond memories of.  This, however, brings up a point mentioned in the movie.  While change can be scary, it can be good too and lead you down a path you never expected.