Rest in peace, Arvin

By the time this column gets published, most likely the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, won’t be in cinemas anymore. I saw the movie just two weeks ago, but since it’s not Iron Man or any Hollywood blockbuster, I’m assuming that our local cinemas are now prepping for Valentine’s.

Yes, I’m in the mood for some Valentine movie, too! Can’t wait for Toni Gonzaga and Piolo Pascual’s Starting Over Again, which premieres on Feb. 12. Seeing the trailer gives me the goose bumps! But, I’ll have to reserve my thoughts on the movie until after I’ve actually seen it. For now, allow me to persuade you a bit into watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. 

Since the movie stars (and is directed by) Ben Stiller, I expected The Secret Life of Walter Mitty to be a riot to watch  —  like his Something About Mary with Cameron Diaz, where every scene was just plain hilarious!

Stiller’s latest movie is also funny, but it is also quite insightful. Mitty, played by Stiller, works as a negative custodian in Life Magazine. Mitty lives a rather predictable life. He has a desk job at the basement of the building. No love and no risks. 

Indeed, compared to the photos in their archives, Mitty’s life is uneventful. But his imagination is something else. Mitty often zones out into different adventures and scenes where he becomes either a hero or a knight in shining armor.

Until one day, he gets to live out his own adventure, diving into the ocean, being attacked by a shark and climbing the Himalayas looking for a missing negative — Negative 25.

In the end, Life Magazine’s motto, â€œTo see things thousands of miles away, things hidden behind walls and within rooms, things dangerous to come to, to draw closer, to see and be amazed,” becomes his reality. 

***

Arvin. I called him Arvin because I felt awkward calling him Tado. He was a photographer, apart from being a comedian. That much I knew about him. We weren’t close, but like everyone else, I was shocked to hear about his sudden passing.

I only came to know more about Tado through his Instagram account @tadojimenez and the posts of his friends in social media.

Apparently, Tado was on his way to the Mountain Province for his project 40 Mountains, when the Florida Bus he was on fell into a ravine last Feb 7. Tado was also an advocate for the environment and tweeted about Greenpeace. 

I paused when I saw a photo on his Instagram account that was taken in Roxas, Capiz. It was posted a week before his death. It read:

Save the earth 

Catch a wave

Make New Friends

Fall in Love

Try something new 

Discover what matters

Never look back 

Laugh some more 

I’d like to believe that this photo best describes Arvin’s life: Every moment well-lived. Nothing wasted. Carpe Diem. 

Rest in peace, Arvin. 

(E-mail me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @bernadette_ABS.)