Thanks for all of the posts and sentiments.
I am sending this out this week along with assorted posts from around the forum. This is the cover letter that is going out with the package.
Will there ever be enough words to say thank you? Is there even a word that exists to express the love and gratitude that is felt every day because of this wonderful story? Brokie love, brokie magic, phenomenon, amazing, miracle- these are a small sampling of words and phrases used daily by the brokies at EnnisJack.com. You may think you wrote a story or a screenplay, produced or directed a movie or even gave the most heartfelt portrayals of two now beloved and iconic characters and while that is true, you need to know that what you did was so much more.
Where to begin? All of us (2930 members) read a story and saw a movie that irrevocably changed us. All of us have seen or read things that touched and moved us but nothing hit us in that very deep place or haunted most of our waking moments until Brokeback Mountain. Like minded and now distraught souls were seeking out someone, anyone who could help them with this affliction- post brokeback syndrome (PBS).This affliction became a pandemic-affecting people all over the world 2 hours and 14 minutes at a time. It is an affliction that knows no gender, orientation, race or creed for we are all humans and everyone of us vulnerable to life. We all found an idyllic place up in the mountains, where the bluebirds sing and there’s a whiskey spring. We join around the fire sharing laughter, tears and more importantly love. Someone is always there to lend a shoulder and to always pick you up but never knock you down. No one questions why you’ve seen the movie or read the story so many times or why you still sob each time. We all know why. It is an amazing thing to find the unquestioning love and support that one is sometimes hard pressed to find in “real life”.
We all joined together to try to make sense of why this impacted us so deeply. We are still joined together now in love and friendship, for the brokies are the children of Jack and Ennis. We have found the shards of their broken hearts and together we make them whole again. We are now the keepers of their story as well as their love and we cherish and defend both everyday. Some of us became active in gay rights, others stepped up their efforts for there are still Jack’s and Ennis’ that need a voice. Most of us re-examined our lives because their story is our story whether we be gay or straight. Most of us remember the date that we first came upon the story or saw the movie- how many other movies or stories can make that claim?
It may sound absurd to love something that devastates us so much and to keep going back for more. There is no cure for pbs and no one is seeking one. Why? Because while pbs is chronic and it means feeling their pain, there is, more importantly, the love and support of friends that would have otherwise never have been found. Annie Proulx best summed up our Brokeback family: “They were respectful of each other's opinions, each glad to have a companion where none had been expected.”
On our forum we have a board for discussing the impact that the movie had on us, a board for character and scene discussions, short story discussions, regular chit chat, brokeback speak, articles, poetry fitting for Brokeback as well as numerous others. Attached to this is a small sampling of thoughts that were posted on our forum as well as thoughts from a recent brokie meet and greet in Montreal. This is being sent to you as a way of saying thank you for all you have done, to let you know that without you none of this would ever have been possible. It has been said many times on our forum that we wonder if those involved in the story/ movie truly know the impact that has been made in the lives of so many. Thank you almost seems inadequate but we hope from this small sampling you can get a sense of the love that is felt because of you. You lit that fire for us, a beacon that called us all together and we will always keep it burning.
Thank You.
