Letter of Recommendation? Jonathan Livingston Seagull

I may have been Neil Diamond’s youngest fan. “Song Sung Blue” was my favorite commuting song when we drove to Pre-K at Sunset Mesa when I was 5. And I’m pretty sure it was a combination of Neil Diamond’s soundtrack, seagulls, and the name Jonathan that got me into Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

From there it gets murkier. The movie came out in 1973, and there’s no chance I saw it and remembered it when I was 2. So, I must have seen it later. I have a memory of begging my parents to take me to see it in the theater, but that may be manufactured. Or they showed it at the dollar theater in Albuquerque in like 1978 or something? Or I rented it on VHS when it came out? Unclear.

I’m also reasonably sure that I was the only person who liked the movie. It got horrible reviews, all laden with bird puns (e.g., “this one’s for the birds!”). It was based on a super-philosophical novella by Richard Bach about a young seagull who breaks the flight speed barrier and gets cast out of his flock, only to find a new tribe of like-minded rebels. Super cliché, but I didn’t know that word meant at the ripe old age of 7 or whatever. And I saw a lot of myself in Jonathan, naturally. Besides, King David’s best friend Jonathan was my favorite Bible character. I also fell for the movie’s gorgeous oceanic cinematography, the soundtrack, and the seagulls, which I was smitten with at least until I got bit by one trying to steal my French Fries in California when I was 14. I had a pewter seagull pendant (still have it). I even drew a seagull cartoon character for a while named Quincy. He wore Converse. My mom loved him. Let me see if I can find a picture of him. Huh: here’s a sampler on the back of an old spiral notebook from mid school. Not my best work, but I don’t know where the good ones are–maybe my mom has them? Anyway, you get the idea:

It’s strange to have such strong positive feelings about a movie that I have so few definite memories of actually seeing, and which I’m relatively confident is not actually any good. At any rate, you can decide for yourself by renting the movie on YouTube, or listening to the audiobook read by Richard Harris (probably a smarter bet), or listening to Neil Diamond play the soundtrack live (definitely recommended). Tell ’em Quincy sent you.