#The Great Outdoors

[thewhimsyturtle]

It's that time of year for leaves crunching under STOMPs! 🍂🐢🔊

🔊 Turn up your volume to hear all the crunch STOMPs!

[whereifindsanity]

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Nathanael Billings

[skylargirl888]

A weekend spent in the wilderness 🍁🏕️ Happy November 🍂

[coolthingsguyslike]

[tyrhinosaurus]

First time in ages taking the spinning wheel away from home. This afternoon sunshine is filling my soul with peace.

Three different families have come asking what I'm up to, it's so much fun answering all their questions!

[chefkids]

Wondering if you have any thoughts on the symbolism of “our mother of victory” line between the siblings. Not sure if it has any meaning behind just reflecting their (probably) catholic upbringing, but I don’t trust anything in this show to not have further meaning so wondering what smarter minds out there mean…

Our Mother of Victory, Pray for Us

The root of this is in the saying Our Lady of Victory, Pray for Us, which comes from a battle that the Catholics won against the Ottoman Turks. It is often used as a prayer before big event, Notre Dame football team says it before football games for good luck. Adding mother instead of Lady places their mother, Donna, in comparison to a literal Saint, the Virgin Mary. Which is ironic and part of their inside joke because as we know she is far from a Saint.

But I actually think this is a reference to a John Hughes movie called The Great Outdoors, a movie about bear attacks believe it or not. In the opening scene the say Our Lady of Victory, Pray for Us.

We already know Chris Storer has said Hughes movies are a big source of inspiration, specifically in season 2. He included songs from movies like Pretty in Pink, National Lampoons Vacation, and he even gave Kevin McCalliper McCallister from Home Alone a shout out.

Yes. Even more Bears and Fish. So bear with me.

The Great Outdoors is about a family from Chicago that goes on a trip to a cabin and the mother's sister and her husband, who they don't really get along with, invite themselves on the trip. At the start of the movie the dad tells them all a scary story about a man eating bear that he saw through the window and shot at but is still on the loose.

The Bear also starts off with a man going face to face with a bear. The bulk of the movie is about the two families not getting along, but by the end of it, the mythological bear appears and chases them into their cabin and attacks them, but they end up scaring it away and then they all get along and things work out between them.

The first Bear attack after their prayer was with Mikey and Donna

The second Bear attack was with Carmy

But this time, they were actually victorious. Because of Sydney. She managed to get the Bear away from them so they could keep going.

She is their miracle. Right before Sydney ever appeared there was a Virgin Mary figure. Sydney is always portrayed like Mary with light behind her, even with her hair always covered and in blue and white. Mikey is viewed as a Jesus like figure, he died so that they could all fix their sins and the restaurant. He is this ghostly figure whose memory is everywhere. Sydney and Mikey tied together, and she is the one that takes on his last words. Let it rip.

Carmy views Syd as a miracle, he could barely even look at her when he said it. Finding the money in the tomato cans was a miracle, it allowed her to come back and be with him. Her coming to work for him in the first place was a miracle, she came in at the perfect time when he needed her the most. Their Mother of Victory was not their mother at all, but Sydney.

[pamietniko]

Sol Duc River

Olympic National Park, Washington

[thewhimsyturtle]

STOMPing away from this terrible awful week and into the weekend! 🍂🐢

✨ Check back tomorrow for more STOMPs! 👀

[whereifindsanity]

[frostymossgoblin]

Forest sunbeams, Gloucestershire

[theflyfishingartist]

Seen some amazing big bulls today. Colorado wildlife!

[transparentdreamruins]

Sam Heughan & The Great Outdoors.

[thebohemianloner]

Bear Creek Falls • Wilkes Barre, PA

[yourwizardofaus]

John Candy and Dan Aykroyd together on the set of The Great Outdoors in 1987.

[pamietniko]

National Elk Refuge

Jackson, Wyoming

[thewhimsyturtle]

Finally, weather warm enough for me to STOMP outside!! Mom said I couldn't stay outside for long because it's not that warm yet, so my patio STOMPs were brief—but mighty!