second chances

If anyone needed a second chance, Tobias Schneebaum did.
In 1955, when he was thirty-three years old, he ate human flesh.
The act so unsettled him that he left the people he knew and the place he had been living, abruptly, with no farewells to anyone, not even to his lover.
Fourteen years later, he wrote a book about his adventures in that land. No one was really interested in his art. No one was really interested in his cultural studies of the indigenous folk.
Everyone wanted to talk to him about his one instance of cannabalism.
The year the book was published was 1969.
Everyone wanted to show the works of the "cannibal artist", of course.
I can only imagine how tiresome and grating it must have been for him, to have everyone forever concentrating on the one thing he most regretted.

Tonight, I had a rare opportunity to view this man's second chance.
Forty-four years had elapsed since he had last been in Peru. Forty-four years had passed since he had last seen any of the Harakmbut people.
The year, then, was 1999 and Tobias was 77 years old.
"Keep The River On Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale" was a documentary shot primarily to record his reactions to again being in Peru and with these people he had left behind and left out of his life.
Now, the land was becoming a nature preserve. The tribes wore Western attire and were settled in the communal reserve named for their specific tribe, the Amarakaeri.
Those changes were a big surprise to Tobias.
A bigger surprise, though, was how much they welcomed him. Even his old lover welcomed him with open arms and genuine kisses, as if only a few days had passed and not more than four decades.
Tobias was obviously so relieved to have not left harsh feelings behind.
This time when he left, there were loving hugs all around.
I'm sure he died quite peacefully in 2005, four years after this film was released.
I'm glad he had this opportunity to make things right.
i thank You, God, that I have been granted like opportunities.

My thanks to Jim Reed, the LGBT Center, and the "Look Back" film series.
I look forward (get the joke?) to more films about second chances.
Now, though, I've just returned home from pizza at Spanky's with Carolyn.
Time for sleep, y'all.