Yesterday, I watched Forrest Gump. Again. I swear I’ve seen this movie a dozen times. No car chases, no machine guns, no wild action sequences. Just a sentimental story about a man (Tom Hanks won an Oscar for his performance) who has a low IQ but whose innate goodness more than makes up for it.

He goes through life somehow managing to be present at some of the world’s most famous historical events, while on a personal front, he’s close to his mother (Sally Field) and never forgets the love of his life, Jenny (Robin Wright Penn.)

We still use some of Forrest’s sayings in our house. One of our favorites – “stupid is as stupid does.”

A few years ago, I was in New Orleans for a conference. We ate dinner at Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Factory and chose a seafood sampler, listed on the menu as “a bucket of boat trash.”

The tables had Forrest’s quotes burned into the wood. Some of the menu was on cardboard ping-pong paddles.
If we needed a waitress, we changed the license plate on the table that said “Run, Forrest, run” to “Stop, Forrest, stop!”

Sally Field’s (Mrs. Gump’s) dress was on display in a glass case, pages of the original script were framed on the walls. Memorabilia everywhere. Such a fun place to eat.

I hear there are quite a few Bubba Gump’s around the country. Have you eaten at Bubba Gump’s in New Orleans, or in any of the others? And are you one of the few who have never seen the movie?