Editor’s Note: this blog contains spoilers for the movie Osmosis Jones.

Monday, the 29th of July, was our first truly free day. After class let out at noon, we were free to do anything our hearts desired. Some of us played croquet while the others explored this beautiful manor. I, however, stayed in bed and watched the 2001 classic, Osmosis Jones. You see, I, along with many other Gattons, have somehow contracted Hay Fever. I’m not going to gross you out with the details, so I’ll leave it at this. T’isn’t fun. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the day.

After I watched Osmosis Jones for the first time, I listened to a new album and then ordered dinner. As I was practically glued to my bed, I was sadly unable to explore Grantham or the manor. This has created the lack of content for today’s blog. So, to fill the space, and give you more insight on my day, I will recap the plot of Osmosis Jones.

Osmosis Jones follows Frank, as portrayed by Bill Murray. Frank and his daughter Shane create the frame story of Osmosis Jones. Later in the movie, we find out that Frank’s wife (unnamed) had died from complications stemming unhealthy eating and lack of self-care. We get taken inside Frank’s body and meet Thrax, the movie’s main villain, voiced by Laurence Fishburne. Thrax is a lethal disease that Frank contracted by eating an egg that had been contaminated by simian saliva. As Thrax wreaks havoc and recruits germs, we meet Osmosis Jones, a disgraced cop (a white blood cell) played by Chris Rock. Frank’s body is led by Mayor Phlegm, a corrupted leader that drives Frank to be unhealthy and rude. Jones is the only cop that recognizes Thrax as an actual illness and not just a common cold. Phlegm wants a re-election, so he covers up everything Jones is saying by employing a cold cure pill known as Drixenol (Drix for short). Much to the mayor’s dismay, Jones and Drix end up teaming up against Thrax. Frank dies for a brief second but comes back after Jones defeats Thrax just in time. Truly the comeback of the century.

Jocelyn

Our first field trip day! Where do I begin? We started off the day with a two and a half-hour bus ride out to Chawton to see the Jane Austen House Museum. We saw the house she lived in from 1809 – 1817, which is the same house she wrote and published most of her major works. While in Chawton, we also visited the church that Jane Austen worshipped in. This church is also where many of her family members were buried.

After this stop, we then ventured into Winchester where we explored the Winchester Cathedral, which, fun fact, is where Jane Austen was buried. The cathedral had beautiful architecture and was complete with an abundance of burials inside the church. Those buried in the church were either great religious figures or important people throughout history. We then went on the same footpath that John Keats walked whenever he wrote the famous poem ‘To Autumn.’ 

After all of this physically taxing adventuring, we were able to sit down and relax for an hour or two while being driven to the Stonehenge, our final stop of the day. Once we arrived at Stonehenge, we were given the option to either walk twenty minutes in the heat or be driven down in a nice air-conditioned shuttle. I was with a group of friends, and reluctantly walked the path. While I have to admit that the scenery was stunning, my legs didn’t care as they ached the whole journey, as serene and beautiful as it was. Stonehenge itself was blocked off with rope, so my lifelong dreams of running through it were absolutely crushed. In all seriousness, the stones were absolutely breathtaking and incredibly crowded. It’s so mind-boggling to think about the creation of the Stonehenge, that a few of my peers are convinced that it is the work of aliens. I commemorated the lively day with a new English Heritage themed Monopoly for my Monopoly collection. We all then rushed back onto the bus to begin our long journey back to our residence hall.

Jocelyn