This column was supposed to be about the blue wonder that is “Avatar”.

You see, I love cool movies. And blue is my favorite color.

So “Avatar” was already a lock (which is why I purchased it without even having seen it, something I rarely do and would certainly not recommend to be done on a regular basis).

As a former sales associate at Blockbuster Video, viewing director James Cameron’s technological monolith that will no doubt forever alter how films are made and enjoyed, it was an experience to be appreciated for sure. The impressive sight lines and the crisp panorama of the created world of Pandora were unlike anything seen before.

But it didn’t stir my heart.

That was done a few nights later when I became the last person in Edgefield County to take in “The Blind Side” featuring now Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock portraying a home-grown, modern Southern Belle bred at Ole Miss whose heart is the only thing bigger than her personality or her bank account (which is saying something).

In the film, in which Bullock plays the sassy Leigh Anne Tuohy, she comes across a young and homeless giant in Michael Oher (played ably by Glenn Hills High School product Quinton Aaron). Oher, from the inner-city projects of Memphis, Tennessee, was drowning as a loner in the private school he’d been enrolled in because of his athletic prowess.

The director could have decided to sugar coat the dialogue and really water things down, but to his credit he didn’t. Though one would imagine a drug den to contain much more sordid language and imagery, the point was well made. In another scene, Tuohy warns college Michael to keep his focus on books and his business in his pants.

The movie could have been made without these scenes, but thankfully they weren’t left on the cutting room floor as is so often the case with anything mildly controversial.

The Tuohy’s open their home to Oher, but more importantly they open their hearts. Another important factor to consider is the first thing that opened – their minds. Rather than simply enjoy the luxury their lifestyle afforded and remain cocooned amongst the other rich Republican elites, they moved beyond stereotypical attitudes and found real joy.

Unfortunately, this story is a bit too unique (which is why it became a major film).

The truth is that there are millions of children who resemble Michael Oher in every aspect (an absent father, a struggling mother, poverty and a lack of hope) – except for the fact that they will never play professional sports as Oher went on to do with the Baltimore Ravens after being named an All-American at Ole Miss.

There are children right here and now living in our own county who go to sleep every night not knowing the love of their mother’s touch or the reassuring voice of their father. That’s a tragedy folks, and something which breaks my heart over and over.

They are in the same need as Michael Oher and have the exact same potential to be a positive, active and responsible member of society.

And they are waiting – waiting for a real life, and real love.

Most of us are not blessed with the financial riches of the Tuohy family (and thank goodness because if I owned a Taco Bell I might just be called “Big Mike” too). But that’s no excuse. If all you have is time then believe me when I say there are children who will take it.

Put away what you think you know about people who don’t look like you or talk like you or vote the same way you do. No matter who we are or where we come from, each and every one of us needs love and the knowledge that someone out there cares for us.

Take a second and imagine if you had no one to fill that void.

Think of what runs through the mind of a child who has no one to say “I love you” or hold their hand when they fall or even to discipline them when they do wrong.

You don’t have to open your home to help a child. All you have to do is open your heart. It’s what the child is really interested in anyway. There are children in our community right now who need your love and support.

Protect their blind side.

If you have a special place in your heart for a child in need, please contact Desiree' B. Council

with the SC Guardian ad Litem Program by calling 803-637-9614.