Zac Efron and St. Bernadette

If you grew up Catholic, as I did, and attended Catholic school, I bet you're aware of the legend of Saint Bernadette. In life, Bernadette Soubirous was the peasant teen in France who saw visions of the Virgin Mother in Lourdes. The first vision occurred On February 11th in 1858. During one vision in the grotto, Bernadette was instructed by the Virgin Mother to dig in the ground. Eventually, a spring appeared. For some faithful followers, the water of the spring had healing powers. All of this is covered in the 1943 biographical film, THE SONG OF BERNADETTE, based on a best-selling book of the same name. Jennifer Jones played Bernadette and took home the Oscar for Best Actress. Does this connect to actor Zac Efron? Yes, it does. Efron has a documentary travel series on Netflix called DOWN TO EARTH with ZAC EFRON. The reviews I saw on social media for the series were pretty good. However, the main reviews seemed to be about his looks. Especially from publications aimed at gay men. On Twitter, INSTINCT MAGAZINE wrote "Zac Efron Remains a Beardy & Totally Sexy Daddy in the Making."

Well, he is a nice slice o' beefcake nevertheless his series is worth watching for the surprising and worthwhile information. The focus is on leading a healthier lifestyle that will, in turn, lead to us treating the planet in a healthier way. Efron does this with a good buddy and author named Darin Olien. He's a wellness expert. Also handsome. You can tell that the two are good buddies because Olien has the knack of making movie star Efron expose his goofy side in a refreshing, unselfconscious way. The first episode takes us to Iceland. I found myself wishing the U.S. would take some serious tips from Iceland on how it's helping the environment. During the Iceland visit, the two friends have a hot tub experience. The sight of Zac Efron in the water, I'm sure, carbonated the hormones of many gay magazine writers and became the lead story. I enjoyed the first episode so much that I stayed on for the second. It was fascinating. The subject was water. Healthy water. It begins with a visit to a West Hollywood restaurant that has a water sommelier. You read that correctly. Not a wine sommelier. A water sommelier. Zac and Darin are joined by actress Anna Kendrick. They all sample and learn about the true health properties of bottled waters. From West Hollywood, the two guys travel to Paris for more water information. Then, they travel to Lourdes. This section really gripped me. With a French executive who, at first, was rather testy, Zac and Darin were allowed to look at medical papers documenting the unexplained properties of the waters from the grotto at Lourdes. They also visit the shrine. Like I said, if you're a fellow Catholic who's aware of St. Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes, I highly recommend watching that episode from Zac Efron's travel doc series. It will give your spirit a tingle. Here's a look at DOWN TO EARTH with ZAC EFRON.