People We’d Rather Ignore

On a recent flight, I glanced up to see a man walking down the airplane aisle. The man who if we were honest, we’d admit that we all hope didn’t sit by us. Disheveled, smiling around at no one in particular as he unintentionally knocked his bag around. When he stopped at my row, I felt guilty for these thoughts and looked up to smile at him. I do not want to judge people, strangers I know nothing about, just put off a bit by their appearance. That is not who I want to be. So, I smiled. That committed me for the flight.

Chris Cornell vs. Johnny Mathis

Driving along listening to one of my favorite old cds , my daughter pipes up “Is this that guy Chris you talked about?” The cd was Temple of the Dog and he and Eddie Vedder were singing “Hunger Strike“. I was thinking how people fuss about Steven Tyler all the time, who does indeed rock. Slightly after Chris Cornell. I admit I’ve had a voice crush on him for almost two decades since Soundgarden was big. The obnoxious kind of crush where any time he is singing, I too must singly along as loudly (and sadly out of tune) as I can squeak out. When I drive I have to use cruise control when I sing with him to avoid speeding tickets. So, I told the kids I think he is my favorite male vocalist ever.

But, what about my lifelong passion for Johnny Mathis’ Christmas music? The records my mom had for my entire childhood? My loyalty is divided. And I admit, somewhat random based on those two choices.

Who would you choose?

BTW: Chris is the first singer, Eddie the second.

Interpretive Canoeing…Within Paddling Distance

The longer I live, the more I realize there are just too many hobbies to choose from. It is impossible to be involved in hula contests, racing mini bikes, ghost hunting, or frying new things like Koolaid or butter. But…I am starting a campaign to bring back freestyle canoeing. You haven’t heard of it? Hmm, odd.

Nevertheless, after watching it on TV last week I was fascinated. Partly by the actual sport and mostly by the passionate participants. Their excitement was contagious and after all, Peninsula, Ohio must not be too far from my home.

It isn’t as easy as it looks apparantly (and having canoed in recent years, we could barely balance the thing), scoring is based on technical and artistic skills. And whatever you do, avoid Bobbling. It reeks of amatuer.

“Freestyle Canoeing-

Obedience Training For Your Canoe”

http://www.freestylecanoeing.com/index.html

Picture from google

Built For Speed, Baby

I think the Stray Cats were one of my first musical loves. I was 12. We used to have a yard with clothes lines to create perfect stages. Putting together a band wasn’t too difficult. My friend Forest was on bass. My little brother Timmy was always set up with his Fisher Price drums. And I, naturally, played the lead of Brian Setzer. Our lucky parents were often entertained with us lip singing and playing along for as many songs as they would sit through. And we were repeat performers. Ah, mesmerizing visuals, eh? Wish there was a picture, but since there is not this video will have to do. I was just listening to this song while working and it still ROCKS!

Who Knew I’d Love World Domination?

Last week I took a questionnaire designed to help identify  strengths for use in leadership. Empathy was at the top, not that surprisingly to me, competitiveness was dead last. I played a game called Risk with my family the other day for the first time. You should know, strategy games are my least favorite kind. Keeping my attention focused on developing any strategy is difficult. In fact, I had mentioned to a friend that I had to get off our phone call and play Risk. She laughed. Hard. “You?” she said. Hmphhh.

Imagine the shock to my family when I started taking over the whole world. I giggled at having all my pieces covering one country. Twiddled my thumbs with delight at two countries. By the third country, everyone’s shoulders were slumped as I ran for my camera just to document how pretty it looked with so much yellow! I’m not kidding. My husband says I am the worst winner ever. Doubtful. I know a few worse offenders.

To my way of thinking a poor winner gloats in a “ha ha, you guys all stink!” sort of way. My mind really did think “hooray” but not in any way except delight that “I” was actually winning and I couldn’t wait to show my brother! That simple. I will however take to heart, that bringing a camera out to document your excitement over winning can be misunderstood. Upon further reflection here, perhaps there was some truth in my husband’s words? Who knew I’d love world domination? Empathy #1? It might have just gotten bumped down to #2 as Competitiveness (as it always does) nudged into a higher spot.

Terrorist Tuna?

It started innocently. A friend was coming to visit from a coastal town. This tuna is just one of the gazillion things I miss about living along the sea. Freshly caught and packaged, amidst the battered boats and weathered buildings, this delicacy is worth the money. I asked said friend to please bring some to me. Fresh caught tuna is pretty scare in the Midwest where we now live. I digress.  It seemed like a simple request, which she agreed to honor by carrying a few cans in her bag.

Two airports. Two security breaches. Airport number one, she quickly learned that stashing cans of fish in your carry-on is a red flag. It was sent through the scanner and a security guard promptly arrived to escort her to the side, assuring her she was part of a “random” check.  They checked her good too! Even down to a special wand to glide over the cans, then her hands looking for suspicious residue. The next airport she decided to display the cans in an obvious fashion to avoid another check.

Sorry, no such luck.

I am all for airport security and appreciate the great care they take to keep our country safe. Really. The irony is not lost however when people slip by without even proper I.D. in recent news. Thankfully, my friend (and the contraband tuna) made it safely to their final destination.

I admit, I laughed much harder than she about this sequence of events. I will savor each bite, knowing that is was truly a gift of love. And time. And embarrassment. And, well… If you’d like to taste some yourself and see why I am so passionate about it—- do your loved ones a favor and just order it through the mail.

She Who Laughs, Laughs Alone?

What was that saying? “She who laughs, laughs alone”…or was it  ”Laugh and the world laughs with you”?

Apparently neither is correct. A more suitable phrase might be “She who laughs alone makes people un-comfort-able”.

I have a knack for laughing at inopportune times. For example, quiet situations. Tragic movie scenes. Thinking of something funny from 20 years ago. At nothing at all, which strikes me as all the more hilarious.

Tonight at dinner this unfortunate skill presented itself during prayer times, prompting one of my children to end with “…and please make Mommy quit laughing. Amen.”

What was I laughing at? All I can guess is that being sick for a week cooped up the giggles. Something about the way my chicken was arranged on my plate seemed similar to the placement of my potato. Yep. That was what started it.

Once the giggles start, I am literally helpless to stop. I have a wonderful quirky sense of humor, but even the funniest jokes seldom make me laugh out loud. But give me no good reason? I will laugh until my stomach aches.

Then, something about my daughters features reminded me of something funny (to me, not the rest of the family) that my Grandpa used to do at the dinner table. No ”real” correlation, but enough. Here’s to you Grandpa.

Thankfully God didn’t answer this prayer. After all, He gave me the humor to enjoy life with. I do think, however, that a little tweaking might be appreciated.

For some reason, these are the times my companions laugh for entirely different reasons. As long as we are both laughing, um, right?