Thursday 16 October 2008

Sing! Sing a song!

I have started work on my first assignments! Yay! They aren't due in until December, but if I don't get going now I just know that I will end up doing them the night before the deadline, so here goes, aren't I being good! I have started working on maps and posters and have just raided the library...

Someone that we recently did a really big favour for has thrown it all back in our faces - again! Why do we keep doing things like this? Why don't we just shrug and say "tough, sort it yourselves"? Why are we always surprised when they don't even say thank you?

Played a great game last night - a role playing game (like the famous Dungeons and Dragons) about devil worshippers and stuff. Haven't played it for over 20 years and wasn't sure if I would still enjoy it but it was great fun, especially when we were trying to hide from the Police but I tripped over a trash can instead and they found me sitting in the road with mouldy banana skins all over me. We haven't found the bad guys yet, so we will be playing again soon to see if we succeed, die or go mad in the process.

Hah, I knew there was something else!

As I came into Canterbury this morning I was passing the usual stream of parents and children going to school - the stressed parents shouting at their kids to hurry up, the crying kids who suddenly realised they had left something at home, etc, etc. Then I heard someone singing. A young woman was singing at the top of her voice, with her kids skipping along beside her. I slowed and watched them pass, my heart filling with joy at the sight and sound. One of the girls looked at me and told her mom that I was laughing at her.

"No", I said. "I am smiling because she has made me happy."

The girl smiled at that, and skipped off.


12 comments:

terri said...

Oh, I loved The Carpenters!

Don't you love when you stumble across a day brightener like that mother singing? It's amazing how powerful something like that can be. I was moping my way into work the other day, stepped on the elevator and a woman I recognized from another floor just belted out, "GOOD MORNING!" Made my day. I have got to remember to pass it on more often.

Teresa said...

I thought that was the Carpenters!!! I'm always so sad to think about her...

Funny how everybody likes to see someone like you described...so if we all could just participate then the world would be a better place! Yah, and I'd like to buy the world a Coke too. LOL!!

I was serious though...not about buying the world a Coke but about everybody participating to make this world a better place!

Don't you ever just get a deep thought like "what can I do, here in my time on this Earth, to make my mark...to make it a better place because I was here?" I think about that a lot.

Jen said...

Even the littlest things in life can make you the happiest!

James said...

Yeah, those things do humble you and light you up at the same time. You ever seen that film Pass It Forward? That was a film that actually made me feel like that.

Your game was Call of Cuthulu wasn't it?

Rock Chef said...

Terri - Weren't The Carpenters great? For me they are the ultimate nostalgia music - Yesterday Once More, and all that! And you are right - even a simple, honest "Good Morning" makes a huge difference.

Teresa - You can buy me a Coke if you like - must be "Fat Coke", though, none of that diet stuff! Making your mark? Well you have made the world a better place for me (and others I am sure) so that is a good start as far as I am concerned.

Jen - It doesn't take much, does it really? Just something as simple as having a shower before going for your massage... ;-)

James - Haven't seen that film - will have a look for it. It is probably in the discount racks by now? Yes, it was Call of Cthulhu. A great game if played right. Have you played it?

terri said...

I think James is talking about "Pay it Forward" with Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt. Awesome, awesome movie! It was out several years ago now, so you probably WILL find it on the discount racks.

Rock Chef said...

Terri - Thanks - I would probably have worked that out at some point :-)

I seem to remember it being discussed - was it you that posted about it? The old brain can't remember...

terri said...

I don't think it was me that posted on that one. Of course, my brain isn't all that reliable anymore either. Sometimes I look back on my old posts and wonder, "Did I really write that?"

Just saw another recommendation for what is supposed to be a good movie... "Grace is Gone" with John Cusack. I may have to watch some movies this weekend!

Marie said...

Wouldn't it be great if everyone sang their way through life and that life was a musical?

Rock Chef said...

Terri - I haven't looked back at my blog for a long time. Maybe I should!

Marie - Life as a musical? That would be fun! Sudden outbreaks of singing and dancing in the street where huge crowds of people suddenly know the required dance! We could each have our own theme tune too!

Um Naief said...

i loved this! especially the mother singing! i love to see these things w/ families. it makes you feel good.. more ppl should try it! :) singing makes you feel good.... ok, ok... not on the really bad days! ;) but.. if you try hard enough, it'll pull ya out of it. how can someone not smile if you're singing, 'if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands'!!

i love the carpenters, but when i watch this video, it reminds me of how sick she was... you can see the dark circles under her eyes.

tz said...

I loved the Carpenters too...
and awesome story, I love it when I see something like that that just makes me smile or laugh outloud!